Fauna of the National Parks of the United States 3: Birds and Mammals of Mount McKinley National Park (Mammals)

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A very small, active mammal with a sharp pointed nose and small beady eyes. The ears are nearly hidden in the brownish fur of the animal. The tail is well covered with hairs, yellowish white beneath and brown above; the feet are small and delicate. Total length, 4 inches; tail, 1.6 inches; hind foot, 0.5 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—In contrast to the rather uniform coloration of the dusky shrew, the back of the masked shrew is sepia brown sprinkled with lighter and darker hairs giving the appearance of the animal a "salt and pepper" effect.

DISTRIBUTION.—It is found in the Boreal and Transition Zones of North America from New England to Alaska. On October 8, 1907, shrews were abundant in Sheldon's winter cabin on the main Toklat River.

We found the shrews to be scarce in 1926, and in 1932 I found them to be scarcer still. Some years they are abundant but at other times they are not at all plentiful.

HABITS.—According to Sheldon (1930, p. 169), the shrews were especially cannibalistic, eating mice or shrews that had been caught in the traps each night.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The tundra shrew is similar to the masked shrew but the tail is shorter. This shrew is large in size. Total length, 4.3 inches; tail, 1.3 inches; hind foot, 0.5 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—In many instances cranial characters are those relied upon by the specialist to separate different geographic forms or species of shrews. Such characters are not available to the field student; therefore, specimens must be examined in detail later in the laboratory. This shrew is larger in size as compared with other shrews in the McKinley region.

DISTRIBUTION.—It is found in the tundra belt in the region above and east of Norton Sound, Alaska. Sheldon reports this species taken along with other shrews in the Toklat region. We did not encounter it either in 1926 or in 1932 and are inclined to believe that it is rare in McKinley Park.

HABITS.—So far as is known, the habits of this species in McKinley Park are similar to those of personatus.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The upper surface of the animal is rich brown. The under parts are ashy. The tail is bicolored, that is, whitish below and brown like the back above. It is large in size and the tail is relatively long. Total length, 4.4 inches; tail, 1.8 inches; hind foot, 0.5 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—In McKinley Park this species may be distinguished from personatus by the uniform color of the upper parts and by the slightly longer tail.

DISTRIBUTION.—It is found in the Boreal Zone of the higher mountain ranges of western North America from Mount Whitney, in California, to Mount McKinley, in Alaska.

In an old cabin at Copper Mountain on July 12, 1926, I found the dried-up remains of a dusky shrew in an old dishpan. It was evident that the animal had fallen into the pan from which it had been unable to escape. This specimen was sent to Washington and through the kindness of Dr. Hartley H. T. Jackson of the United States Biological Survey it was identified by him.

HABITS.—Mr. and Mrs. John E. Anderson reported the capture of this shrew in their garden at Wonder Lake.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—It is the smallest of the shrews. In color it is dark brown above and buffy or ashy on the throat, breast, and belly. The tail is bicolored. The sexes are alike in color and size. Total length, 3.3 inches; tail, 1.3 inches; hind foot, 0.4 inch.

IDENTIFICATION—The small size of this shrew will identify it among the adults of other species found in the region.

DISTRIBUTION.—Microsorex is found chiefly in eastern North America but this geographic race is found on the Kenai Peninsula and in the Mount McKinley region. Charles Sheldon collected specimens on the upper Toklat River along the base of the Alaska Range in 1906-8. We searched for this shrew, but did not find it either in 1926 or in 1932, and we consider it a rare species in Mount McKinley National Park.

HABITS.—Little is known of the habits of this species other than that which applies to shrews in general in the park.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The robust form, the short stout legs, the plantigrade feet and the large humanlike tracks that the black bear leaves—these characters are known to nearly every national parks' visitor. In the western part of the United States the brown or cinnamon phase of this animal is about as numerous as the regulation black phase, but in the McKinley region all the black bears are believed to be black. The weight varies greatly according to the season and the food supply. An average adult male weighs from 250 to 350 pounds. Male bears are considerably larger than the females, but it is rare under natural conditions in the wilds, without regard for the overfed park or "zoo" specimens, for black bears to weigh as much as 500 pounds. Size, large; total length, 5 6 feet; tail, 3-4 inches; hind foot, 7-10 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—Euarctos americanus americanus is so well known that further description is not required.

DISTRIBUTION.—Black bears were originally found throughout the wooded or timbered sections of North America. In the McKinley region they are found along the larger streams and in the lower country just north of the park. Now and then a black bear strays into the lower wooded areas of the park but the range of this species lies below that of the grizzly.

Grizzly bears cannot climb trees; black bears can if they are not too fat. It is believed that this ability or lack of ability to climb trees is an important factor in the distribution of these two animals in the McKinley region.

HABITS.—The black bear is notoriously fond of berries. On August 8, 1932, I found unmistakable bear droppings near a wooded section not far from Wonder Lake where blueberries grew abundantly. Farther along the trail, claw marks on spruce trees proved that it was a black bear.

The meat of a young berry-fed bear is excellent. We enjoyed a black bear roast which was provided by Fannie Quigley from an area just outside the park in the Kantishna region.

Black bears constitute not more than about 1 percent of the bear population in Mount McKinley National Park.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—These two grizzlies are the largest carnivorous mammals found in the Mount McKinley National Park.¹ The outstanding characters of these two grizzly bears, which are so similar in general appearance that it is very doubtful if even an expert could tell living specimens apart in the field, are the robust frame, massive legs, and the hump over the shoulders; the long silver-tipped over-hairs of the animal's coat, and the long, smooth, light-colored, slightly curved claws.

There has been so much discussion regarding the size of the Alaskan bears that actual measurements are given herewith of Toklat grizzly bears which were killed and measured by the late Charles Sheldon who spent two seasons hunting in the Mount McKinley region before it was set aside as a national park. The first of these was an old female bear killed at the forks of the Toklat on May 28, 1908. This bear was carefully measured twice on level ground by Sheldon (1930, p. 376). The results were as follows: Length, 5 feet 4 inches; tail, 5-1/4 inches additional; height, 37 inches; hind foot with claws, 10-1/4 inches. On May 12, 1908, Sheldon shot a male grizzly which be states was the largest bear that he ever killed in the interior of Alaska (1930, p. 351). On rough ground this bear measured as follows: Length, 5 feet 9-1/2 inches; tail, 5 inches; sole of hind foot with claws, 12 inches.

Regarding the size of grizzly tracks Sheldon states (1930, p. 365): "I made it a practice to measure carefully and repeatedly the tracks of bears but only on hard surfaces where the impressions were clearly defined. . . . The hind foot of the largest measured 10-1/2 inches, the claw punctures extending an inch beyond; the width of the paw, 6 inches."

IDENTIFICATION.—The large size, the hump over the shoulders, the "dished" face, light color, and long, nearly straight claws are all field characters that may be used to distinguish grizzlies from black bears when the living animals are encountered.

Skulls of grizzlies may be distinguished from those of black bears by their larger size and by the size of the back upper molar tooth. After examining several hundred bear skulls in the University of California Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and in the United States National Museum I have yet to find an adult grizzly skull in which this back upper molar tooth measured less than 1-1/4 inches in length. None of the black bear skulls which I examined had a back upper molar that exceeded this measurement.

DISTRIBUTION.—The habitat of the Toklat grizzly, according to Merriam (N. A. Fauna, 1918, no. 41, p. 95) is "restricted to Alaska Range." The habitat of the Kluane grizzly is given by the same authority as "Southwest corner of Yukon Territory east of the St. Elias Range, extending north westerly in Alaska to Mount McKinley region (head of Toklat)" . . . Charles Sheldon killed a bear of this species at the head of Toklat River.

Grizzly bears are found throughout the park on the north side of the main Alaskan Range but I found that in summer they were most numerous above timber line in the higher passes: at the head of Savage River, Cathedral Mountain, Sable Pass, and on the headwaters of the East Fork of the Toklat River.

In the park area during the summer grizzly bears have been most frequently found where the ground squirrels were numerous.

HABITS.—Commenting on the color of the Toklat grizzly bears killed by Sheldon, Osgood (1907, p. 63) says, "They show much variation in color, especially one litter of cubs, one of which is very pale, and another very dark, and the third almost exactly intermediate." Sheldon (1930, p. 72), in commenting on color says that in a litter of three cubs, one male "was pale buff like the mother. A second male was silver-tipped brown; the third, a female, was exactly intermediate in color." Again Sheldon (1930, p. 339), referring to a mother and cub, says: "The pelage of both was long and full, in perfect condition, the color light buffy on the head and body, dark brown on the belly, legs, and tail." Sheldon also states (1930, p. 378): "It seemed clear that while bears vary much in color when they hibernate in the fall, they all emerge from the winter dens in coats of uniform color." My observations do not agree with this statement.

There is a much greater amount of summer bleaching of pelage in the grizzly bears of the McKinley region than there is in the grizzly bears of the Yellowstone where the total number of hours of sunlight in summer is less. It is also true that certain old grizzly bears in the McKinley region are a light cream color when they emerge from their winter dens while other adults are dark-colored (brown) when they emerge and they remain dark-colored throughout the summer. As an example, on May 29, 1932, near park headquarters, a female bear that was not many days out of her winter den was observed by me at close range. She was very light-colored. In fact, she was as light-colored as any of the 26 grizzly bears that I saw and photographed in 1 day—September 1929—in Yellowstone National Park. Again on June 12, 1932, at Double Mountain in Mount McKinley Park I found a large old male grizzly that was cream-colored. However, contrasted with this, on July 14, 1932, on the Teklanika River near Sheldon's 1906 camp I watched an old mother grizzly with three dark cubs. They were all dark brown, almost black. This mother bear was seen at intervals all summer both by the road crew working at Sable Pass and by me. She remained dark-colored throughout the summer.

In our experience the color of the McKinley Park grizzly varies greatly with individuals; the young animals are darker than the old ones; certain individuals are buffy or cream-colored when they come out of their winter dens, while other individuals of this species are dark-colored when they emerge and they remain dark-colored all summer until and after the annual fall molt.

When the grizzlies first emerge from hibernation, the mountains and foothills are still heavily mantled with snow (fig. 40). However, instead of going down to the lowland which by then is free from snow the bears strike out for the still snow-clad foothills—particularly for the rougher foothills where the Alaska mountain sheep spend the winter. Although it would seem as if they were going away from an available food supply. rather than toward it, they appear to know where to look for the frozen carcasses of mountain sheep that have been killed by avalanches or that have died during the winter through accident or disease.

Figure 40.—The range of the grizzlies is still covered with snow for several weeks after the bears come out of hibernation in the spring.
Photograph taken May 29, 1932, head of Jenny Creek. W. L. D. No. 2773.

Grizzly bears because of their great weight leave deep tracks (fig. 41) that form broad trails through the snow. Aided by their strength and strong claws these bears cross steep, dangerous snowslides that would stop a man. On June 10, 1932, I watched two grizzlies near Sable Pass go up a steep snowbank with the greatest ease (fig. 42). When first discovered these two bears were feeding on the remains of a winter-killed Alaska mountain sheep. I found grizzlies eating both dead caribou and mountain sheep, but a careful examination showed that the carcasses were of old, winter-killed animals. It is entirely likely that at times grizzlies do kill young caribou, but although we have watched them with binoculars, and followed them about for many hours, we have never yet seen grizzlies make any attempt to capture or to kill either a caribou or a mountain sheep. The inexperienced person discovering a grizzly eating a caribou or mountain sheep would be likely to jump at the conclusion that the animal being eaten had been killed by the bear which in many known cases is not the fact.

Figure 41.—Tracks of a grizzly leading across a snowfield.
Photograph taken June 8, 1932, Sable Pass. W. L. D. No. 2978.

Figure 42.—A grizzly climbing a steep snow bank.
Photograph taken June 9, 1932, Igloo Creek. W. L. D. No. 2637.

When hunting for dead sheep and caribou, a grizzly depends upon its acute sense of smell rather than upon its eyesight which is rather poor. Sheldon (1930, p. 66) observed a grizzly that located a ram which he had shot. He describes her actions as follows: "She kept throwing up her nose to sniff the air, and finally seemed to catch a scent, for she started walking rapidly across the rocky slope, her head held high, continually sniffing, guiding her course by scent directly toward the canyon where I had killed the * * * rams." Reaching the dead sheep, "She began to paw out the rocks near the carcass, scooping out a deep hollow, tumbling big rocks down the canyon and moving others to one side, apparently with no effort at all. Then, seizing the carcass with her jaws, she dragged it into the hollow and pawed the rocks all around it, completely covering it, so that nothing but a mound of broken rock was visible." One of the cubs of this bear scratched the rocks aside and started to eat the sheep, but the mother bear pawed the rocks into place again. Then she went over the edge of the canyon only to return to its edge 14 times in less than half an hour to gaze below, apparently to assure herself that her stored food supply was undisturbed.

I had a similar experience to Sheldon's with two grizzly bears in the same region in 1932. On the night of June 13, two grizzlies raided the meathouse of the East Fork road camp and carried off a quarter of beef. This was the first time that grizzlies had raided any road camp in McKinley Park. People were in camp at the time. The cook was asleep in a tent beside the meat-house—previously he had driven these same bears away by a vigorous barrage of empty tin cans. The two bears having stolen the quarter of beef ate a portion of it and, by the time I arrived, had dug a hole and buried the remaining portion on a snow-covered ridge a short distance away. One of the bears went off to sleep, while the other remained near the cached meat (fig. 43). By detouring around to one side and vigorously rattling a small tin can filled with rocks I was able to waken and drive away the sleeping grizzly. Upon seeing his partner leaving, the other grizzly also left. I drove the two bears a mile away from the camp but they were both back again just 2 minutes after I returned.

Figure 43.—The dark grizzly remained near his meat cache while his mate slept nearby. Freshly fallen snow was 4 inches deep.
Photograph taken June 14, 1932, East Fork. W. L. D. No. 2642.

In our experience, grizzly bears appear to have a highly developed sense of property rights. Woe unto any animal that is caught robbing or disturbing a grizzly's cache! Black bears having been caught robbing a grizzly's store of food have been torn into small pieces. A sure way of getting into trouble is for anyone to try to drive a grizzly away from his kill. It is our opinion that many of the so-called unprovoked attacks by grizzlies have taken place because the bear feared that he was going to be robbed.

Mice are caught in considerable numbers by grizzlies. Sheldon reports (1930, p. 170) that on October 9,1907, after a recent snowfall, mice—which at that time were exceedingly abundant—had made tunnels under the snow. Evidently scenting a mouse in a tunnel the bear would plunge its nose into the snow, often ploughing through as much as 10 feet, until the mouse ran down its hole. Then the bear would dig it out and catch it with its paw. Grizzlies often turn over large flat rocks to capture mice and insects living under them. Marmots that have been unwise enough to make their burrows outside of the protection of boulders are at times dug out and captured by grizzlies.

However, the real staff of life of the grizzly is the ground squirrel. During the long summer days the grizzlies spend many hours in digging out these nutritious rodents. Most of the digging for squirrels takes place on the higher ridges above timber line where, because of the ground being frozen below the surface, the squirrel burrows are relatively shallow and hence easily dug out. In two instances when grizzlies were watched hunting squirrels, the squirrels were dug out in 20 and 30 minutes respectively. Sheldon (1930, p. 63) reports this operation as follows: "I watched the bear, which was sitting on its hind quarters actively at work, throwing out the dirt vigorously in all directions." This bear dug with either front paw, "with mouth open and tongue hanging out, it panted like a good-natured dog."

