CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 39 



of them, a bull calf and an old cow, died shortly after arrival. The 

 remaining seven Buttonwillow elk withstood the introduction well and 

 on September 1, 1921, the Yosemite herd numbered 10 healthy animals 

 consisting of 4 bulls, 5 cows and 1 bull calf. 



The winter of 1921-1922 was one of unusual severity in Yosemite 

 with deeper snow on the ground than had been experienced in many 

 years. It was necessary to erect a shelter to protect the elk from the 

 weather and they were fed alfalfa hay. In spite of this condition, the 

 animals appeared to weather the first half of the winter satisfactorily 

 for on February 14, 1922, then Superintendent W. B. Lewis wrote 

 M. Hall McAllister that the elk seemed to be pulling through, though 

 they were not so sleek or fat as in the fall. Conditions must have been 

 even more severe in the following months, for the next record available, 

 as of May 2, 1922, notes that five of the animals died in the spring, 

 leaving only 4 cows and 1 yearling bull. 



This proportion of sexes was thought to be unbalanced, so on 

 May 12, 1922, a yearling bull was introduced into the Yosemite elk 

 herd from Del Paso Park, and the real start of the Yosemite herd 

 should probably be counted from that date when it was composed of 4 

 adult cows and 2 yearling bulls. None of the cows calved in 1922, but 

 the fact that two cows bore calves respectively on May 9 and 10, 1923, 

 is of note as it indicates the fecundity of the yearling or 15 months old 

 bulls in the previous fall. 



The following table demonstrates the growth of the herd and its 

 occasional losses from July, 3922, to the time of its departure from 

 the Valley in 1933, as nearly as it has been possible to ascertain this 

 information from available records. 



Date of Total animals Bulls Cows Calves Loss and reason 



record in herd therefor 



Julv 1, 1022 6 2 4 



.Tilly, 1923 S 2 4 2 



July, 1924 11 4 4 3 



July, 1925 l.l 7 3 3 1, 2-yr.-oia cow died in 1925. 



July, 1926 15 8 5 2 



July, 1927 16 9 5 2 1 animal escaped from corral. 



Julv, 1928 19 10 6 3 



Julv, 1929 22 10 9 3 



July, 1930 23 10 9 4 1 calf died soon after birtli. 



and apparently 2 others died 

 this year. 



July, 1931 23 11 10 2 I..oss of 2 elk unaccounted for 



in this year. 



Jan., 1932 22 10 10 2 1 bull died of old age, Dec. 22, 



1931. 



Feb., 1932 18 6 10 2 4 bulls killed for scientific pur- 



poses, Feb. 21, 1932. 



July, 1932 21 7 11 . 3 



July, 1933 27 7 11 G and 3 yearlings. 



The elk were kept in the corral continually from the time of their 

 arrival until April 29, 1927, when it was decided to open the gates and 

 permit the animals to leave the enclosure and to roam the Valley at will. 

 This experiment proved to be a failure because of danger of injury to 

 Park visitors, particularly from the bulls that become quite pugnacious 

 during the rutting season. Therefore, all the elk were returned to the 

 corral on November 16, 1927, and were not again released. Sometime 

 later, however, four animals broke through the fence and gained a 

 liberty that three of them enjoyed for a month before they were 

 returned to the corral. The fourth animal escaped permanently and 

 sometime later was reported as having been seen by Game Warden 



