38 CALIKOrtXIA FISH AM) GAME 



late Stcplicii T. Mallici'. then Director (if the X;iliiiiuil Park Service, 

 lunched top:ethcr in San Francisco, and IMcAllister broached the sub- 

 ject, rorrosjiondcnce sliows that McAllister, with characteristic 

 enerjiy, followed uji this opcninji: and in the next spring definite steps 

 were taken in this rejjard. 



At that time the Park Service's policy was not against exhibiting 

 caged or exotic sjiecies of animals in the National Parks, and the only 

 concern over the venture seems to have been the fear that the animals 

 might not survive the severe winters of Yosemite. In order to secure 

 information in lliis regard, the Park Service addressed leading authori- 

 ties on the subject. One of them, Dr. Jose])h CTi-inuell, Director of the 

 California INFuseum of Vertebrate Zoology, ruled that the animals siiould 

 not be introduced into tlie Valley for the reason that tliey were never 

 native to the region, a contention that Grinnell has steadfa.stly 

 u|)held to the preseiit day, and which finallj^ became one of the main 

 reasons for removing the elk from Yosemite. Grinnell 's original objec- 

 tion was overruled b}^ Dr. T. S. Palmer of the U. S. Bureau of Bio- 

 logical Survey, an ardent supporter of the elk introduction, with the 

 prediction that the animals would thrive in the Valley where they 

 would com]irise an atti-action to thousands of visitors, while few people 

 wonld see them in their native habitat at Buttonwillow. 



Ot¥icial sanction of the elk introduction into Yosemite was provided 

 by the Director of the National Park Service on INIarch 10, 1020, Avhen 

 an agreement was entered into between this body and the California 

 Academy of Sciences which stipulated that the academy would bear 

 all expenses of materials and cost of erection of a corral for the animals 

 and would deliver to the Park Service at El Portal not to exceed 10 

 live elk. In return, the Park Service agreed to assume trans]iortation 

 expenses for the materials and the animals from El I'cu-tal to the 

 Valley, expenses incident to care and feed for the animals after their 

 delivery, upkeep of the corral and such other subsequent expenses in 

 connection Avith the herd as might arise. 



July, 1920, saw com])letion of the elk paddock, an enclosure of 28 

 acres, fenced w'ith heavy woven ware eight feet high and costing over 

 $2,000. It was now ready to receive the animals and arrangements were 

 made by the academy to procure some elk from the herd that was 

 ])lanted on the ]\Ionterey Peninsula in 1914 and which had increased 

 greatly. Efforts made by the Del Monte Properties Company in 

 August and September, 1920, to capture elk from this herd proved 

 failures and they were unable to deliver the animals. On account of 

 the lateness in the season, efforts to effect the introduction were 

 abandoned for that year in October. 



The academy made new arrangements the following spring and on 

 May 23, 1921, four animals, three cows and a six weeks old bull calf, 

 were introduced into Yosemite Valley from the Del Paso Park herd 

 near Sacramento. Four days later one of the cows died, presumably 

 from injuries received while she was being roped and captured. The 

 remaining three elk quickly adapted themselves to their new habitat. 



August 20, 1921, nine additiojial elk were introduced into the 

 Yosemite paddock from the Buttonwillow Ranch of Miller and Lux 

 where the.v were caught by cowboys with riatas. Quite evidently, some 

 of these animals were injui-ed by their cai)ture in this manner and two 