On July 2, 1926, at Sable Pass I watched a very large female bear and her two cubs for several hours. They were feeding along the hillside, traveling high above timber line and keeping to the upper edge of the green meadows which lay just below the jutting cliffs. The mother bear, which was of a rich brownish color, walked along sedately as though she had never had a care in the world; the cubs trailed in her wake at random. They spent a great deal of time and energy chasing each other back and forth, and up and down the hillside. These two cubs stood about 16 or 18 inches high at the shoulders and were much darker in color than their mother. At a distance they appeared to be almost black. However, with the binoculars we could see a brownish streak along the center of the back and across the shoulders. While we continued to watch with the binoculars, the two cubs stopped chasing each other and began to roll over and over sideways, just like a barrel. They rolled down the smooth, steep, grassy slope clear to the bottom, a distance of 200 feet. Their aim seemed to be to determine which one could roll the farthest. Upon reaching the bottom of the slope they turned around and raced back up the hill, apparently to see which one could reach the mother bear first.

While the cubs were thus playing and working off their surplus energy the mother bear traveled slowly along the hillside stopping at intervals to sniff at the entrances of numerous ground-squirrel burrows. Ordinarily one sniff was all that she took. It seemed to be sufficient to inform her whether or not the animal was in its burrow. At last she found a squirrel in his den. This den was located on a steep hillside at the base of an outcropping of shale rock. The old bear dug a little at the entrance of the ground-squirrel's burrow. Then she stopped and went around looking carefully for other burrows or back door entrances through which the squirrel might escape, and locating two such burrows she dug into them a little way finally plugging them up with earth. She then returned to the main entrance of the burrow and resumed her digging there. By this time the two cubs, realizing that lunch was in preparation, stopped their romping and came over to assist their mother. It was evidently an old game to them. One cub posted himself at the top of a rock pile to watch operations. The other cub helped by taking turns with the digging. The little bear could get into a much smaller hole than the mother was able to manage. Finding that a large slab of rock which barred the way was firmly embedded in solid rock, the mother bear stood up on her hind legs and took hold of it with her front paws. She pulled backward and pushed on it lustily several times until she finally broke it. Then she threw the dislodged portion of it down the hill. After that she resumed her digging; the cubs looked on expectantly. At length she paused and reaching into the hole as far as she could she took the squirrel out in her mouth and carried it over to a patch of short green grass. There she gave the squirrel two or three savage bites and while we waited in eager expectation for her to divide it between the cubs, she suddenly swallowed it whole. The two cubs were obviously disappointed. Then the three bears went across to a rock slide, the mother bear leading and the two cubs tagging along behind her. From the rock slide they went on to another green meadow where they stopped and ate green vegetation. Finally they all went around the shoulder of the mountain and I lost sight of them. The average distance traveled by this family of bears while foraging was about 1 mile per hour.

On June 9, 1932, at Igloo Creek, I spent an entire morning watching and photographing a bear at a distance of 30 to 40 feet (fig. 44). This bear was industriously digging up and eating the succulent roots of the Anemone parviflora (fig. 45) which were growing in scattered clumps in the sandy soil along the stream that ran through an open spruce forest. When I first approached the bear in an opening it ceased feeding and withdrew to the deeper woods. But when I stood motionless in the open, it soon returned and began to claw out more of the Anemone roots, using first the right and then the left front paw, alternately. At times this bear used its nose to root out the plants after the sandy soil had been well clawed up. It seemed probable that its sense of smell had led it to the choice bits that would otherwise have been lost.

Figure 44.—A large grizzly or possibly tundra brown bear photographed at a distance of 40 feet while the animal was digging and eating "anemone" roots. The photographer was in plain sight and made no attempt to conceal himself.
Photograph taken June 9, 1932, Igloo Creek. W. L. D. No. 2408.

Figure 45.—The succulent roots of the wind flower (anemone parviflora), the first flower of spring, are dug up and eaten by grizzlies in early spring.
Photograph taken June 13, 1926, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 4989.

When I approached to within 25 feet of the bear, the animal ceased feeding and gave a warning cough or grunt. Once it made a pretense as if it were going to rush in my direction. I interpreted this behavior of the bear as its way of warning me to keep at a safe distance and I took the hint. As soon as I withdrew a few feet the bear resumed its feeding. It continued to feed all morning. The large bulk of the bear and the small size of the roots and stems that formed its food quota made hours of food gathering necessary each day.

Sheldon examined the stomach contents of grizzly bears that he had killed in the Mount McKinley region. The following table gives in a condensed form the results of his examinations.

As previously stated, although I followed grizzlies about for hours where Alaska mountain sheep were numerous, I have never seen the bears make any attempt to capture the sheep. Sheldon had a similar opportunity to make these same deductions on September 1, 1906, on the Toklat. He watched a grizzly approach and pass within 75 feet of five rams that were feeding in the open. The sheep did not run away and the bear gave them hardly more than a passing glance.

While black bears are notoriously fond of berries the grizzly does not appear to eat them to any great extent. In 1932, I found excellent blueberries growing abundantly in the region. However, only a very small proportion of the bear droppings which I examined showed that berries had been eaten. Sheldon (1930, p. 117) in commenting on this states, "It is perfectly clear that many of the bears of this region do not go for the salmon that ascend the rivers, nor do they feed much, if at all, on berries."

Grizzly bears have playful moods. On June 8, 1932, after the family laundry had been done and hung up to dry, my wife and I went up to Sable Pass to look for a pair of young grizzlies that had been seen there. Our quest was unsuccessful, but upon returning to camp at 8:30 p. m. that evening we found all of our recently washed clothes torn off the line. A hasty glance around revealed the grizzly (fig. 46) which, having finished the clothes, was calmly waiting further adventure.

Figure 46.—While we were absent this grizzly came into camp and broke into our cabin.
Photograph taken June 8, 1932, Igloo Creek. W. L. D. No. 2634.

At another time two cubs were watched as they rolled over and over down a steep, grassy slope. The game appeared to be to see which could roll the farthest. Grown grizzlies are fond of sleeping on or sliding down steep snowslides. Twice I found grizzly bears asleep in the snow after having eaten heavily. The first instance was on June 9 at Igloo Creek. The bears were on a snowbank high up on a mountain side. After sleeping curled up in the snow for half an hour the two bears began to play. They seemed to be vying with each other to see which one could toboggan the farthest down the snowslide on its stomach with its front and hind legs extended.

On June 12, 1932, at 9 o'clock in the morning I stalked a large cream-colored grizzly that had gone fast asleep in the sun on a steep but sheltered mountain side near Double Mountain. He was curled up on his side like a house cat and because of a favorable wind I was able to crawl down to within a few yards of him. I got so close to him that I could have tossed a pebble and hit the animal. However, not knowing whether Ursus had a cache nearby nor just how the bear might take a sudden awakening, I decided it was best to let a "sleeping dog lie." So I crawled back and left the grizzly to sleep in peace.

There is always a possibility of danger if one comes suddenly upon a mother bear with small cubs, or if one inadvertently tries to drive a grizzly away from its cached food. However, I tramped for days through portions of the park where the grizzly bears were most numerous and while I always kept a good lookout ahead for bears, I gave them a wide berth and I never had any real trouble with them—although I have given them considerable provocation by following them and photographing them. However, it is not safe to follow all grizzly bears, and the park visitor is strongly advised not to approach any of them closely or to molest them in any way.

Sheldon says, regarding grizzly bears (1930, p. 375), "When one gets close to a bear and realizes its activity and power, it is difficult to restrain the feeling of danger" and he also says (1930, p. 63), "The stalking of no other animal on the American continent is so exciting as the close approach to a grizzly bear. Its activity is astonishing; it is constantly on the move, and may suddenly turn and go in any direction. And when very close, one's nerves are at high tension, for in any small depression the hunter eagerly watching may suddenly meet the bear face to face."

¹ The writer observed for several hours and photographed what he feels certain was a tundra brown bear, at Igloo Creek, Jane 9, 1932 (Fig. 44). The writer has had field experience with the tundra brown bear just outside of Mount McKinley National Park and believes that, eventually, its existence within the park will he proved.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A mammal the size of a small house cat. The face is sharp-pointed. The color is golden brown and the animal has a large orange-colored patch on the throat. The feet are dark brown and well furred. The toe pads are small and the claws are sharp and curved. The length of the head and the body is 16 to 20 inches. The tail is bushy and about half the length of the body, being from 7 to 10 inches long. The ears are erect, 1-1/8 to 1-5/8 inches high.

IDENTIFICATION.—A distinctive badge of the marten is the broad orange-colored throat patch. The mink is the only animal likely to be confused with the marten. The fur of the marten is longer and fluffier than that of the mink. Too, the mink lacks the orange throat patch of the marten.

DISTRIBUTION.—It was formerly common in the heavier spruce timber of the region but it is greatly reduced in numbers now—due to excessive trapping—so that it is very scarce even in the park. Former Chief Ranger Nyberg reports seeing the tracks of only one marten in the park during the winter of 1926. In 1932 I saw a number of marten pelts. These animals had been trapped on Eldorado Creek just outside the park.

HABITS.—The pine marten is often called "American sable." Because of its rarity, small size, and secluded habits it is not an animal that is frequently seen. Furthermore, it is largely nocturnal and lives to a considerable extent on mice and rabbits. Martens are of an exceedingly nervous temperament and are quick as a flash. Unlike the weasel they rarely kill more than is necessary to supply their immediate needs.

The real home of the marten is in the heavier stands of spruce timber located along the larger streams outside of and below the park for the most part. At present the species is still rare in the park, but there is evidence that it is breeding up and becoming more plentiful in certain timbered sections within the park boundaries.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—Weasels have long slender bodies and short legs. The head is small. The ears are short and the tail is round and tipped with black. The black-tipped coloration of the tail is not subject to the seasonal change which is characteristic of the rest of the pelage. The Arctic weasel is brown in summer and, except for the tip of the tail, like the ptarmigan and varying hare, is pure white in winter. The measurement of the male Arctic weasel is: Length, 16 inches; tail, 3 inches; hind foot, 2 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—The snaky form, the small size, and the black-tipped tail are outstanding characters of the weasel.

DISTRIBUTION.—Weasels are found over most of North America. The Arctic weasel is found on the tundra and along the Arctic Coast. Their local distribution is governed largely by the presence of mice which comprise the chief food supply of the Arctic weasel.

HABITS.—In Mount McKinley National Park there is a close relationship between the numbers of mice and of weasels. During periods when mice are abundant, weasels as a result of this plentiful food supply breed abundantly. Then when there is a scarcity of food in winter due to the disappearance of the hordes of mice, the weasel population becomes greatly reduced probably because of food shortage leading to starvation and faulty reproduction.

A few weasels, scattered over large areas, manage to live through the lean years when the mice are scarce. In 1932, such a lone weasel made his home at the main warehouse at Park Headquarters. By making inquiry among the rangers the fact was revealed that during the previous fall many mice had been attracted by the hay, grain, and other foodstuffs that were stored in the warehouse. The weasel in turn had been attracted by the mice and had spent the winter in and about the warehouse and other nearby buildings.

This weasel had been specially protected by the park officials because he had been able to keep the mouse population in check about the buildings. On May 19, when I first made the acquaintance of this animal, he was in full brown summer pelage without any trace of the white winter coat. This weasel was not afraid of human beings but had a decided distrust of the camera so that it was not feasible for me to get any photographs of him.

At one time when we had him cornered under a pile of old boards he stuck his head out through a crack and with his mouth open uttered a sharp, high-pitched scream of great penetration.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—Minks are long-bodied, short-legged aquatic weasels. They are somewhat smaller and more slender than a female domestic cat. The tail is moderately bushy and about half as long as the body. The general color is a dark glossy brown with occasional small white spots on the throat and under parts. The adult male minks are half again as large as the adult females. Measurements of adult male Alaska minks are as follows: Length, 29 inches; tail, 7.2 inches; hind foot, 3 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—The Alaska mink is the largest living race or species of mink in America. The size alone is usually diagnostic. They are some what lighter in color than the Pacific mink which ranges along the coast of British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.

DISTRIBUTION.—Minks are found along streams and watercourses over nearly all of North America. The Alaska mink is found over most of the western portion of Alaska. In Mount McKinley National Park they are found chiefly around ponds and along the larger streams.

HABITS.—The only specimens of mink from the McKinley region that we have been able to examine were a pair of fine pelts of this species which John E. Anderson had collected near Wonder Lake in an area which was then just outside the north boundary of the park. This area has been added recently to the park. These pelts showed clearly the large size and characteristic color of the Alaska mink.

In 1932, I found some old mink signs in this same locality; however, at best, mink are rare in the park.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The wolverine is the largest member of the weasel family. It has a sturdy bearlike form with short, powerful legs and a bushy tail about one-fourth as long as the body. The feet are semiplantigrade and are armed with powerful curved claws which are light-colored and semiretractile.

The pelage or coat of the Mount McKinley wolverine is long and coarse with a thick fine under fur. The general color of the animal is dark brown. It has a broad pale yellowish-white stripe that extends from the shoulders along both of its sides; these stripes unite at the base of the tail giving the living animal a peculiar streaked affect. Examination of the pelts of wolverines caught near Mount McKinley Park during the winter of 1931 showed that hylaeus is indeed a dark race. This was also true of a living wolverine observed by me at close range on May 21, 1932, in Savage River Canyon.

A large male Mount McKinley wolverine killed by Charles Sheldon near Polychrome Mountain, March 11, 1908 (1930, p. 314), measured: Length, 43-5/8 inches; tail, 8-9/16 inches; hind foot, 7-1/2 inches; height, 15-3/4 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—Upon meeting a wolverine under natural conditions in the wilds I was impressed with the following field characters: The robust bearlike form and dark color of the animal, which suggested a porcupine; the broad whitish-yellow band extending along the sides and meeting over the rump, definitely identifying it as a wolverine; and finally, a trait which showed the animal's direct relationship to the weasel family, its poise in posture as it stood straight up on its broad hind feet so as to get a better view of me.

DISTRIBUTION.—The wolverine is found throughout Alaska and northern Canada. It was formerly found in the northern United States but now has been exterminated over much of its southern range. Hylaeus is found only in Alaska in the region of Mount McKinley and is distributed throughout the park.

HABITS.—Many people have written about the strange habits of this animal but probably not one in ten of these writers has ever seen or had the experience of meeting a wolverine in the wilds. They have drawn largely upon the stories told to them by trappers and others. As a result, much legendary information—which has never been verified has been published about the wolverine. Therefore it is deemed especially important that unbiased observations made by trained men be recorded in detail and be made available to the public.

Charles Sheldon, an accurate observer, has faithfully recorded many personal experiences with wolverines in the Toklet region in 1906-08.

In 1932, I made a special study of the ecology of the wolverine in Mount McKinley National Park and had an unusual encounter with an individual of the species in its native habitat.

The wolverine like the timber wolf is naturally cautious about approaching any strange object and Charles Sheldon (1930, p. 301) states in referring to a female wolverine that he captured alive, "She possessed keen quick sight, and many tests proved that her power of scent was as strong as that of a wolf. She had no fear of dogs. . . . She would carefully avoid any strange object, . . . never approaching it without suspicion and caution, and never touching it." This trait of the animal to avoid strange objects accounts for the difficulty some collectors have had in trapping wolverine. We have known instances where a wolverine becoming familiar with traps and apparently losing all fear of them would spring the traps repeatedly and always manage to escape itself.

