THE YOSEMITE CONY— A CHAPTER IN 

 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE YOSEMITE 

 NATIONAL PARK 



By Joseph Grinnell and Tracy I. Storer 



(Contribution from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of 

 California) 



THE cold granite peaks and rock-walled glacial valleys of 

 the higher Sierra Nevada of California are inhabited by 

 comparatively few mammals and birds. The species which do 

 live there throughout the year are, by structure and habits, well 

 adapted to withstand the vicissitudes of life in a boreal region. 

 On the whole, it seems as if these high mountain residents have 

 come to fill the least desirable niches in the economy of nature, 

 those niches for which there is but little contest. Among the 

 mammals belonging to this category in the Yosemite National 

 Park there is none more deserving of particular attention than 

 the cony. 



The cony is remotely related to the rabbits, but in both struc- 

 ture and habits it differs widely from those better-known ani- 

 mals. The cony is small, rarely exceeding seven inches in length 

 of body, and it is of comparatively chubby build (figs, i and 2). 

 The head is short and bluntly tapered, while the neck is scarce- 

 ly distinguishable. The eyes are small, but the ears are large 

 and rounded, and this combination gives the animal a peculiar- 

 ly knowing expression. The fore and hind legs are short and of 

 about equal length, while the tail is so reduced as not to be seen 

 except by examination of a specimen in hand. The clothing of 

 hair is thick and fluffy. The general coloration is grayish white, 

 but to this in late summer and fall there is added, as a result of 

 molt, a pale brown tint. At any season this coloration is doubt- 

 less exceedingly valuable to the animal in rendering it incon- 

 spicuous ; even under the best of light conditions the observer 

 finds difliculty in catching sight of a cony except when it moves. 



Conies, otherwise known as pikas, rock-rabbits, or little chief 

 hares, are found in the mountainous districts of Russia, Asia, 



