230 CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 



Observations indicate that in tlio Sequoia region migration dates 

 average 10 days earlier than tlie dates given above, wliile in tiie Lassen 

 section in the nortliern part oi" the State migration dates were found to 

 be slightly later than those in the Yosemite region. 



There has been considerable discussion regarding the highest occur- 

 rence of mule deer in California. On August 23, 1933, I found fresh 

 tracks of a large buck, probably the Inyo mule deer, crossing a pass 

 ■well above timberline at 12,150 feet near Lake South America at the 

 extreme head of Kern River. However, the highest altitudinal record 

 for mule deer in California of which I have knowledge is recorded by 

 George M. Wright, who on July 18, 1923, found a mature buck at 

 12,750 feet on the southwest face of Mount Kaweah, Sequoia National 

 Park. 



FLUCTUATIONS IN MULE DEER POPULATIONS 



John McCauley, a long-time resident of Stage Station, Mariposa 

 County, told me that in 1900 mule deer had been so hunted in the region 

 about Hazel Green that the appearance of a deer during the winter 

 caused an immediate stampede of hunters to that point. Does were 

 shot as quickly as bucks, and hunters were not concerned about obeying 

 game laws. 



Upon my first visit to Yosemite Valley in 1915, I found deer were 

 so rare there that whenever one camper discovered a deer he would 

 call all the other campers to come and see the unusual sight. Through 

 protection from predatory natural enemies and human hunters, the 

 deer in Yosemite increased so rapidly that they were numerous there 

 by 1925. On April 30, 1929, I personally in two hours counted 69 deer 

 on the floor of Yosemite Valley, and then only covered about three- 

 fourths of the Valley floor. At this same time a friend on horseback 

 counted 100 head of deer in one evening on the Valley floor. On March 

 27, 1930, I counted 96 deer in one hour in Yosemite Valley. In order 

 to preserve the native flora of Yosemite and to restock an adjoining 

 area that had been denuded of deer during the foot-and-mouth epizootic, 

 in two years (1930 and 1931) a total of 137 deer, chiefly yearlings, 

 were trapped in enclosures and transported by truck from Yosemite 

 Valley to Hetch Hetchy in the northern portion of Yosemite National 

 Park. This gave temporary relief. 



Great fluctuations in numbers of mule deer have also taken place 

 outside our national parks. Dan Mann, an old resident of Tuolumne 

 County, informed the writer that in 1862, deer were very scarce along 

 the Sonora Pass Road. This continued for about ten years, but by 1876 

 deer began to be plentiful and continued so until 1890, when heavy 

 hunting plus a severe winter greatly reduced their number. However, 

 they gradually increased until at the time of the foot-and-mouth epi- 

 zootic in July, 1924, deer were more numerous, according to old-timers, 

 on the Stanislaus National Forest than they had been at any time 

 since the days of '49, when the first influx of white men began. The 

 non-sale of deer meat, the protection of does, and the killing off of moun- 

 tain lions are believed to be the three main reasons for this increase. 



During the foot-and-mouth epizootic and the resulting eradication 

 campaign which in the deer extended from July 12, 1924, until June 

 10, 1926, when all quarantine restrictions were removed, a total of 