Wolverines do carry off, or eat on the spot, the animals which they find caught in traps and they can eat a prodigious amount of meat or of other food in a relatively short time. Because of this latter fact the animal is merited with the well-earned name of "glutton." Apparently the great amount of food that they can consume at one time is a natural adjustment to conditions regulating the ability to exist in the far north where one day may mean a feast and the next day a famine. In 1913-14, when I spent a winter "frozen in" on the shores of the Polar sea of northern Alaska, I found that the native Eskimos, in 36 hours—comparable to the gluttonous wolverines—could consume large amounts of fresh walrus or seal meat and that they could go foodless then for several days without serious discomfort. Sheldon's female wolverine consumed the entire carcass of a silver fox in one night.

During March 1908, Sheldon (1930, p. 300) noted a trail coming down to the river bar from a point high up in the rocks. It had been made by a wolverine transporting a sheep, apparently large pieces at a time, to a spruce thicket at least a mile and a half from the place where the sheep had died. Sheldon thought the sheep was one which had been wounded here by hunters two days before. Numerous pieces of skin and bones and bits of frozen grass from the paunch of the sheep remained, as well as several large frozen balls of solid meat that had been gnawed into globular form. From the great quantity of excreta the wolverine had continually evacuated, Sheldon believed it must have consumed an incredible amount of meat in a short time. Although wolverines are known to drag their kill for some distance before devouring it, Sheldon states (1930, p. 293) that the malicious destruction of property, such as the carrying off of empty traps, is doubted since reliable proof of such actions has not been forthcoming. He says that these stories are probably products of the imagination.

Repeated observations both by Sheldon and myself indicate that wolverines travel widely yet tend to follow regular routes. This tendency was especially noted by Sheldon on the Toklat in winter. He found trails of four different wolverines in the snow in localities 10 to 15 miles apart. He watched these trails throughout the winter and wolverine tracks of similar size appeared near his winter cabin on the Toklat every "8 or 9 days." From this fact he concluded that wolverines travel periodically over regular routes.

Sheldon reports (1930, p. 294) that a female wolverine when chased by his dogs readily climbed to the very top of a spruce tree. He states, "She climbed so easily . . . that no one seeing her could doubt that wolverines are accustomed to climbing trees." However, of all of the wolverine trails that he followed through the snow this is the only instance of a wolverine climbing a tree that he records. We have been unable to find evidence that wolverines make a regular practice of climbing trees unless they are hard-pressed.

The wolverine is not generally regarded as an animal of clean individual habits, but Sheldon found that the female which he captured alive was very cleanly, depositing feces in selected places and where possible, covering her dung each time.

As I was climbing up a steep snowslide at 10:20 o'clock on the morning of May 21, 1932, I suddenly came face to face with a large male wolverine which was coming down the slide. The surprised wolverine stood straight up on his broad hind feet. He looked like a huge black weasel as he stood thus poised in order to get a better view of the stranger who barred his trail but 30 feet away. He was accustomed to yielding the right of way only to the big brown and the grizzly bear and he stood his ground uttering a low, throaty, and menacing growl. (The female that Sheldon captured likewise growled when cornered. He stated (1930, p. 292) that she also made a "whistling chatter" upon the close approach of any person.) As I gazed into those unflinching black eyes I was not at all sure whether the wolverine or I would do the running, but I stood the suspense longer than did the wolverine which finally ran past me down the slide. By following the wolverine's back trail I found clear-cut hind foot tracks of the animal which measured 7-1/2 inches in length and 4-1/2 inches in width.

The relation of the wolverine to other animals is varied and interesting Sheldon reports (1930, p. 258) that near the north base of Denali on January 1, 1908, "The fresh track of a wolverine crossed the snowshoe trail and was followed for some distance by that of a fox." I found that during the winter along the extreme northern coast of Alaska each polar bear is not infrequently followed over the ice at a respectful distance by a white fox which lives on the scraps of seal left from the bear's catch. In like manner it is believed that an Alaskan red fox may at times follow the trail of a wolverine in order to gather any small bits of food which may have been left by the wolverine. On another occasion, on January 5, 1908, Sheldon watched a Canada lynx feeding upon the carcass of a mountain sheep. Upon the approach of a wolverine the lynx left the carcass. In his report of the incident Sheldon concluded, " . . . evidently the relation of lynx to wolverine is one of fear."

During his hunting trips in the Mount McKinley region Sheldon found ". . . that the wolverine is completely at home among the crags."

On November 17, 1907, Sheldon followed the tracks of a wolverine but he saw no evidence of mouse or squirrel hunting, for the trail continued without interruption. However, he reports seeing a wolverine on March 2 which appeared to be hunting mice. On March 11, 1908, Sheldon killed a wolverine near Polychrome Mountain and upon examining the stomach contents of the animal he found it to contain: ". . . the feathers of a ptarmigan and the remains, including two tails, of ground squirrels." Sheldon states that he does not believe it possible for the wolverine to dig the squirrels out of the frozen ground and that it is, he believes, more likely that some of the squirrels had been lured out of their winter dens by an early spell of warm weather at which time they were captured by the wolverine.

In certain instances Sheldon found from following wolverine tracks in the snow that the animal had kept under cover when traveling or hunting food. It is believed that this action is for offensive rather than for defensive purposes.

Sheldon (1930, p. 310) reports a band of mountain sheep and at the same time the fresh tracks in the snow of a wolverine. He concluded: "It is not improbable that the animal was following and hunting the sheep."

A study of the carcasses of mountain sheep indicates whether the sheep have died slowly of starvation or disease in winter and have been found and eaten by bears or by other carnivores the following spring or whether the sheep have been killed by wolves or wolverines and eaten while the meat was yet fresh. In the former instances there are no blood stains whereas in the latter evidences of blood, stained pelage can usually be found.

There has been and is strong feeling in the West against the wolverine because of its destructiveness to animal life and to human property. However, it should be remembered that the wolverine is an important member of the native fauna of Mount McKinley National Park and as such is entitled to a continued existence there. It is our belief, based on years of field investigation of the fur-bearers in the West, that the wolverine is in serious danger of extermination. Outside of Alaska, we have recent dependable records of the existence of wolverines in only two or three of our other national parks. Even in these protected areas the status of the wolverine is not believed to be at all secure. We further believe that our national parks are the only areas where these animals can find a permanent and sure sanctuary.

Upon personal investigation, Mount McKinley National Park out of all of our national parks appears to be the only one now which has a good breeding stock of wolverines as well as a sufficient range, food supply, and natural habitat to assure the future perpetuation of this vanishing species.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—River otters are large aquatic weasels with long slender lizardlike bodies and long tapering tails. This animal has short powerful legs and claws. The feet are webbed and admirably adapted for swimming. The under fur is short and well protected by numerous strong glistening guard hairs. The pelage of the otter is very dense and the pelt makes a most durable fur. In color the animal is a uniform rich glossy brown above and a somewhat lighter brown beneath. The lips and cheeks of this otter are grayish. Size, large; length, 44 inches; tail, 14 inches; hind foot, 4.5 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—The only other aquatic animal with which the river otter is likely to be confused is the beaver which has a wide flat scaly tail and a sturdy corpulent body. When the two animals are swimming and their bodies are submerged, the otter can be distinguished from the beaver by its more rounded or spherical shaped head. Another means of distinguishing one from the other of these two animals is by noting the actions of each species when alarmed. The otter dives quietly or sneaks off while the beaver whacks the water with his tail.

DISTRIBUTION.—River otters were formerly found in most of the larger rivers of North America but they have disappeared from many of the populated regions. In the McKinley region a few otters still occur along the larger rivers.

HABITS.—Otters are great wanderers. As has been stated their real habitat is along the larger streams where fish are abundant; however, at times they invade the small lakes and ponds bordering the northern boundary of the park and signs of them are reported from time to time within the park.

Mr. and Mrs. John L. Anderson, who resided for many years at Wonder Lake, recently assured me that otters were definitely known to occur in the area which was formerly outside the park along the north boundary near Wonder Lake. This area has recently been added to the park.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The Kenai fox is the size of a water spaniel. Its general color is pale red which becomes bright rusty red above. The dark brown stripe down the front of each leg and the same dark coloration on the outside of the ears appear black when the animal is seen in the field. The tail is large, decidedly bush, and has a conspicuous white tip. The cross, silver and black foxes are merely color phases of the red fox. Length, 50 inches; tail, 16 inches; hind foot, 7 inches; ear, 4 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—Their reddish color makes these animals quite conspicuous. When the fox is seen running the bushy tail which is about half the length of the animal's body is held in a horizontal position. The call note of this fox is a characteristic coughlike, muffled bark.

DISTRIBUTION.—Red foxes are abundant in McKinley Park because of the protection they receive there. Food in the form of squirrels, rabbits, mice and ptarmigan, is sufficient to support a large fox population. In the month of June we located half a dozen fox dens containing young. Two of these dens which had been used for many seasons were close to the main highway and visitors to the park were thus afforded an excellent opportunity to study "Reynard" at home. Two dens were found on the Sanctuary River above the bridge; two others were located beside the highway at the East Fork of the Toklat River.

HABITS.—Red foxes forage about during broad daylight, even at midday. On June 1, at 11 o'clock in the morning while I was standing motionless watching a bird, a large male fox came trotting along down the trail. He came up to within 50 yards of me, paused a moment and then, after stopping at a spruce tree, trotted away as contentedly as a dog does in his own barnyard. On July 9, 1926, at 9 o'clock in the morning we surprised three adult red foxes that were hunting together. When we first sighted the foxes over the brow of a hill, they were not more than 100 feet distant. In a few minutes they were almost out of sight; each was headed in a different direction over the open tundra.

We found that breeding dens of foxes in the McKinley region were usually located in sandy knolls that afforded easy digging and sunny south-facing exposures (fig. 47). At each den there were from 4 to 10 large burrows. These burrows were 8 or 10 inches in diameter and each was connected underground with the other. That there was intercommunication was proved repeatedly for a fox pup would disappear down one burrow and would reappear suddenly at another burrow entrance perhaps 20 feet from the place of disappearance.

Figure 47.—This breeding den of the Kenai red fox, located on a warm sandy knoll,
was used by foxes in both 1926 and 1932.
Photograph taken June 18, 1932, Savage River. W L. D. No. 2971.

As soon as the fox pups are able to scramble about to some extent they venture out a few feet from the burrow entrance and romp together and play as if at hide-and-go-seek. In doing this they make well-defined little trails through the grass which average 4 inches in width and which lead from one hiding place to the next.

We found other beds and romping places in the tall grass and by watching with binoculars learned that during the midforenoon the young foxes spent considerable time stretched out sunning themselves in such beds.

On July 8, 1932, a red fox den was visited which was located on a high south-facing bank about 2 miles beyond the Toklat River bridge. There were four reds, one brown, and one cross fox pup in this litter. Although these young foxes were nearly half grown they were so curious that they came out of their den and looked about cautiously (fig. 48). We climbed up and sat down a hundred feet to one side of the den. The fox pups came quietly out. They advanced under cover of a thicket of willows until they had approached to within 10 feet of us in their effort to discover what manner of being had intruded their home sanctuary. One pup stood in an opening with his tail raised sniffing the air many times in an effort to get our scent (fig. 49). Fresh tracks of a large timber wolf which had been made since the previous day's rain were found leading down a ridge directly to this fox den. Investigation showed that the wolf had visited all of the numerous entrances but had made only a slight attempt to dig the fox pups out of their underground shelter.

Figure 48.—Five out of a litter of six Kenai red fox pups near the entrance to their den.
Photograph taken July 8, 1932, Toklat. W. L. D. No. 2609.

Figure 49.—One Kenai red fox came within 10 feet of us, sniffing the air in an attempt to get our scent.
Photograph taken July 8, 1932, Toklat. W. L. D. No. 2673.

On May 21, 1926, we made our first visit to the fox den on Savage River near the main transportation company's camp and found, from numerous small footprints in the sand, that the young were able to come to the entrance of the den (fig. 50). Upon our close approach, we heard the mother who was in the burrow give three low warning cough notes to her pups and, although we retired to a distance and waited an hour, none of the foxes ventured out. On June 4, one of the fox pups stumbled into a squirrel trap that was set near the den. This young fox was about one-third grown. It was covered with soft, downy underfur through which protruded a few long overhairs. These were scattered over the head, neck, and sides. On June 11, the mother fox of this brood was seen close at hand as she hunted for meadow mice along the river bottom. On this date she was extremely thin and ragged, presumably from nursing a litter of young.

Figure 50.—Numerous small footprints at the entrance to their den indicated that the Kenai red fox pups were able to walk.
Photograph taken June 18, 1932, Savage River. W. L. D. No. 2970.

On June 16, another brood of young foxes was found at the margin of a lake near the Sanctuary River. Two young foxes about two-thirds grown, one a red and the other a cross, romped and played about the mouth of the den.

By July 8, the fox pups in the den on Savage River were old enough to leave their den and to follow their mother about on foraging expeditions far afield. Careful watch showed that they did not return to the home den to live after this date. By the first of August the young foxes were nearly grown and, although able to forage on their own account continued to follow their mother about for some time (fig. 51).

Figure 51.—A nearly grown Kenai red fox. Although it was photographed in July, this fox was one of a precocious litter and represents the normal growth as of August 1.
Photograph taken July 8, 1932. W. L. D. No. 2674.

As far as we could determine, the main burden of providing food for the pups fell on the mother. The father fox usually hunted far afield. This may have accounted for our failure to see him bring home food to Isis mate or to the young.

An excellent index to the food of foxes at this season of the year was had by examining remains of birds and mammals that we found scattered about the several fox dens. In enumerating such material we found that the remains of Mackenzie varying hares were most numerous and that the remains (ends of wings) of willow ptarmigan were almost as numerous. Within a hundred feet of one fox den we found the remains of 25 rabbits and 20 ptarmigan. Nearly all of the ptarmigan were males. The wing tips of a few Alaska longspurs, Gambel sparrows and tree sparrows were also found at the fox den. With the aid of binoculars I watched the red foxes as they hunted and found that meadow mice were captured more frequently than any other mammal. These mice were swallowed whole with little mastication and as a result their remains were found only in the fox feces. Young Nushagak ground squirrels were also captured in considerable numbers by the foxes. Among the larger mammals we found that a Dall sheep which had been killed and buried by a snow avalanche at the head of Savage River had been eaten by foxes when the melting of the snow brought the carcass to the surface.

On the Sanctuary River on June 16 we found the horns and skeletons of two large caribou bulls. They had gotten their antlers so firmly locked in a fight that they had been unable to pull apart and both animals had succumbed. This episode had transpired during the month of October, previous to our visit the following June. Fox droppings about the caribou skeletons showed that the red foxes had been quick to take advantage of this windfall and had licked the bones clean (fig. 64). On July 8,1932, I found where the front leg of a young caribou which had recently died had been dragged by a fox 400 yards to its den.

As has been said, the highly prized silver and cross foxes are merely individuals of varying color which are likely to be found in any litter of red fox pups.

