182 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



CONTENTS— Continued 



Page 

 BREEDING HABITS 236 



Age at Which Bucks Develop Antlers 236 



Breeding Age op Does 238 



Growth of Antlers 239 



Adult Bucks With Spike Antlers 246 



Unicorn Buck 248 



Relative Numbers of Bucks, Does, and Fawns 251 



Young Versus Mature Bucks as Breeders 253 



Battles Between Bucks 255 



Friendliness op Bucks ^ 257 



Breeding Season and Period of Gestation 260 



Age at Which Fawns are Weaned 267 



NATURAL ENEMIES 269 



Mountain Lion 271 



Wildcat 272 



Coyote 272 



Black Bear 273 



Golden Eagle 273 



DISEASES 274 



Modoc Deer Disease 274 



Foot-and-Mouth Disease 276 



Internal Parasites 278 



External Parasites 279 



Eye Disease 280 



INTRODUCTION 



The mule deer is the most important species of game mammal 

 found in California. It affords sport, recreation and inspiration to 

 more citizens of California than does any other native mammal. 



The mule deer is not restricted to any particular section or portion 

 of the State, but, through its various geographic races, is found the 

 entire length of California from Oregon to the Mexican boundary. As 

 a matter of fact, it is surprising to find that from 1927 to 1933, inclu- 

 sive, there was only one county in California in which deer were not 

 killed, namely, thickly-populated San Francisco County. Deer, either 

 black-tailed or mule, were killed during that seven-year period in every 

 other county in the State. Furthermore, the mule deer is found in 

 all four national parks located in California ; so that the species is 

 enjoyed by all the people, bringing pleasure both to the sportsman and 

 to the nonhunting public. 



The successful quest of a large "lava" buck is to the average 

 sportsman, the nimrod's crowning achievement. This is emphasized 

 with each passing year. Ten years ago only a few local sportsmen 

 sought Rocky Mountain mule deer bucks in Modoc County. Now, on 

 the opening day of the deer season, hunters pour into that section by 

 hundreds from every portion of the west, each intent on "getting" 

 one of the big "lava" bucks. This increased pressure on the big mule 

 deer in Modoc County is graphically shown by the data afforded by the 

 recently installed system of deer tags, which has been introduced by our 

 State Division of Fish and Game, Avhereby each hunter taking a buck 

 in California reports to the Division the locality, time, and other details 

 concerning the killing of the deer. We now have dependable informa- 

 tion as to the numbers of deer killed in the various counties of the 

 State. From the deer tags we learn that the reported kill of mule 



