CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME 273 



COYOTE 



On July 8, 1928, as we came into Yosemite Valley at 7 o'clock in 

 the morning, the sun was shining brightly. At the base of El Capitan, 

 a mule deer doe was seen in close pursuit of a coyote. The coyote was 

 first sighted running rapidly across the road directly in front of our 

 automobile. It was evident that it was in a hurry to escape from some- 

 thing that was pursuing it. Just at the moment the coyote crossed 

 the main paved highway, the doe was first observed, being only a few 

 jumps behind. The two animals were so close to our car that the doe 

 stopped suddenly, being unable to get across the road ahead of it. How- 

 ever, the moment the car passed, she immediately renewed her pursuit 

 of the coyote, making effective stabs at it with the sharp hoofs of her 

 forefeet. The coyote, although large and able-bodied, made no effort 

 to fight back but crawled as quickly and quietly as possible into a dense 

 clump of brush where it tried to escape notice by remaining motionless. 

 However, the doe jumped high in the air and came down stiff -legged 

 upon the brush pile with all four feet gathered directly beneath her, 

 making repeated efforts to land with her sharp hoofs upon the coyote 

 hidden in the thicket. The coyote, finding its attempt to hide unsuccess- 

 ful, finally sneaked out and made a rapid dash for liberty. The con- 

 dition of the doe's udder and reproductive organs indicated that she had 

 a newly born fawn hidden somewhere in the near vicinity. 



The relation of coyotes and wildcats to mule deer is further dis- 

 cussed under the heading of seasonal migration. 



BLACK BEAR 



At 4 o'clock on the morning of July 22, 1929, a large, lanky, brown- 

 ish-colored black bear caught and killed a week-old fawn within a few 

 yards of our camp in Yosemite. Our attention was attracted by the 

 agonized bleating of the fawn when the bear first caught it. One of 

 the men who was camped nearest to the scene rushed over to the spot 

 where the fawn was bleating and caught the bear "red-handed." The 

 bear had the fawn down and was just tearing it to pieces. This same 

 bear was seen to catch another fawn out in the meadow the previous 

 morning, and appeared to comb the meadows regularly searching for 

 fawns during the early morning hours from 3 to 6 o'clock. None of 

 the other black bears that I noted in the vicinity seemed to specialize 

 in fawn hunting as did this individual, 



GOLDEN EAGLE 



The golden eagle is, in my experience, the only important avian 

 enemy of mule deer in California, and its attacks are usually upon 

 spotted fowns. Stephen Headington of Escondido, California, witnessed 

 such an attack by a pair of eagles upon a fawn along the upper San 

 Luis Key River in San Diego County. This reliable observer informed 

 me that the doe did her utmost to protect her fawn by standing directly 

 over it. However, she was unable effectively to guard against the 

 onslaught of the two eagles which attacked at the same moment, first 

 from above and then successfully from both sides. It is my belief that 

 in most instances the fawn escapes by crawling off and hiding under 

 some dense thicket of brush. I personally know of only three mule deer 

 fawns having been killed by golden eagles in my years of field experience 

 in California. Out of sixty nests of the golden eagle that I have 

 examined in this State, none has held any remains of deer. 