Although both hunting and trapping are forbidden in Mount McKinley National Park, during the winter of 1925-26 an enterprising trapper operated outside and along the northern boundary. He caught $1,500 worth of fur, mostly foxes of the finer variety. Thus it will be seen that the park acts as a breeding reservoir for foxes from which a surplus travels over the boundaries of the park each winter and is caught by trappers.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The Northern coyote is the largest of its kind. It is about the size of a slender collie dog. The tail is black tipped, large, and bushy, and less than half the length of the body. The ears are long and pointed. In coloration the coyote is grayish above and buffy on the under parts. It has a high-pitched yapping or quavering bark. A single coyote may so modulate its voice as to lead a person listening to believe that several coyotes are all howling together. Males: length, 49 inches; tail, 16 inches; hind foot, 8.3 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—The small tracks, slender build, long ears, and high pitched broken call of the coyote cannot be easily confused with the large tracks, stocky build, short ears, and sonorous howl of the timber wolf. The coyote is larger, shaggier, and grayer than the red fox. Its tail is black-tipped and is relatively smaller than that of the red fox which is white-tipped.

DISTRIBUTION.—Coyotes of several species are found over most of western North America. In recent years the coyote seems to have extended its range in the McKinley region and become more abundant. With the increase in coyotes there has been an increase in the wolf so that common factors may possibly be operating on both populations. It is thought by some that the coyote extended its range into the interior of Alaska by following up the construction camps along the Alaska Railroad, building of which was completed in 1923.

My earliest record in McKinley Park is 1926. For several days during the winter of that year, a coyote remained about the home of John and Paula Anderson, at Wonder Lake. Some weeks later a coyote, probably the same individual, was killed by Edward Gern on the East Fork of the Toklat River. I later examined the skull of this coyote. Sheldon, who spent about a year in the region in 1907-8, makes no mention of the coyote.

HABITS.—The pioneering spirit is strong in the coyote. In 1932, upon my second visit to Mount McKinley National Park I found that the coyote had increased in numbers until it was able to compete successfully with the Mount McKinley timber wolf and to actually invade its territory. In a similar way the coyote was found to be a serious competitor of other native carnivores for food, particularly to the Kenai red fox and to the Mount McKinley wolverine—both of which are important native members of the park fauna.

On May 25, 1932, I visited the main mountain sheep lick on Ewe Creek and found that although sheep were plentiful on the cliffs near the lick, their tracks showed that they had been afraid, presumably because of the presence of the coyotes, to cross the half-mile of open rolling ground that lay between them and the lick. Near the lick clear evidence was found that a coyote had recently run down and killed a yearling sheep.

Earlier in the spring when heavy snows and a frozen snow-crust drove the Dall sheep down out of the mountains to the lower rolling foothills, the coyotes, which were able to travel on the crust, had killed many of the sheep because of the fact that the sheep could not travel on the crust and had broken through and floundered in the deep snow.

On June 16, 1932, I watched a band of 80 ewes trying to cross Jenny Creek from their winter to their summer range. Many of these ewes were heavy with unborn lambs and all were very nervous. I watched them make several unsuccessful attempts to cross the valley. Every time they reached a certain area which was covered with low brush they became frightened and wildly stampeded back to the protecting cliffs. The cause of the trouble was found to be, apparently, a large gray coyote which was hiding in the brush. From this vantage point he tried to rush out and capture the passing sheep.

With the coyote menace to Dall sheep is the possibility that the coyote may displace other native carnivores. We cannot state with certainty that outside of Alaska a half dozen wolves are to be found in all of the remaining national parks and only two of these parks report wolverines as definitely present. Therefore the wolves and wolverines of the Mount McKinley region greatly enrich the general fauna of the whole national park system and should be treasured accordingly.

Although future information may modify the attitude of the National Park Service toward the coyote in Mount McKinley National Park, the present policy is expressed on pages 47 and 48 of Fauna of the National Parks of the United States No. 1, published in May 1932. Briefly this is as follows:

The coyote, where it is native to the area, has as much right to exist as any other member of the park fauna, but in relatively small areas such as Mount McKinley, where the wildlife is of great importance, it is impossible to preserve that wildlife and allow the encroachment of exotic predatory species or abnormal numbers of the native ones from the outside.

George M. Wright has pointed out that such control measures of the coyotes will protect the native wolf, wolverine, and red fox. As control measures in the proper hands will he restricted to the methods described above and will be absolutely selective, the native carnivores will be adequately safeguarded.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The Mount McKinley timber wolf is about the size of a very large police dog. Its body is more than twice as long as its thick bushy tail. Generally it is gray in coloration but variations from black to light cream color are common. The ears are short and erect and are not as long nor as pointed as are the ears of the coyote. Males: Length, 66 inches; tail, 18 inches; hind foot, 11 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—This species is the largest of the Canidae or dog tribe. Their short stubby ears distinguish the wolf pups at once from coyote pups, which have tall pointed ears. The call of a real timber wolf is along-drawn-out, low-pitched resonant howl, "Ow—ooo—o-o-o." It resembles the mournful howling of certain Alaskan sled dogs, but it should never be confused with the shrill broken yapping or barking of the coyote.

On July 8, 1932, at Toklat I measured the track of a large wolf. It was a full impression made in firm mud and I found it to be 5-1/8 inches long and 5-1/8 inches wide. The tracks of small timber wolves cannot always be distinguished from those made by sled dogs.

DISTRIBUTION.—Under primitive conditions timber wolves were present over much of the northern half of North America. Out of all of our national parks in the western United States is is doubtful whether more than two of these parks now contain any timber wolves. Mount McKinley, our largest "wilderness" park, is the only national park that has an ample breeding stock of timber wolves.

HABITS.—At 10 o'clock in the evening on July 26, 1926, as we returned to our base camp on Savage River, we found two timber wolves searching for scraps of food that had been thrown out. They watched us closely and would not allow us to approach closer than a hundred yards of them. At this distance their stubby ears distinguished them from coyotes and their furtive behavior distinguished them from sled dogs. Later in the night a wolf was heard to howl repeatedly. This call note was a low-pitched resonant and, as has already been said, long-drawn-out howl that tapered off in volume gradually toward the end. The distant mellow call of a timber wolf is one of the most soul-stirring sounds to be heard in the far north.

In 1932 I found that wolves were much more numerous and much tamer than they were in 1926. In fact, in 1932 one or more wolves were seen on each trip that I made out into the park.

On July 11, near Little Stony Creek, Mrs. Dixon and Mrs. Edmunds watched a timber wolf chase a young caribou. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon a yearling caribou came running and panting down the little valley. It was hard pressed by a large black timber wolf. When first seen the wolf was about 60 yards behind the caribou and was gaining rapidly on it. Each time that my wife and Mrs. Edmunds shouted, the wolf would stop for a moment, but the caribou kept steadily on down the winding valley. The wolf continued to gain by "cutting across lots", so to speak, while the caribou followed the winding stream. When last seen the caribou was spent and staggering and the wolf was closing the gap. Whether or not the caribou was brought to bay and was then able to ward off the attack of the wolf was not determined.

At times during the winter when food is scarce the adult rams wander out upon the rolling hills in search of food and fall prey to the wolves. In hunting Dall sheep the wolf usually gets above the band of sheep and waits until some of them wander away from the safety of cliffs or other rugged broken ground. Then the wolf creeps forward and makes a quick dash down the slope endeavoring to catch one of the sheep before it can reach the safety of the nearby crags. Sheldon (1930, p. 315) records nine instances where wolves hunted sheep in this manner and he says "I saw no signs of any other method of hunting." The wolves, Sheldon observed, apparently had not been very successful, for he goes on to say, "There was no evidence that a wolf had caught a sheep..."

On June 1, 1932, I examined and photographed a large Dall ram which, judging from tooth marks made in both flesh and bones, indicated that the ram had been caught unawares while in the open and had been captured and killed by a timber wolf (fig. 52). The carcass was well preserved. The teeth of this ram showed that he was in full prime and vigor and the annual growth rings on his horns indicated that he was about 8 years old.

Figure 52.—Remains of an 8-year-old Dall sheep ram which, in full prime and vigor of life, had been caught on an open ridge away from cliffs and killed and eaten by timber wolves.
Photograph taken June 1, 1932, Sanctuary Divide. W. L. D. No. 2699.

It has been our experience at Mount McKinley that wolves normally capture Dall sheep by hidden approach and sudden surprise rather than by means of a long chase. Ranger Lee Swisher, in a letter of November 21, 1932, states: "From my observations of mountain sheep and caribou killed by wolves during the winter I have yet to find a case where the wolves chased their victims more than 200 yards. Last winter I compared the distance of leaps made by an old ram and of the wolf that caught him. For a short distance their leaps were approximately the same (16 feet). When the old ram struck a patch of smooth ice he lost out in a few jumps."

I have found that in Mount McKinley Park the mountain sheep become excited and nervous when any person gets above them or between them and the protecting cliffs. On the other hand, once they have gained the safety of some rocky wall they will stand or even lie down and permit a person to approach them quite closely from below.

Prior to 1926 no wolves were known to remain or to breed in the park. Breeding dens are usually to be found located at low elevations in some enlarged fox burrow or in a warm sheltered cave at the base of a south-facing cliff. On June 12, 1932, at a den near Double Mountain, I kept close watch over a litter of four pups. Food remains at this den indicated that several mountain sheep had been eaten. Observations showed that the mother wolf had carried food as far as 12 miles to her pups.

At the present time the wolf is common in the park. Probably no other animal will give to the park visitor the wilderness thrill that comes from a glimpse of the wolf or a night pierced by its lone howl.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A typical bobtailed cat about the size of an Airedale. The legs are long; the feet are large; the tail is very short and it has a black tip. The ears have black tufs and the fur is long and silky. The general coloration of this animal is gray. A large female which was killed by Sheldon on the Toklat River on May 24, 1908, measured: Length, 37 inches; tail, 4.75 inches; hind foot, 9.75 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—The stubby bobtail and tufed ears of the lynx serve to distinguish it at a glance from all other animals in the park. In winter the soles of the broad feet are thickly padded with hair so that the lynx leaves a larger track in the snow which is more indistinct than the track of the coyote or the red fox, and also larger than the imprint in the sand.

DISTRIBUTION.—It is distributed generally over boreal North America. In Mount McKinley Park the lynx is generally found in timbered areas but when hard pressed by hunger it may be found above timber line and on the open tundra. The lynx population is rather closely dependent upon the number of varying hares present in a locality.

HABITS.—The Canada lynx is an animal that captures its prey by stealth—by hidden approach and sudden surprise. In order to make this type of hunting a success there must be some sort of cover. For this reason the lynx is normally found in the spruce woods or in the willow thickets of the McKinley region where the rabbits are most numerous.

During seasons when varying hares are scarce the lynx turns to other game. Thus a fat female lynx killed May 24, 1908, by Charles Sheldon, had its stomach full of mice and one ground squirrel. In the early spring lynx tracks in the snow showed that the big cats had also been following ptarmigan through the dense willow thickets.

The most surprising aspect of all the food habits of the lynx is the fact that during severe winters this animal will actually attack and kill a mountain sheep. On December 8, 1907, near the Toklat River, Charles Sheldon encountered a male lynx which weighed 20 pounds. It was crouching beside a half dead 20 months-old ram. Fresh tracks in the snow showed that the lynx had crept down upon the sheep from above and had laid low on a ledge over a gully until the young grazing ram had come within range. Then the lynx had leaped upon the sheep's back. It had reached forward and had bitten the ram's right eye until it had gouged it out. The ram's left eye had also been badly chewed but the eye had not been completely torn out of the socket. Again, on January 3, 1908, near the north base of Denali, Charles Sheldon found a ewe in her second year that had likewise been killed by a lynx which had sprung upon her and had completely gouged out her left eye. Sheldon explains that the thick long hair which covers a sheep's body and neck in winter would prevent a lynx with its small jaws from attempting to attack the sheep's body. The eyes therefore are the most vulnerable point of seizure for the lynx.

In speaking of the cry of the lynx Sheldon says (1930, p. 133), "It was a rather low catlike 'meow' somewhat prolonged and repeated three times." Out of the many months spent in Alaska and the Yukon this was the one and only time Sheldon ever heard a lynx call.

The Canada lynx is one of the rarer mammals in Mount McKinley Park. After several good rabbit years they become more numerous and then decline in numbers as the rabbits become less abundant.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The northern hoary marmot is the northern representative of our common ground-hog or woodchuck in the States. It is a large, chunky rodent with strong black claws which are adapted to digging. Its tail is bushy and is less than half the length of the animal's head and body. The forward half of the hoary marmot is a clear, grayish-white but the hind part and tail are tinged with brown, particularly on the belly, rump, and tail. The ears are small and round, scarcely extending above the hair of the head (fig. 53). The feet are black.

Figure 53.—An old male northern hoary marmot at bay.
Photograph taken June 13, 1926, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 5018.

Alaskans call marmots "whistlers" from their habit of announcing an enemy's presence by uttering a shrill, piercing whistle. Length, 27.5 inches; tail, 7.5 inches; hind foot, 4.1 inches; ear from crown, 0.7 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—Northern hoary marmots are the largest rock inhabiting rodents in the park. Their chunky build, gray shoulders and almost black areas on the top of the head, together with their piercing "traffic-cop" whistle, make their identification easy.

DISTRIBUTION.—Marmots are rock dwellers and rarely stray far away from sheltering granite boulder piles. We found that the Savage River Canyon, about 3 miles below the main transportation company's camp and along upper Igloo Creek, were the best places to look for them, for at one time we found as many as a dozen in one day. In McKinley Park marmots were found, for the most part, between elevations of 3,000 and 4,000 feet.

HABITS.—Under ordinary circumstances hoary marmots are usually seen on the top of boulder piles. However, during late spring while the females are nursing their young the male marmots sometimes wander from a quarter to a mile away from home. Thus on May 19 near the cabin on Savage River we came upon a large male marmot that was fully 400 yards from the nearest protecting rock slide. He was probably foraging for new pastures and, being taken by surprise, galloped down the road ahead of us. He loped along at about 5 miles per hour. When hard pressed he left the road, took refuge in a galvanized iron culvert under the road and refused to be driven from his safe retreat, although he stuck his head out now and then to see what the rumpus was all about. On May 27 we found a family of marmots in a boulder pile at 3,500 feet elevation (fig. 54).

Figure 54.—A northern hoary marmot, alarmed and ready to take refuge in his den, as protection against wolves and bears, the den is located in a rock pile.
Photograph taken May 21, 1932, Savage River. W. L. D. No. 2677

At one time a male rock ptarmigan, a cony, and two marmots were all sunning themselves together on top of a rock pile less than 50 feet square.

Marmots have numerous enemies with which to cope. Several times we found golden eagles in the act of swooping down upon unwatchful ground hogs. On June 12, 1932, at Double Mountain, the remains of a hoary marmot were found in a golden eagle's nest. These birds of prey appear to prefer half-grown marmots, while bears, wolves, and coyotes not infrequently capture the larger adults.

The young marmots are born early in May and half-grown young were observed on June 5. As soon as the young are able to be out, the clear "traffic cop" whistle of the old marmot is usually heard whenever a person approaches a rock pile that is inhabited by them. One old marmot that I watched crawled up on the very summit of a gigantic boulder. There he flattened himself out in a depression and lay concealed so that just the top of his head, including his eyes, showed above the rock. As he lay watching us his gray coat blended so well with the gray granite rock that he appeared to be merely a part of the boulder. By June 10 nearly all of the marmots have well worn paths leading from the dens in the rock piles down into the meadows which are then becoming rapidly clothed with green vegetation.

