202 



CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



the 

 the 

 the 



Yosemite Valley on September 17, 1927. Not only was color character 

 illustrated, but also the characteristic habit of the black-tailed deer to 

 elevate the tail to a vertical position when surprised or frightened is 

 clearly shown by the fawn at the left (see Fig. 62). In the case of 

 typical mule deer fawns, I have never found any instance where the 

 tail was raised to a vertical position when the animal was suddenly 

 surprised or frightened. 



I have examined a large number of skins of southern mule deer 

 taken by hunters from the central portion of San Diego County and 

 found that the majority of these deer do not show the black stripe 

 down the tail. On the desert side of the mountains in eastern San 

 Diego County, specimens examined showed that almost without excep- 

 tion tails were those of typical 

 mule deer, whereas along 

 extreme western slope of 

 mountains near the coast 

 black stripe down the tail was 

 most in evidence. 



In the cases of Inj'o and 

 burro deer, I have been unable 

 to find any trace of a black 

 stripe down the tail, all tails 

 being of extreme Rocky Moun- 

 tain mule deer type. 



Tn regard to size of the tail, 

 it has been stated that the aver- 

 age length of the tail in the 

 adult mule deer is from five to 

 six inches. My own experience 

 has been that the length of the 

 tail bone (this does not include 

 the long terminal tuft of hairs) 

 in adult Rocky Mountain mule 

 deer in California averages 

 eight inches, with seven and ten 

 inches as extremes. In the case 

 of California mule deer, tails 

 have been found to be somewhat 

 shorter (about one inch) than in true Rocky Mountain mule deer. 

 There has been considerable discussion among sportsmen, writers, 

 and even scientists regarding the position in which the tails of mule 

 deer and coast black-tailed deer are held when the animals are fright- 

 ened or alarmed. In one instance, a well-known AVestern writer, in an 

 article on mule deer published in a nationally known magazine, illus- 

 trated a frightened mule deer with the tail not raised. The writer 

 was severely criticized by many sportsmen, particularly those in the 

 East, who believed that when frightened or when running away from 

 danger, all deer raised their "flags" to a vertical position. I have 

 taken special pains to ascertain the facts regarding this point on many 

 occasions and have found that in the coast black-tailed deer, both in 

 Columbian and southern, the characteristic reaction when alarmed 



Fig. 61. A Columbian black-tailed doe 

 photographed in Yosemite Valley, Decem- 

 ber 6, 1927. Note width and extent of 

 black on tail. Mus. Vert. Zool. No. 5666. 



