194 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



in case of a battle between two strong, vigorous males, the possession 

 of such weapons would prove deadly to one or probably both of tlie 

 contestants, and tliat the primary object of the contest would thus be 

 made abortive. The present branched form of antler (see Fig. 49) 

 that is found in our present species of deer serves as a foil which per- 

 mits strenuous contests for supremacy between contesting males, 

 thereby eliminating the weaker individuals, thus carrying out nature's 

 method of providing for the survival of the fittest in tliat the stronger 

 males are the ones that are left to reproduce and carry on the species, 

 without being critically injured or permanently disabled in the elimina- 

 tion contests. 



Many hunters and not a few writers have claimed that the antlers 

 of the mule deer buck can always be told by their tendency to develop a 

 double fork on either antler instead of as in the case of the white-tailed 

 deer where numerous tines arise from one large central beam. The 

 antlers of the Columbian black-tailed deer are of the same general 



double-branched type as those 

 of the mule deer. As a matter 

 of fact, Caton, after years of 

 study, came to the conclusion 

 that there was no single char- 

 acter which would serve posi- 

 tively to distinguish the antlers 

 of mule deer from those of 

 black-tailed deer. While I 

 believe this conclusion is correct, 

 there is a general difference in 

 massiveness, spread and size of 

 mule deer antlers which places 

 the species at the top of the list 

 from the trophy standpoint. In 

 mule deer the normal type of 

 antlers (see Fig. 53) have mass- 

 ive beams and evenly spreading 

 antlers which result in their 

 reaching an unusual dimension 

 both as regards the circumfer- 

 ence of the antler at the base 

 and the height and spread. Now 

 and then a mule deer buck with high or upstanding antlers (see Fig. 54) 

 will be encountered, but tliis tall type of antler is more characteristic 

 of the black-tailed deer than it is of the mule deer. 



In certain areas where the two species come together, we find 

 antlers of both types on both the mule and the black-tailed deer, and 

 in such cases it is practically impossible to tell from the antler alone 

 wdiich species it represents. The antlers of the adult mule deer buck 

 are frequently very symmetrical in their division, the tines being of 

 relatively the same form, diameter, and curvature. This tendency is 

 especially noticeable while the antlers are still in the formative stage 

 and in the velvet, and is well illustrated by Fig. 55, which is that of 

 a large mule deer buck that I photographed on the floor of Yosemite 

 VaUey. 



Fig. 54. Now and then a California 

 mule deer buck has high, narrow, pinched- 

 in antlers. Sequoia, December 21, 1929. 

 Wild Life Division No. 335. 