Once in a great while a marmot goes adventuring and wanders far from home. Thus at 8 o'clock on the morning of June 9, we discovered a large male marmot about a pile of logs near camp. He must have come a long way because it was more than a mile to the nearest known marmot den. When he first saw us, he took off up the hill and, as he had a 50-yard start, we ran a distance of more than 300 yards before overtaking him. He then tried to escape detection by lying motionless, stretched out at full length. Finding that this ruse failed to work, he stood his ground on the open tundra. Here, with neck and tail extended, he fought with tooth and claw giving frequent shrill warning whistles. After taking several pictures of him (fig. 53), we watched him scurry back to shelter.

By the time the heavy fall frosts blacken the growing herbage, the marmots have lined their underground nests with shredded plant fibers and dry grass. When the snow falls they retire to their homes in the rocks where they spend the winter in hibernation. The following spring, the marmots come out of these winter nests while the nearby snowbanks still blanket the ground. Immediately upon leaving their dens these animals discard the grass lining of their winter homes (fig. 55).

Figure 55.—The grass lining of the winter den us discarded when the northern hoary marmot comes out in the spring. Note the secure location of the den in solid rock.
Photograph taken June 6, 1932, Savage Canyon. W. L. D. No. 2679.

The Indians of interior Alaska catch many "whistlers." They use the meat for food while the pelts are tanned and made up into fur robes and bedding.

Unlike varying hares, lynx, and mice, the marmot population of Mount McKinley National Park appears to fluctuate but slightly from year to year. Marmots may be found in fair numbers in suitable locations—such as Savage River Canyon—each season.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A fat chunky prairie dog-like squirrel weighing about 1 pound and measuring 10 to 12 inches from the end of its nose to the base of its tail. The tail is short, flat, and bushy, being less than half the length of the body. During the spring and fall the general coloration of the animal is grayish, but in the summer it becomes a rusty color on the forehead, cheeks, forelegs, hind legs, and under parts. The ears are very short (fig. 56). Length, 12.8 inches; tail, 3 inches; hind foot, 2 inches; ear from crown, 0.2 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—When alarmed this squirrel has a habit of sitting straight up like a stick or picket pin (fig. 56). At close range the plump body, short tail, small compressed ears, and the small white specks on its lower back distinguish it at once. This ground squirrel is the noisiest mammal in the park.

Figure 56.—An alarmed Nushagak ground squirrel standing upright. Note the gray winter coat, small ear, and short tail.
Photograph taken June 20, 1926, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 5256.

DISTRIBUTION.—It is distributed generally over the higher ground at the base of the Alaska Peninsula and along the Nushagak River, being most abundant just above timber line on warm, open, grassy hillsides in nearly every section of the park between 2,000 and 6,000 feet elevation. The Transportation Company's Camp on the Savage River is an excellent place to see ground squirrels.

HABITS.—The ground squirrels in the park hibernate during the winter. Charles Sheldon saw the last ground squirrels of the season at Toklat River on October 2, 1907. The first Nushagak squirrel reappeared the following spring on April 10.

By April 30, these squirrels usually begin to breed. On May 26, the first female was seen carrying nest material. On this occasion she was noted tearing an old grain sack to pieces with her teeth and dragging the material into her nest under the ground. Three females which were killed on June 20 had each given birth to their young. On June 21 a squirrel was seen tearing an old strawboard box to pieces. It stuffed the material into its cheek pouches and carried the material to its burrow where it was used to make a nest. Nest renovation goes on after the young squirrels are born and it is not unusual to see a nursing female squirrel carrying bulky loads of dead grass, shredded bark or other dry vegetable material down her burrow and into the nest.

Ground squirrels have large litters of from five to eight young. Practically all of the young squirrels were born before June 30. Early-born young squirrels, nearly one-third grown, were seen running about by July 4.

Ground squirrels are particularly abundant at Sable Pass and at the head of Savage River. This was attested by the animals themselves and by numerous little craters left by grizzly bears where these carnivores had dug out the squirrels. Golden eagles levy a heavy toll on the squirrels as do also red foxes and other fur-bearers. It is our opinion, taking all factors into account, that the ground squirrels are the most important food supply of the meat-eating birds and mammals in the park. Daily, during the latter part of June, we counted more than 100 adult squirrels on an area half a mile wide and 2 miles long. This meant 50 families of squirrels per square mile by late summer. At the caribou camp on upper Savage River we found that more than 15 squirrels made their homes within a hundred yards of our tent.

Residents of Alaska call the ground squirrels "parka" squirrels because the natives prize the skins of these animals for making their summer "parkas" or coats. The parkas differ from our coats in that they usually have a hood attached and are made of reindeer skins. Too, they do not button down the front but pull on over one's head like a "slip-on" sweater.

"Parka" squirrels are exceedingly noisy, especially so when any winged or 4-footed enemy, such as an eagle or a grizzly bear, appears on their horizon. Visitors to the park will find that "parka" squirrels are quick to make friends with man and that they do not hesitate to exploit this relationship. Nothing edible is safe if left on the ground unless stored in metal squirrel-proof containers. Even the grizzly bears do not go through a poorly protected cache of food supplies more thoroughly than do the "parka" squirrels.

Much of these squirrels' time is spent in scolding and fighting among themselves. A good deal of this is bluff, but on occasion they stand up on their hind legs and fight "tooth and nail."

The red summer coat appears first on the head, then on the feet and back. By the 20th of July much of the gray winter pelage has been replaced by the red summer hairs, giving the squirrel a very mottled appearance (fig. 57). Even in late summer young ground squirrels of that season can be distinguished with ease from the adults by their paler, grayer color and softer downy coat.

Figure 57.—A Nushagak ground squirrel in red summer coat. Note the speckled back and rump.
Photograph taken July 22, 1926, Igloo Creek. M. V. Z. No. 5260.

Young ground squirrels are very greedy. At Igloo Creek camp on July 21, a red squirrel and a young ground squirrel were observed fighting over a crust of bread that had been thrown out. The red squirrel found the bread first. Then a young ground squirrel came along and made him drop it. A lively scramble ensued. The more active red squirrel ran in like a flash and knocked the ground squirrel over in an effort to drive him away. The ground squirrel was so busy eating that he did not take time to fight back; he continued to stuff himself with bread (fig. 57) until the last crumb was consumed. The red squirrel, on the other hand, ate a little bit of his crust. Then he scampered away and hid the remainder at different places in a spruce tree, usually placing bits of it out near the tip of a branch in a cluster of needles well out of the reach of the nonclimbing ground squirrels and other rodents.

By the end of summer the ground squirrels become fat and lazy. The first real snowstorm in the fall finds them safely tucked away in their warm beds underground where they soon pass into a deep hibernating sleep which lasts through the entire winter. They are not seen again until the following spring when the bare ground begins to show through the snow.

In the spring when they again appear some of these hardy ground squirrels dig their way up through several feet of snow. They use their stout claws which are long and sharp when these animals first emerge from hibernation.

Contrasting the population of ground squirrels to that of varying hares, apparently the former population does not fluctuate so greatly from season to season as does that of the latter. The ground squirrels are an important food supply for grizzlies, fur bearers, and certain birds of prey.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The body is about the size of an ordinary Norway rat. The tail is nearly as long as the body and is flattened and plume like. The upper parts of this squirrel are grayish in winter and reddish in summer; the under parts are lead color in winter and yellowish white in summer. The ears are well-tufted with hairs in winter but are only slightly so in summer. It has a distinct black stripe along the lower middle part of the sides in summer. The claws are compressed, sharp, and curved and are well adapted for climbing. Length, 12.5 inches; tail, 4.5 inches; hind foot, 1.9 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—The tree-climbing habits, feathery plumelike tail, small size, reddish color, black stripe on the sides, and the white ring about the eyes (fig. 58), distinguish this squirrel from all other rodents in the park.

Figure 58.—The northern red squirrel comes down the tree with the same agility that he climbs it.
Photograph taken July 21, 1926, Igloo Creek. M. V. Z. No. 5248.

DISTRIBUTION.—Red squirrels inhabit the coniferous forests of boreal North America. The northern red squirrel is found throughout the park wherever there is a suitable growth of spruce trees. The camp of the transportation company on Igloo Creek is a good place to study this animal. Red squirrels may also be found in the spruce woods just back of the main camp of the transportation company on Savage River. At this latter place we found them numerous throughout the summer of 1926.

HABITS.—Without the lively northern red squirrel the silent spruce woods of the North would lose much of their charm. The well known "chirr" or "trill" note of the red squirrel is one of the most characteristic sounds of the spruce woods in the park. These trees provide shelter and a safe home for the red squirrels during the stressful freezing storms of winter. The seed contained in the cones of the spruce tree is the staff of life for the red squirrel. Visitors to Mount McKinley Park frequently find the compact nests of this animal which are made of fibrous roots, moss, and shredded bark and are placed well up in the trees, and they mistake them for the nests of birds. One should not be blamed for making such a mistake because in location, size, and construction the nests are very similar to those built by birds except that the squirrels' nests are originally roofed over while the birds' nests are open.

A typical northern red squirrel nest was placed 16 feet up in a dense spruce tree. This nest was globular in shape and was 12 inches in diameter. Its walls were 4 inches thick and were made of twigs, leaves, and moss. A single hole through the side of the nest led to the inner cavity which was lined with the hair of the mountain sheep. Another nest was lined with caribou hair and ptarmigan feathers.

The red squirrel does not hibernate in winter as does its relatives the "parka" squirrel and the Northern hoary marmot. Instead, he is active during suitable weather throughout the winter season. It is true that during cold snaps he may retire to his warm nest for several days at a time, but such retirements are merely temporary and the squirrels are abroad again as soon as the weather moderates.

The red squirrels of the park have appointed themselves on the reception committee. They are among the first of the numerous animals in the park to make the acquaintance of visitors. If the visitors are backward, the red squirrels are willing to meet them more than halfway, even to the extent of coming into their camp at 3:30 in the morning to see what the strangers are going to have for breakfast. A picture was secured (fig. 59) of a friendly red squirrel that was bent on this very mission one morning. However, at times these squirrels have serious competition to cope with in their work of camp investigation. Their competitors are the Alaska jays which are commonly known as camp robbers. As previously described, on June 1, while we were camping in an old tent on the upper Savage River, we watched a red squirrel chase a pair of Alaska jays away from the tent. Every time a jay would alight in the top of a spruce tree near the camp the squirrel would look up at him for a moment and then, picking out the tree the bird was in, he would run up the spruce and jump at the jay in an effort to drive the intruder away. Frequently, just before the squirrel reached the jay the bird would hop or fly across to a nearby tree. The squirrel would then run out to the end of a branch and jump across to the adjoining tree, sometimes clearing between 4 and 5 feet at a leap. If the tree was so far away that it was impossible to bridge the gap by jumping, the squirrel would go down to the ground and then again single out and climb the tree where the bird was perched.

Figure 59.—This northern red squirrel came into camp at 3:30 a. m. To share our breakfast, note the white eye-ring and long feathery tail.
Photograph taken July 10, 1926, Igloo Creek. M. V. Z. No. 5246.

In seeking for an explanation of this unusual behavior we continued to watch the squirrel for several minutes after the bird had departed. The jay had not been gone more than 5 minutes before the squirrel was observed to remove some of his stored food, a piece of old cheese which we had thrown away, from a cache in one of the treetops. We thought that he showed considerable intelligence because he hid it in a hollow log where the jays would be much less likely to venture. It may have been professional jealousy between the robbers or, more likely, the squirrel was simply trying to drive the jay away from his stored food.

Red squirrels are sometimes very destructive to blankets and bedding which of necessity are kept stored in the ranger-patrol cabins along the park boundary line. When the ranger is absent on patrol duty these squirrels often get into the cabin by gnawing their way through the moss chinking between the logs that form the cabin wall. Once inside, they proceed to carry off all the portable food supplies, such as rice, dried fish or meat, and dried fruits. However, the greatest destruction is inflicted upon the bedding, which unless it has been carefully rolled up and hung by wires from the rafters, so that the squirrel cannot reach it, is torn to pieces and the inner filling, consisting of cotton, wool, or down is carried off by the squirrel to be used as a lining for his own winter nests, of which he usually has several. The squirrel's nests are well hidden under the dense drooping branches of protecting spruce trees which, in this instance, were located near the cabin. On one occasion a Northern red squirrel was known to have destroyed more than a hundred dollars worth of food and bedding in a few weeks. Food supplies and blankets can be protected by hanging them out of reach or storing them in squirrel-proof chests.

During excessively cold winters and in seasons when the crop of spruce cones is light the Northern red squirrels diminish in numbers. Since they are active all winter they run a continuous gauntlet of danger because of their enemies, for they are preyed upon by hawks, owls, martens, foxes, and Canada lynx. However, in spite of this, the red-squirrel population remains fairly constant from one season to the next.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The beaver is the largest gnawing mammal or rodent in Alaska. The eyes and ears are small; the tail is flattened, broadly paddle-shaped and covered with scales. The hind feet are large with a complete webbing between the toes. This animal is rich reddish-brown in color. The pelage consists of long glossy over hairs and a shorter dense under fur. Body length, about 30 inches; tail, 16 inches; weight, 40-65 pounds.

IDENTIFICATION.—The heavy body, aquatic habits, scaly tail, webbed hind feet, and large orange-colored protruding incisor teeth distinguish the beaver at a glance. Beavers are nocturnal and hence are usually not abroad much in the daytime. They may be seen swimming about at dusk, their bodies submerged and only the top portion of the head showing above the water.

DISTRIBUTION.—Formerly the beavers were found in lakes and streams over most of North America. The larger rivers in the park which head in live Glaciers and are full of silt are not inhabited by beavers. Possibly they are absent from these streams because of the silt. Along the headwaters of Clearwater and Moose Creeks in the northwest portion of the park there are numerous small clear lakes and ponds inhabited by beavers.

In 1932 we found two families of beavers with several houses or lodges in ponds along the side of the main trail near the lower end of Muldrow Glacier. We also found beavers all along the creek which empties into the north end of Wonder Lake.

HABITS.—Investigation showed that the building of dams and houses by heavers in the ponds of the park where these animals are found is the same as similar activities carried on by beavers elsewhere in central Alaska. Until about 1930, a family of beavers lived in a small pond between the Alaska Railroad and the Nenana River, about half a mile down the stream from McKinley Park Station. In June 1932, I found beaver cuttings, several well-built beaver dams (fig. 60), and a well-constructed beaver lodge in this pond. However, there was clear evidence that the beavers had all been killed about 18 months previous to my visit. Now that this area is inside the park, it is hoped that beavers will again be established and properly protected there.

At Wonder Lake on August 13, 1932, although it was high noon and the sun was shining brightly, I watched a beaver come out of this lodge and swim slowly about basking in the sun for more than an hour. At times this full grown beaver swam up to within 50 yards of me. He was apparently curious but when he became alarmed he did not "whack" the water with his tail. Instead he submerged quietly and swam more than a hundred yards before coming to the surface.

Within the year a new beaver house had been built at the north end of Wonder Lake. This is an ideal place for visitors to see beavers and it is hoped that these animals can he protected and kept there in some numbers.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A wood mouse of medium size. Its coat is distinctly bicolored. The upper parts are cinnamon and the under parts are creamy white. The ears are fairly large but not densely furred. The eyes are large and almost black. The tail is bicolored and short; it is less than half the body length. Length, 6.5 inches; tail, 2.7 inches; hind foot, 0.8 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—The Arctic white-footed or deer moose can be distinguished from the other mice of the region because of its bicolored body pattern and its relatively short bicolored tail.

