CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



83 



I was amazed at the cleverness used by these animals in keeping themselves 

 liead on to one another in order to prevent one from Retting in a broadside blow. 

 Time after time, each buck was down on its knees, and like a flash he would be 

 back on all fours. While down in this manner, his adversary would try to maneuver 

 ai'ound in time to get a broadside blow at the other. There seemed to be no choice 

 in size between these two bucks, but the one that left the road first seemed to be 

 the stronger of the two. 



I left these deer fighting and returned to meet Game Warden Vernon Sutton 

 whom I told about the incident. We then returned to the spot where the deer had 

 been fighting and walked about a hundred yards up the hill where we saw the two 

 bucks, one of which was with a number of does, and the other about 100 yards to 

 one side where he would watch for a few minutes, and then start after the bunch of 

 (loos. The other buck would let him come within .jO yards of the females when 

 he would start to meet him, at which the outsider would turn back and quitx; 

 evidently admit his defeat. 



Two days later, at only a short distance from the location of this battle, I 

 found a dead two-year old buck, well scarred and with a large hole punctured just 

 behind his ribs. Close examination of his carcass showed many scars of the sharp 

 points of antlers. There was a scar about three inches in length which ran deeper 







-V- 



Fig 17. Game Warden Welch and the buck that was severely wounded in a fight 

 with another. Photographed at Kernville, Cal., November 29, 1933. 



toward the puncture. On opening the carcass, I found that the intestines were 

 punctured which apparently cau.sed the animal's death. 



On December 14, 1931, while patrolling the flume, some distance above Bear 

 River, I found at an underpass, a large four-point buck that had evidently been 

 in a terrific battle. He had deep scars all over his body, and was so crippled in the 

 back that his hind legs were useless. He had dragged himself down the hill some 

 distance from above the flume and was so weak he was unable to go any further. 

 He had evidently been where I found him for a couple of days. On back-tracking 

 this animal, I found the snow much torn up for some distance and all the evidences 

 of a terrific battle. 



The finding of these two deer that had unquestionably died of injuries sus- 

 tained in fighting during the rut, seems to be proof enough to show that there are a 

 considerable number of male deer that lose their lives each year from this cause. 

 I believe that there are many more male deer killed by being gored, or by being 

 otherwise injured in fighting during the rutting season than are killed by locked 

 horns or antlers, cases of which have been reported. My reason for this contention 

 is the fact that the antlers must be very nearly the same size, spread and shape 

 in both animals in order that they may lock. 



