CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 211 



a foot of snow on the ground and with the trees blanketed with a fresh 

 fall of snow, I watched a band of twenty deer, including bucks, does 

 and fawns, on:. their bedding ground. The beds were usually made 

 singly, but in certain instances, were found in groups, three, and even 

 four beds to one square rod. These beds were oval in outline and of 

 sufficient size just to accommodate the body of the deer. They were nor- 

 mally located either at the foot of some small tree or at the base of 

 a buckthorn or manzanita bush. In one instance, the bed, which was 

 unusually large, was actually arched over by bushes, but the other beds 

 were all so situated that the deer in them had an open' and unobstructed 

 view of their immediate surroundings. 



The beds were observed to be made by a preliminary pawing away 

 of the snow followed by the snow melting through coming in contact 

 with the warm body of the reclining deer. I watched one deer prepare 

 its bed by first pawing away the snow and then bedding down after 

 turning around several times just as a dog often does before it lies 

 down to sleep. I saw the same bed occupied by two deer, one after 

 the other, and in one instance a particular bed was used by three differ- 

 ent deer in one week. This habit of interchanging beds is characteristic 

 of the younger deer and has been found to have a direct bearing on the 

 transfer of deer ticks from one deer to another. An examination of 

 fresh deer beds revealed the presence there of one or more deer ticks 

 hidden in the refuse. 



When given a free choice, even the old bucks prefer a warm bed of 

 dry leaves, in the shelter of some dense pine or cedar, to a chilly bed 

 in the snow. Such a preference was repeatedly shown by a large buck 

 in December, 1927, in Yosemite. Instead of bedding down in the snow, 

 this buck regularly chose a warm bed of dry leaves under a dense incense 

 cedar tree. Here he had an unobstructed view and kept warm and dry, 

 chewing his cud in comfort (see Fig. 68). 



Investigation has shown that in late fall and winter when the 

 weather turns cold, mule deer seek out sunny nooks, in which to take 

 sun baths. On October 31, 1929, in Yosemite, I followed a three-point 

 buck until he found a quiet sunny spot, well screened on either side by 

 dense incense cedar trees. Here he bedded down in the bright warm 

 sunlight (see Fig. 69). As soon as the shifting shadows reached the 

 spot where he lay, he arose and moved over to another sunny spot. I 

 have noted this habit of taking sun baths many times in does and fawns 

 also. In summer days does and fawns are more inclined than bucks to 

 bed down in open meadows. In the Yosemite region, both inside and 

 outside the park, I found that during dark nights mule deer bedded 

 down out in the open meadows, away from trees and bushes. I found 

 that this was the regular custom of mule deer under natural conditions 

 where they were not hunted by man. On July 1, 1927, I found that all 

 of the does and fawns, after they had satisfied their hunger, went out 

 into the open meadow and bedded down in relatively short grass (see 

 Fig. 57). When I got down on my hands and knees and tried to stalk 

 such deer I discovered the probable reason for their choice. The first 

 movement of my body, which was visible above the short grass, was 

 immediately detected by the deer and they sprang to their feet and were 

 away instantly. By further experiments, I found that such open 

 bedding grounds were regularly selected, apparently because of the 