DISTRIBUTION.—Deer mice are the most common of the small mammals which are found over much of temperate North America. The Arctic form of this mouse is found in the Canadian and Hudsonian zones along the headwaters of the Mackenzie and Yukon Rivers. In Mount McKinley National Park this species has been detected at low elevations only along the McKinley River.

HABITS.—While I was drying my wet clothes in a log cabin at the Kantishna Ranger Station on the afternoon of August 8, 1932, I watched a nearly grown Arctic deer mouse run along the floor behind the stove. It came within 5 feet of me and I saw it in a good light. The white under parts and bicolored tail identified it as a deer mouse. The unusually short tail placed it definitely as belonging to borealis and not to hylaeus. Traps set to capture this mouse caught only Microtus or meadow mice, which were abundant in the cabin.

The altitude at this point is about 1,900 feet and the plant association is typical of the upper Yukon River Basin. This is the only Peromyscus recorded for Mount McKinley National Park. It is believed to be rare there.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—Lemmings resemble wooly, short-tailed meadow mice, but the soles of their feet are hairy, lacking the bare tubercles found on the feet of meadow mice. The long pelage of the lemming is of a rusty color and is soft in texture. The ears are short, almost covered by the long hair of the head and neck. The tail is very short, being often less than the length of the hind foot. Length, 5 inches; tail, 0.7 inch; hind foot, 0.8 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—The exceedingly short tail and, dorsally, the long, loose, reddish pelage distinguish the lemmings from all other mice found in the McKinley region.

DISTRIBUTION.—The lemmings are characteristic rodents of the treeless Arctic prairies over much of northern Alaska. They are abundant at times above timber line in Mount McKinley National Park, but they are almost, or entirely, absent during many seasons. Near Wonder Lake, in 1932, I obtained a single dried-up specimen.

HABITS.—In 1906, Charles Sheldon found lemmings and other mice to be rare in the Toklat region, but they were abundant there the following year. He states (1930, p. 121) that in 1907, "the lemmings bred in colonies of 5 to 12 holes close together, connected underground . . . At least two litters of young had been reared, and by the middle of August the females . . . contained from five to seven embryos each." The lemmings were active all day and were very tame, but whenever an Alaska jay flew near them all the mice suddenly rushed into their holes. Both jays and short-billed gulls were seen to dart down, pick up, and to devour young mice.

When the lemming population increases so that their food supply is exhausted swarms of these rodents leave for new pastures. Hawks, owls, foxes, ravens, gulls, jaegers, and other natural enemies of mice follow these fleeing hordes and prey upon them. At such times also disease often breaks out in the mice and reduces their numbers to a mere handful. Then the lemmings begin to breed up again and the whole cycle is repeated.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A small mouse with a broad rusty red back. The ears are short and but slightly longer than the fur. The eyes are small and the tail is fairly short, being less than twice as long as the hind foot. Length, 5.8 inches; tail, 1.3 inches; hind foot, 0.8 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—The tail which is decidedly longer than the tail of the Yukon lemming and the bright red back and small size of this mouse distinguish it at once from the lemming which is the only other mammal in the park with which it is likely to be confused.

DISTRIBUTION.—Red-backed mice are found in the wooded territory over northern North America. In Mount McKinley National Park we found the Dawson red-backed mouse to be most abundant in the black spruce forests near timber line. This inhabitant of the woods was found to be the mouse which most frequently invaded and became resident in human habitations.

The population of red-backed mice, unlike that of the shrews, lemmings, and meadow mice, appears to be fairly constant and lacks any great cyclic fluctuations.

HABITS.—On May 21, 1926, in an old tent that had been used as a stable at Savage River, mouse traps were set. Three adults, and one immature mouse about two-thirds grown were caught. From this and other data it would appear that the red-backed mice are about the first mice to breed in the spring. Early on the morning of May 30, 1926, a mother red-backed mouse was seen to run across our cabin floor carrying one of her offspring in her mouth. The young mouse was grasped by the skin of its abdomen. While carried by its mother it curled up around her face. Its hind feet, tail, and nose were firmly pressed against the side of the parent's head. In the mother's haste to escape she dropped the young mouse. Upon examination it was found to be 2-1/2 inches long and to weigh 12 grams. This little mouse had no sign of tooth marks where its mother had grasped it. The eyes had not yet opened although the little animal was well furred. Tests proved that its sense of smell was very keen and was used in place of sight in locating its parent.

Red-backed mice were also found at Headquarters, Igloo Creek, and at Copper Mountain well above timber line.

An adult female red-backed mouse with mamriae which showed plainly that she was still nursing her first litter of young was trapped on June 1, 1926, on Savage River at 2,800 feet altitude. Further examination of this nursing female showed that she contained eight small embryos. This circumstance leads us to conclude that at least two, and perhaps—as Charles Sheldon has suggested—even three litters of young may be raised in a single short summer season.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A short chunky mouse of medium size. The length of the tail is about one and one-half times the length of the hind foot. The ears are short and well concealed in the fur of the head and neck. The fur is fine and soft in texture and is brownish in color. Drummond voles are active during the day as well as at night. These mice make well-worn narrow trails through the grass and green vegetation. Length, 5.4 inches; tail, 1.5 inches; hind foot, 0.7 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—The Drummond meadow mouse is larger and browner than the Toklat meadow mouse, and it is smaller than the large and grayer interior meadow mouse. It is about the same size as the Yukon lemming, but it lacks the rusty red of the lemming and its tail is longer than its hind feet.

DISTRIBUTION.—Drummond voles are found from the southern boundary of Canada north almost to the Arctic Ocean and from Hudson Bay to central Alaska. In the McKinley region drummondi has been found on the Toklat and Savage Rivers at or near timber line. It is most numerous along the margins of willow thickets.

HABITS.—In 1906, Charles Sheldon found this species of mouse to be rare in the Toklat region, but in the fall of 1907 he found this and other species of mice to be abundant near his winter cabin. This coincides with my own experience in the same region, for in 1926, I found meadow mice of this and other species to be numerous, whereas in 1932, they were extremely rare or absent in the same areas. Therefore one visitor to Mount McKinley Park might find Drummond meadow mice to be exceedingly numerous while another later visitor might not be able to find them present at all.

GENERAL APPEARANCE —A fairly large meadow mouse with a tail nearly twice the length of its hind foot. The summer pelage is rough, short, and grayish in color. The ears are fairly large. Length, 7 inches; tail, 1.6 inches; hind foot, 0.8 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—The interior vole or meadow mouse is almost as large as the yellow-cheeked meadow mouse but it lacks the yellow patches on the cheeks and at the base of the ears which are characteristic of the latter species. The interior meadow mouse is larger and yellower than the Drummond meadow mouse and is much larger than the Toklat River vole.

DISTRIBUTION.—The habitat of this species is central Alaska. In the McKinley region we found the interior meadow mouse only in wet meadows in the timbered or wooded areas along the Savage, Toklat, and McKinley Rivers.

HABITS.—On June 20, 1926, along the upper Savage River I trapped two adult females each of which contained six well developed young that would heave been born in a few days. Two young of previous litters, though born earlier that same season, were also trapped in the same runways in which the adult females had been taken. These young mice were 3-1/2 inches in length and were nearly half-grown. Their coats were shorter and browner than the coats of their parents.

In our experience we have found the interior meadow mouse to have a very restricted local habitat and although it is widely distributed it is never found in large numbers. Too, they do not seem to fluctuate in numbers from season to season to the same extent as do some of the other mice.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A small yellowish meadow mouse with a very short tail which is only slightly longer than the animal's hind foot. The ears are short and nearly hidden in the dense fur. This vole inhabits the dry open tundra. Length, 6 inches; tail, 1 inch; hind foot, 0.8 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—The small size, short tail and yellowish or ocherous color of this vole serve to distinguish it at once from the other meadow mice of the region.

DISTRIBUTION.—The main Alaska Range of south central Alaska is the home of the Toklat River vole. In Mount McKinley National Park it has been found along the bare ridges of the main range as high as 4,600 feet and along the Toklat and Savage Rivers' rocky gravel bars as low as 2,800 feet.

HABITS.—Early in June 1926, we found these mice, as has been stated, to be abundant on the open gravel bars along the Savage River. There were no regular Microtus runways, only small clean-cut burrows about an inch its diameter which ran 2 or 3 inches under the moss and which led underground to their nests made of dry grass.

During the first half of June these mice were mating. They were exceedingly active during the entire 24 hours of each day. On June 12, 1926, an adult female was found to contain eight foeti, each three-fourths of an inch in length and nearly ready to be born. Another female was found to contain seven embryos on June 29; and four other females trapped between June 14 and June 26 contained six embryos each. Sheldon found that as many as three litters of young were raised in a single season. Our own studies corroborate Sheldon's findings. Thus, this species has a relatively high rate of reproduction.

Sheldon reports (1930, p. 121) "Twice I saw a jay dart quickly down, pick up a young meadow mouse and fly to a tree and eat it."

On June 11, 1926, we found numbers of short-billed and herring gulls sitting about a meadow inhabited by many Toklat River voles. The gulls were quietly waiting, either singly or in small groups of three or four, watching for the meadow mice. The young voles are not suspicious and they run about freely in the daytime. As I have said before, it is truly a wonderful sight to see a whole dark green field dotted with white-breasted gray-backed gulls motionless as statues. It is interesting to note that on June 2, 1932, this same area was still covered with 6 feet of snow.

In the fall of 1907, Sheldon found these and other mice to be "incredibly abundant" in the Toklat region where they had been relatively scarce the previous season. In 1932, I was unable to find or to catch a single vole of this species in the identical areas where I had found them so abundant in 1926.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A very large meadow mouse with bright rusty yellowish patches on the side of the nose and at the base of the ear. The general color of this mouse is dark sepia on the dorsal surface and dusky gray on the belly. The tail is faintly bicolored and about twice the length of the hind foot. Length, 8.5 inches; tail, 2 inches; hind foot, 1 inch.

IDENTIFICATION.—The large size and the distinct yellow patches on the cheeks and at the base of the ears are the best field characters for this species.

DISTRIBUTION.—This meadow mouse is found from central Alberta north to the Arctic coast and west to central Alaska. In 1907, Charles Sheldon found this species to be numerous on the Toklat River where he collected some specimens.

HABITS.—Very little is known regarding the habits of the yellow-cheeked meadow mouse in Mount McKinley National Park beyond the few specimens which Sheldon collected on the Toklat River. In our experience it is the rarest species of meadow mouse thus far found in the park.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A large robust water meadow mouse. It has broad hind feet which are partly webbed between the toes. The scaly tail, which is about as long as the body, is compressed so that its vertical measurement is much greater than its width across. The muskrat's coat consists of long polished guard hairs and an rudder coat of soft dense fur which keeps out both the cold and water. The ears are short and well-concealed in the dense fur. Length, 21 inches; tail, 10 inches; hind foot, 3 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—The aquatic habits and the webbed hind feet of this animal distinguish the muskrat from all other rodents in the McKinley region except the beaver which is a much larger animal with a broad tail. The beaver's tail is not compressed as is the Northwestern muskrat's tail; it is flattened.

DISTRIBUTION.—Muskrats always live in or near water. They occur over most of North America and are found from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Gulf of Mexico to the mouth of the Mackenzie River. In the McKinley region they have been found at Wonder Lake and at several of the other smaller lakes along the north boundary of the park, usually below 2,000 feet.

HABITS.—From time to time muskrats are captured by hawks, owls, and eagles. In some instances these birds have been known to carry their victims several miles before eating them. At the base of a rocky pinnacle on Savage River the remains, including the distinctive scaly tail, of a muskrat, were found on May 23, 1926. The skin had been dropped by some large bird of prey after it had eaten the meat. This muskrat must have been carried in from a distance of several miles for there were no ponds or lakes within 3 or 4 miles of the place where the carcass was found.

The muskrat is rather rare in the park. It has never been found in numbers there.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A large robust tree-climbing rodent. It has short legs and stout curved claws. The upper parts of the body and tail are covered with a coat of sharp black-pointed yellow quills which are barbed at the tip and are partly concealed by the long yellow over hairs that cover the body (fig. 61). The porcupine has small rounded ears that are well concealed by the hairs of the head. It is the second largest rodent in the McKinley region. Length, 29.5 inches; tail, 8 inches; hind foot 3.5 inches.

Figure 61.—The Alaska porcupine has small ears and a protecting coat of sharp quills, which are here shown erected and ready for combat.
Photograph taken May 27, 1926, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 5092.

IDENTIFICATION.—The slow-moving waddling form of the porcupine can be readily recognized either on the ground or in the trees. At close quarters the sharp quills will dispel any possible doubt as to the animal's identity. Porcupine tracks show a canvas-like pattern where the sole of the hind feet comes in contact with dust or soft soil.

DISTRIBUTION.—Porcupines are widely distributed over North America wherever there are coniferous forests. In the McKinley region porcupines are well distributed through the spruce forests. They winter in the spruce trees but in the summer time they may be found out in willow thickets high above timber.

HABITS.—The most conspicuous evidence of the presence of porcupines is revealed by the whitened trunks of spruce trees, the bark of which is eaten extensively by these rodents during the winter. A porcupine may remain for weeks at a time in some sheltered grove of spruce trees.

On May 26, 1932, at the boundary cabin on Savage River, I found whole clusters of young spruce trees, from 2 to 6 inches in diameter, that had been killed by porcupines gnawing away all the bark near the base of each tree. Since the porcupines had selected the thickest clumps of these trees to work in, the result was a sort of natural thinning of the too thickly planted stands. In other instances isolated spruce trees showed that they had been killed by gnawing, but it is believed that such damage is nominal and natural, on the whole, in Mount McKinley National Park.

Men who drive dog teams on dangerous winter patrols do not love the porcupines, for the sled dogs are quick to attack these animals. The usual result is that the dogs in killing the porcupine get their mouths and feet full of the animal's quills and it takes hours of painful labor and endurance for both man and dogs before these quills are removed. It is accomplished with the aid of pliers, and not until the porcupine's quills have been extracted are the dogs again able to travel. Most sled dogs never learn to leave porcupines alone.

On the other hand, although a porcupine causes much annoyance by gnawing ax handles, saddle leather, boots, and other articles that have become impregnated with salt and that are therefore very appetizing to this animal, it may prove to be a veritable lifesaver to man. In the early spring of 1932 one of the members of the Cosmic Ray Expedition to Mount McKinley became lost while he was seeking aid for a sick companion. This man was unarmed, save for his alpine stock, and he told me that the meat of a porcupine, which was the only animal that he was able to capture with his alpine stock, was the principal item of food during the 3 weeks he was lost.

Wolves and certain dogs, and even red foxes, learn how to kill porcupines without getting themselves full of quills. In order to do this they get hold of the porcupine's nose first and pulling backwards drag him out into the open. When the porcupine raises up and starts to escape they run in under the front of the "porky" and flip him over on his back. The porcupine's belly is his vulnerable spot since it is not protected by sharp spines as is the back of the animal. Taking advantage of this fact the wise wolf or fox is able to kill and eat the porcupine without being bothered by the quills.

There is good evidence that porcupines were rare within the park at the time of Charles Sheldon's visit to the region in 1907-8. By 1926, porcupines had increased so that they were no longer rare and by 1932 as many as three to five were encountered in a single day.

It is probable that protection which is now being given carnivores in Mount McKinley National Park will result in their increase. This in time will act as a natural check on the porcupine population and the result will be the restoration of a normal balance.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—A small, gray, bobtailed, rabbitlike animal about 7 inches in length; gray above and white beneath. Though akin to the rabbits, pikas are more like guinea pigs in general appearance since they have short legs, chunky bodies, rounded ears, and "bobbed" tails (fig. 62). Pikas are also known as conies or little chief hares and they are the most intriguing and interesting of all the small mammals of Mount McKinley Park. The soles of the pika's feet are covered with dense felt-like pads of hair which enable it to hop about noiselessly. Were it not for their telltale shrill little "bleating" cries, they would quite escape detection since their color blends perfectly with the gray granite rocks on which they perch and their beady black eyes and sharp ears are keen to sense approaching danger. Length, 7 inches; hind foot, 1.2 inches.

Figure 62.—The collared pika lives in rock piles and has small round ears, short legs, a chunky body, and a "bobbed" tail.
Photograph taken May 20, 1926, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 5065.

IDENTIFICATION.—Pikas are smaller than ground squirrels and larger than meadow mice. They are rarely, if ever, found away from rock slides or boulder piles. Their small size, bobtails, rounded ears, padded feet, and ventriloquistic alarm notes, "yink, yink," are all good field characters.

DISTRIBUTION.—Pikas are rock dwellers and are most abundant just above timber line. They should be looked for only in the vicinity of rock slides and boulder piles since they do not venture far out on the open tundra. Pikas occur in the mountainous regions of western North America from New Mexico to Alaska.

HABITS.—We observed pikas breeding late in May and on June 6 a pregnant female containing four embryos, each half an inch in length was collected. The young are born in sheltered nests deep beneath the rocks and, although we looked for them carefully, we did not discover any young pikas running about until after July 8 when the young were more than half grown. On July 28, near the Savage River bridge, we found young conies or pikas were active by 8 o'clock in the morning. By this date the young were almost as large as their parents. However the youngsters could be easily determined by their clear gray color while the adults at this season were tinged with brown about the head and neck.

The outstanding character of the pika is its provident nature. Unlike the larger and more powerful mammals this wee sprite takes thought for the morrow. Instead of spending a large portion of the warm summer in deep sleep and in sunning itself, as do the fat, lazy marmots, the pika literally "makes hay while the sun shines." As soon as the vegetation begins to mature in the late summer the pika starts to harvest his "hay" crop. Grass, sedges, and even heather plants are skillfully nipped off by the pika's sharp little teeth. As soon as the plants are cut the pika gathers them together in a bundle and then transports them by holding them crosswise in his mouth. The freshly cut "hay" is stacked under sheltering rocks where ventilation is good and where the cut plants remain until they are entirely cured. No farmer selects and harvests his hay crop more carefully than does the pika his crop. The pika's hay-making goes on until the frost blackens the vegetation and then, when the snowstorms of winter cover the landscape with a deep white blanket, the pika sits comfortably at home beside his well earned hay pile beneath a solid roof which is part of a whole snow-blanketed rock slide. He does not have to dig through the snow to get down to a food supply, as do the caribou and Dall sheep; he does not have to gnaw the bark of the stunted Arctic willows that stick up through the snow, as do the snowshoe rabbits; nor does our pika have to face cold trips across the open snow with the attendant danger of being pounced upon by some hungry hawk, owl, or red fox. Instead, by having forethought and providing a food supply for winter, he is able to run about and remain active all through the cold season of the year by traveling the underground passage ways and crevices between the broken rocks which form his home. He does not lie curled up stiffly in a frozen, almost death-like furry ball in a narrow underground cell, as do his cousins the ground squirrels and the marmots. His body is kept warm by a thick gray fur overcoat and his feet are incased in warm fur slippers which are noiseless and which never slip as he hops about the frozen rocks in going from his precious hay piles to his warm nest hidden beneath the rocks where even the powerful wolverine cannot dig him out.

On the morning of December 26, 1907, when the temperature was 31° below zero, Charles Sheldon found the pikas to be extremely active. They were calling to each other from various points on the moraine below Peter's Glacier at the north base of Mount McKinley.

In the spring, when the snow begins to melt and the first bare ground appears, the pikas venture forth in search of fresh food. Conies or pikas are early risers, being most active from 4:30 to 9 in the morning. On May 20 on a warm south-facing rock slide high up on the mountain near the main camp on Savage River, I watched a cony at a distance of 10 feet as he nibbled at a bit of heather. The little rascal put his left front foot on a sprig of the plant and while thus holding it down nipped off the leaves. The characteristic white collar which gives the pika its scientific name "collaris", was plainly visible. As I watched, the shadow of a soaring golden eagle flashed across the rocks where the pika was feeding. The pika disappeared instantly, but in less than 3 minutes curiosity overcame fear and the little gray sprite crept out from his hiding place in a crack between two rocks. He stole forward with ears raised, eyes shining, and nose twitching, trying to discover the cause of the disturbance (fig. 62).

On June 16, 1932, I visited the identical rock slide where I had found and photographed a pika on May 20, 1926. An individual of this species, possibly a descendant of the one which I had seen in 1926, was found following the identical runways among the rocks which the original pika had followed. On June 12, 1932, at Double Mountain, I found a pika living in a crevice at the base of a cliff just beneath a golden eagle's nest containing two downy eaglets. There appeared to be no conflict between the eagle and the pika and it seemed probable that the association had been one of several years standing for both the eagle's nest and the pika's den indicated that they had seen many years of service.

The pika population in Mount McKinley National Park is remarkably stable. Investigation has shown that approximately the same number of individuals are to be found in certain given rock slides year after year. A stranger might have difficulty in finding the pikas, but once their chosen habitat among the rocks is found they are easily relocated.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—In size and general appearance varying hares are about halfway between a cottontail and the common jack rabbit. The ears are longer than those of a cottontail but not as long or as large as those of a jack rabbit. The hind feet of the varying hare are so large that the animal is often called snowshoe rabbit. In winter the pelage of this hare is pure white, but in summer it changes to brown. Length, 18 inches; tail 1.5 inches; hind foot, 5 inches; ear from crown, 3.5 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—In June when visitors begin to arrive at McKinley Park these hares are in their brown summer coats although small patches of white, remnants of their winter coats, may still be visible here and there even as late as midsummer (fig. 63). The large elongated tracks which they leave in the snow are characteristic of these hares, as are also the flattened pill-like droppings.

DISTRIBUTION.—Mackenzie varying hares are found from Cook Inlet and the base of the Alaska Peninsula east to western Mackenzie, northern British Columbia, and northwestern Alberta. In Mount McKinley National Park during "rabbit years" these mammals are found throughout the timbered portions of the park as well as in willow thickets above and below timber line.

HABITS.—When we arrived at our Savage River camp on May 19, 1926, we found varying hares to be abundant in the black spruce woods nearby. Rangers living in the park told us that the "peak" abundance of snowshoe rabbits had been reached in 1925 and that they had been increasingly abundant for three seasons. The period of maximum abundance of the varying hare usually occurs every 10 or 11 years.

During the winter of 1925 acres of willow thickets had been stripped of bark as high up as the hares could reach. On May 22, 1926, I found and photographed the top of a black spruce tree which had been blown down by severe winter winds. It had then been stripped of all the green needles and much of the bark by the hungry rabbits (fig. 8).

Residents told us that the hares which had been pure white all winter first began to acquire their brown summer pelage about the 20th of April. On May 26, 1926, I collected an adult male hare. The sides and both the front and hind feet of the specimen were still white. However, by this date most of the hares were in their brown summer coats, although their feet and the outer margins of their ears were still white (fig. 63). On June 10 I shot a "pinto" hare. Its brown pelage still showed several white patches which were about 1 by 1-1/2 inches in size. This hare contained four embryos each three-fourths of an inch long. On the same day another female hare was shot. It contained three well developed foeti each 4 inches long and almost ready for birth.

Figure 63.—A Mackenzie varying hare in the short-haired brown summer coat, but with patches of the white winter coat still adhering to sides and flanks. The white willow limbs in the background had been stripped of their bark by hungry hares the previous winter.
Photograph taken June 3, 1996, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 5008.

A careful search through the rabbit areas was made on July 25, 1926, and we were surprised to find that the hares were not as numerous as they had been 2 months previous. Although we searched carefully we were unable to find a single living young hare. In fact we saw only three young hares all summer. The hares had bred but apparently reproduction had been faulty. Also, some of the old hares were dying of "rabbit" disease, possibly Tularemia.

Varying hares have many enemies to elude. Among mammals the chief enemies of the Mackenzie varying hares are Canada lynx and Kenai red foxes. Perhaps as many, or more, hares are captured by the Kenai red fox than are captured by any other of the Mackenzie varying hare's natural enemies. Among the birds, the Saint Michael horned owls and the American hawk owls are their worst enemies.

When I visited Mount McKinley National Park in 1932, I found varying hares to be at their periodic minimum. In fact, although I looked for them in suitable localities I did not succeed in finding a single one during the entire summer and was told that only one had been seen in the region throughout all of the previous winter. The last peak of abundance was in 1925.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The moose is the largest member of the deer family and the Alaska species is the largest of all the moose. The bull moose has wide-spreading, heavy, palmated antlers which are grown and shed each year; the females lack these appendages. Moose of both sexes have long legs and chunky bodies. The height of the animal at the shoulders is greater than is the height at the rump. This, combined with the broad muzzle and the pendulous growth of skin and long hair hanging from the throat, gives the moose a grotesque appearance. The general color of the Alaska moose is dark brown. The coat of the calf is a rich reddish-brown, and it is not spotted as is the coat of the young deer. Length 108 inches; tail, 2.5 inches; hind foot, 31 inches.

IDENTIFICATION.—The high shoulders, large size, dark coloration—in the field these animals often appear to be almost black—"hooked" nose and pendant strip of skin, called a "bell", which hangs from the throat, are all good field characters of the moose. The tracks of this animal are like gigantic deer tracks. They are broad at the base and taper to a sharp point at the toe; they are not rounded and cowlike as are the tracks of the caribou.

DISTRIBUTION.—Moose were formerly found in timbered areas over most of the northern half of North America. During the summer in Mount McKinley National Park moose are usually found in or along the margin of the spruce timber. They may be found at times in the willow thickets or even in the higher passes while traveling from one forested area to another. They seek the willow thickets above timber in order to escape the swarms of mosquitoes and moose flies which are more numerous in the lowlands. These insect pests directly affect the local distribution of both caribou and moose.

HABITS.—On the divide at the head of Caribou Creek, July 9, 1926, we encountered a cow moose with her calf in a dense thicket of willows that averaged 5 feet in height. On May 25, 1932, Chief Ranger Louis Corbly found a cow moose with her newly born calf which was so young that it was not yet able to walk. The parent moose, having a strong maternal instinct, chased the man away. When on foot Corbly attempted to make a close inspection of the moose's calf. Fortunately for the ranger, however, his saddled horse stood nearby and he was able to escape the attack made by the infuriated cow moose. I experienced a similar surprise attack by a moose. She undertook to defend her recently born calf near Telegraph Creek in British Columbia. One cannot be too cautious in approaching the new born young of any species, but visitors to Mount McKinley National Park should be especially careful in approaching young moose or any cow moose with young.

On July 22, 1926, at Double Mountain we watched a cow moose crossing a high mountain pass. She traveled at a slashing trot and covered a mile in 10 minutes. Her gait was normal and undisturbed, for we were sitting quietly and she did not see us.

During the summer of 1932, at a small lake near the mouth of Igloo Creek, a cow moose and her twin calves were observed many times. This moose became so accustomed to automobiles passing on the highway that she paid little attention to them, even though the cars often stopped long enough to secure photographs. However, she was quite shy when approached by a man on foot. Tracks along the muddy margins of the lake and cropped-leaf plants showed that this mother moose was in the habit of feeding upon the aquatic vegetation which grew in the shallow lake.

In Mount McKinley National Park the antlers of the bull moose begin to branch by the first of June. A bull moose killed by Charles Sheldon on July 29, 1906, at the north base of Denali had antlers which were about grown but still in the velvet. They had a spread of 67 inches. If these antlers had been allowed to mature the moose doubtless would have carried a record head. By the first of September the velvet covering of antlers is rubbed off and the antlers are grown and hardened. The bull cleans and polishes his antlers by rubbing them against the brush and the hard bark of trees. By the last of September the rutting season is at its height. On December 19, 1907, near Peters Glacier, Charles Sheldon killed a bull moose that had already shed his antlers. This was unusual, for the antlers are not dropped ordinarily until after Christmas.

Sheldon states that during the summer the moose eat considerable green grass and buds of willows. During the winter he found them feeding exclusively on willows.

Moose are excellent swimmers. Charles Sheldon witnessed a cow and her calf swim across a lake at Cathedral Mountain on September 8, 1907.

In winter moose are prone to make a network of beaten trails in the snow, usually in timber near a suitable food supply. This "yarding" gives them a chance to move about freely and to obtain food. It also gives them a better opportunity to protect themselves against the attack of wolves. However, when the snowfall is excessive, as it was in the winter and spring of 1932, many of the moose leave the lowlands and seek the higher wind blown ridges where there is less snow. At such times, in traveling through the crusted snow the skin on the legs of the moose is often cut through and the animal leaves a bloody trail behind him. One of the McKinley rangers reported a narrow escape which he had when he suddenly came upon a moose. This animal was plowing through the deep crusted snow. The moose, feeling cornered, evidently considered the man's approach an attack; he charged at the ranger, who was on snowshoes, and the man was barely able to escape.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—With the exception of the Alaska moose, the caribou is the largest member of the deer family found within the park. In Alaska everyone refers to the males as "bulls"; to the females as "cows"; and to the young as "calves." An average sized caribou bull stands 50 inches in height at the shoulders and weighs, when in fair flesh, more than 300 pounds. They have longer legs but are not so chunky as are the mountain sheep. In the late fall the bulls are usually dark brown, often having a white mantle that covers the neck and shoulders. During the winter this white area often extends back along the sides giving the appearance of a broad white patch. Caribou are the only members of the deer family in which both the males and females bear antlers. The antlers of the caribou are shed annually. These antlers are large, wide-spreading and have numerous points (fig. 64), some of which are much flattened, especially the large brow tines or shovels which extend well forward over the nose. The ears of the caribou are of medium size, dark colored, and well covered with fur. The tail is short and thickly covered with hair; it is brown above and white beneath. The hoofs are dark brown, rounded, and cowlike, but are more flexible and better adapted to pawing in snow.

Figure 64.—Antlers of two fighting Stone's caribou bulls which became interlocked with fatal results.
Photograph taken July 16, 1926, Sanctuary River. J. S. D. No. 2

IDENTIFICATION.—In the field in summer the caribou may be distinguished at a distance from their usual associates, the mountain sheep, by the fact that they are dark colored while the sheep appear entirely white. When close at hand, the large upright many-branched antlers serve to identify these animals. Caribou have a characteristic way of running together into a compact band when alarmed (fig. 65). On scenting danger the tail is raised, the white under portion serving as an effective danger signal to the remainder of the herd. When alarmed the animals dash off with a comical leap and a characteristic stiff-legged gallop.

Figure 65.—A band of Stone's caribou, scenting danger.
Photograph taken June 3, 1926, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 4952.

DISTRIBUTION.—Caribou range over most of the barren ground or tundra regions along the Arctic coast of North America. They are common in Mount McKinley Park and are found in summer chiefly on the rolling tundra and along the higher grass-covered ridges above timber line (fig. 66). The head of Savage River, Double Mountain, and Sable and Highway Passes are localities where caribou may be found in numbers during the summer season. However, these animals are of a roving disposition and while hundreds may be present in a locality one day, they may be gone the next day.

Figure 66.—A group of about 500 Stone's caribou on summer range. Note old caribou trails above the herd.
Photograph taken July 10, 1932, East Fork. W. L. D. No. 2664.

HABITS.—The caribou is a Stone Age animal. The stone carvings which have come down to us as the very earliest graphic record of man in Europe depict the caribou in its characteristic and unmistakable form. So far as we have been able to see, there has been no change in the general appearance of the animal during thousands of years.

There is considerable seasonal and daily movement of caribou in the McKinley region. During the annual rutting season in the fall, there is evidence that the caribou near the north base of Mount McKinley band together in herds, as many as three or four thousand being observed in one aggregation, and travel in a general northerly direction. The herds circle about, but finally reach their wintering grounds along the lower foothills and plains well outside the mountains along the northern boundary of the park. They drift eastward during the winter and reenter the park along the Teklanika and Sanctuary Rivers the following spring. Caribou were noted returning westward in the park on May 19, 1926. On this date seven caribou were observed traveling along a ridge near Jenny Creek. They seldom stopped to feed but maintained an average speed of 3 miles per hour and were obviously in transit, traveling to their high summer range (fig. 66).

Caribou may be encountered singly or in herds of several thousands. Ordinarily during the summer small bands of from 30 to several hundred individuals are met with most frequently. On July 9, 1926, at Double Mountain, on the divide between the Sanctuary and Teklanika Rivers we counted more than 200 caribou that were scattered about through the pass and well up on the mountain slopes. At Sable Pass on the day following we found evidence, tracks, and trampled herbage, that an immense herd of caribou, estimated at 5,000, had passed through that region 3 or 4 days previously. However, the herd had traveled on and we saw only half a dozen stragglers. On July 19, at McKinley Bar, we encountered a band of 12 caribou cows and 8 calves. At the head of Savage River on June 28 we found a herd of 53 caribou feeding in a meadow about 100 acres in extent. There were about an equal number of each sex in this herd and a good many calves. Single individuals or small bands of 3 or 4 were encountered almost daily during our stay in the park. At Igloo Creek on July 21, 1932, a band of caribou consisting of 347 individuals, by actual count, was observed.

In summer the caribou occupy the open tundra and higher grassy slopes. We found that there was a general tendency to follow the fresh new vegetation up the mountain slopes as the season advanced. Visits to the head of Savage River and to Highway Pass during June and July revealed from one to several herds of caribou standing or bedded down on the snowbanks (fig. 67) to escape the attacks of flies and mosquitoes. These two localities and Sable Pass are among the best and most accessible places for park visitors to see, study, and enjoy caribou.

Figure 67.—Stone's caribou regularly resort to snowbanks to escape attacks of mosquitoes and flies.
Photograph taken July 8, 1932, Stony Creek. W. L. D. No. 2656.

The eyesight of caribou during the summer is anything but keen. We took occasion to prove this fact many times. On May 20, 1932, while climbing a steep hillside near the Savage River bridge, we sat down on a bare rock slide to rest. Looking up we beheld a band of migrating caribou approaching. They were headed straight for us. We knew that we were within a few feet of the regular caribou trail but we remained quietly seated in order to see how close they would come. When the main band had approached within 40 yards, they stopped and began to graze. The old bull caribou which was leading the band came straight on toward us and passed quietly within 10 feet of our resting place on the open hillside. The wind had been blowing directly from the feeding animals and in our direction, but as soon as the old bull leader reached a point behind us he got our scent and nearly exploded in his frightened attempt to escape the previously unobserved danger. Upon seeing their leader excited, the whole band turned and bolted up the hill. They plunged into the snowdrifts, their legs sinking in the soft snow clear up to their bodies.

Again, on June 28, 1926, I crawled along a bare, open, rocky slope to within a hundred yards of a band of caribou without being detected. Then I slid slowly down the steep slope, keeping close to the ground, until I approached to within 30 yards of two large bull caribou that were lying in the open in plain sight. These two bulls did not pay the slightest attention to me as long as I made no violent motions and remained crouched on the ground. At various times during the summer we found that if the wind were favorable it was possible, by lying down on the ground, to slide downhill slowly into the very midst of a band of grazing caribou.

Investigation has shown that the caribou's sense of smell is as good as its eyesight is poor. On one occasion, a cow caribou winded us while we were yet over a half-mile distant. At another time a band of caribou caught our scent, borne to them by a favorable wind, nearly a mile from where we stood. The following incident is indicative of this animal's keen sense of smell. On June 27, at the head of Savage River, we crawled up a bare, gravel slope in an endeavor to get close to a band of caribou. Some time later, the same band crossed our trail which was then almost an hour old. The moment they caught the human scent of our tracks 8 out of the 12 suddenly stopped and started back.

On another occasion a band of about 40 caribou came down off the hill and grazed along a bench above the river. Taking the camera and keeping to the windward of the caribou I crawled up behind a row of dwarf willows close to the animals. They were about 200 yards distant and were grazing directly toward me, the wind being from them. Some of the old bulls had beams 30 inches long and although nearly grown the heavy antlers were still in the velvet. The animals grazed up to within 100 yards of me then turned back, and lying down, began to chew their cuds. Soon it started to rain and the wind shifted. It carried a light breeze from me toward the caribou and within 10 seconds, the whole herd was on its feet (fig. 65). They threw their heads up in order to catch any scent that might be carried by the air currents. Observation with binoculars showed that their nostrils dilated as they sniffed the air suspiciously. One more whiff and they were off, circling around above me they galloped downward in a close-packed herd. I remained hidden all this time behind the willows so that they could not see me. It was a clear case of their ability to detect human presence through the acuteness of their sense of smell.

Caribou are as keen to scent danger as mountain sheep are to see it. It is interesting that the caribou roaming over the relatively flat country should have developed a wonderful sense of smell and that the mountain sheep inhabiting the rocky areas should have developed extremely keen sight. It is true that the continual winds of the level or rolling tundra are almost sure to bring the scent of an enemy to the caribou, while the broken air currents of the rugged mountainous country that the sheep inhabit are less depend able. Because of the nature of the topography and of their vantage points at high elevation, the sheep have evidently learned to depend on their eyesight to warn them of danger.

It was our experience that the female caribou were much more alert and much quicker to detect the presence of danger than were the males. This fact was impressed upon our minds many times during the summer. Invariably, when we crawled up to a band of caribou, it was the females and especially the females with young who first detected our presence. For example, on June 28 we crawled up towards a herd of caribou. When we got within 60 yards of a cow and calf she saw us and, apparently being fearful for her calf, moved off. A large, dark-colored bull caribou was lying down contentedly chewing his cud. When we approached to within 40 yards of him a cow that was with the bull saw us and began to edge away. After the cow had left I crawled down to within 30 yards of four old bulls that were drowsily feeding out in the open (fig. 68). Many times in Alaska I have observed that the leader of a band of caribou is usually some old female (fig. 69).

Figure 68.—Four old male Stone's caribou feeding on an open hillside.
Photograph taken June 28, 1926, head of Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 4970.

Figure 69.—An old female led the herd of Stone's caribou. Note cow with small calf at right.
Photograph taken June 27, 1926, head of Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 4963.

Aside from heavy breathing and snorting, the caribou utter a peculiar grunt which reminds one of the muffled barking of a small dog. The calves when separated from their mothers utter a series of these sounds. Though muffled, on a calm day, these sounds will carry for a quarter of a mile. Even when separated from her calf, a mother caribou will make no effort to warn it or to coax it back by any audible call.

Tracks of a large bull caribou made in the sand measured 5 inches in width. Other tracks made in firm wet soil (fig. 70) were also 5 inches in width. From measurements taken of tracks made by a number of large males we found they were all about the same size. Tracks of female caribou were found to vary from 4 to 4-1/2 inches in width, being approximately as long as they were wide. In both sexes the tracks are very much like cow tracks in outline (fig. 70).

Figure 70.—This typical track of a mature male Stone's caribou was like a cow track in outline and measured 5 inches in width.
Photograph taken June 30, 1926, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 4955.

When undisturbed, caribou often travel in single file (fig. 71). Trails thus formed are a conspicuous feature of the landscape. They average about 14 to 18 inches in width, and in some places the soil has been cut down to a depth of as much as 2 feet by the recurrent travel of generations of caribou. On the soft, springy tundra trails are usually mere depressions from 4 to 6 inches in depth.

The droppings of caribou are similar to those of deer, except that they are much larger, longer, and somewhat more pointed.

Caribou are prone to visit mineral springs or "licks" during the summer. On the trail between Double Mountain and Igloo Creek there is a well-established mineral spring which is visited by large numbers of caribou during the summer. Here we found a muddy area nearly 100 feet square that had been trampled bare of all vegetation by the caribou. We found that a few of these animals visited the lick at the head of Ewe Creek; however, this particular spring was visited especially by mountain sheep.

The spring molt in males was much in evidence by June 27. By that date the caribou's pelage had become ragged, the dark new summer pelage showing through the old, faded, winter coat in large patches, particularly about the head and shoulders. At this time the cows were in somewhat better pelage than were their mates, the old hair being more "shed out." The new hair continues to grow until by late fall the pelage consists of long, coarse, brown and whitish hairs which are longer and harsher than were those of the short, soft, brown summer coat.

We had been accustomed to think of caribou as living almost, or entirely, on reindeer or caribou moss and lichens (fig. 72) and were therefore surprised to find that during the summer the caribou lived to a considerable extent on succulent green vegetation, such as Boykinia (fig. 73), and on browse. Although we watched them at close range for many hours, we did not at any time during June and July see them feeding on reindeer moss which could easily have been obtained. In grazing they were found to eat most of the available green vegetation. A number of them were observed to browse extensively on green willows. This had been observed also by Charles Sheldon who found the stomach contents of two caribou, shot by him on November 23, 1907, to contain willow buds.

On July 10, 1926, at Double Mountain, we observed a band of caribou feeding. By 9 o'clock in the evening most of the caribou had eaten their fill and were lying down chewing their cuds. There was a chill wind blowing through the pass which gave them relief from the flies and mosquitoes. The mountain sheep feed less hurriedly and were still grazing assiduously at 10 o'clock in the evening. As has been stated, caribou are often found in close association with mountain sheep. We frequently found the two species grazing side by side within 10 feet of each other without the least show of animosity, although there must be considerable competition at times for food.

On July 22, a large moose was observed as it traveled hurriedly along a caribou trail in the pass at Double Mountain. However; the animal did not pause to feed until it was well down the slope and near timber. Twice during the summer we found reindeer, or hybrids between reindeer and caribou, mingling with the wild caribou in the park. Thus, on May 23, 1926, in Savage River Canyon, there was one small spotted reindeer in a band of 26 caribou, it had escaped apparently from a neighboring herd and had joined the caribou. Again, on June 27, at the head of Savage River, a spotted animal was closely observed which had every appearance of being a cross between a reindeer and a caribou. He was too large to have been a full-blooded reindeer. Several reindeer "escapes" have been known to run with caribou in the park. The Superintendent of Mount McKinley National Park told us that in order to keep the native caribou stock pure the rangers had been instructed to shoot such stray or feral reindeer whenever they were seen within the park area.

By the time we arrived in the park on May 19, the antlers of the male caribou had reached a length of several inches. There was, however, considerable variation in antler development. Although the antlers of the bulls were nearly grown by June 27, on this same date it was observed that the antlers of cows accompanied by small calves were only 4 inches long and that they were much smaller than those of the cows without calves. In general, the antlers of the female develop later in the season than do the antlers of the male, and there is a corresponding difference in the time of shedding. On November 23, 1907, Charles Sheldon killed a bull caribou that had just shed its antlers. The pedicels were still bloody. This was unusual, for ordinarily the bulls do not shed their antlers at such an early date. It has been claimed that the late shedding of antlers in the female is due to her greater need of protection for herself and her young. None of the female antlers which we saw were as large as those of an average bull's. However, on November 24, 1907, Charles Sheldon killed a large caribou cow that had antlers which measured 51 inches in length.

From early June until about the first of September the bulls remain up near the source of the rivers in the main range, feeding on grass and other plants during the day and resting at night. About the first of September most of the bull caribou leave the high country and go north, down to the adjacent treeless country where they herd the cows. Since the species is polygamous there are many combats among the rival bulls. The rut or breeding season begins in September and by September 20 most of the old bulls have swollen necks and a strong musky odor which is characteristic of the breeding male.

Only one calf is born per cow during a season. We saw no instance of twins. By actual count, only about half of the females were found to have calves by the last of June. On July 21, 1932, at Igloo Creek I counted a band of 63 caribou which consisted of 40 cows, 20 calves, and 3 young bulls. In some instances the calves may have died, but every indication seemed to lead to the conclusion that possibly not more than two-thirds of the females bear young each season. The calves are dropped during the latter part of May. The first one which we saw was found on May 28, 1926. This calf was obviously only a day or two old. It was barely able to walk and could not stand on its wobbly legs for any length of time. The calves at birth are not spotted, as are the young of must of the deer family. The young of this species are lighter in color than are the adults. In general appearance, a month-old caribou calf is very similar in color, size, and contour to the calf of an ordinary Jersey cow. Caribou calves appear to have little affection or attachment for their mothers and often wander aimlessly about. It was no uncommon sight to see a mother caribou following, instead of leading, her calf. On one occasion we watched a lone calf that was rushing up and down hill and over ridges in a seemingly senseless fashion. At length he ceased running, lay down on a mossy knoll, and went to sleep. The young caribou develop slowly. The yearlings are not more than half the size of a full-grown cow. A newly born mountain sheep keeps close within the protection of cliffs and does not stray far from its mother. In marked contrast to this, the young caribou wanders far from home and seemingly depends upon its mother to hunt it up. Charles Sheldon has pointed out that the cows constantly lose their young and run about excitedly trying to find them. It is not improbable that the infant mortality is much higher in the case of caribou than it is in mountain sheep.

During the rut it is not unusual to find clumps of willows or lone spruce saplings which have been defoliated, or even broken down, by the males rubbing their antlers against the branches in order to remove the velvet. The caribou bulls are known to fight viciously among themselves, particularly at the beginning of the rutting season. On July 16, 1926, near the Sanctuary River, we found the white, bleached bones and interlocked antlers of two large bulls that had succumbed in a battle for supremacy. Their antlers had become so locked in fighting that the animals had been unable to free themselves and had died of exhaustion and starvation. Judging from the antlers, this fight had transpired some time during the previous fall. Pieces of hide were still in evidence about the carcasses. One set of antlers had a spread of 41 inches and the other nearly 44 inches. The height above the skull of the larger antlers was 43 inches. The horns were locked in three places (fig. 64), and although two men pulled as hard as they could they were unable to separate the two heads. Foxes and magpies had fed on the carcasses of the fallen monarchs, as was evinced by numerous droppings near the bones. The skeletons showed they had fought so viciously that the shoulder blade of one bull had been punctured by the tine, or sharp tip, of the other's horns.

The large timber wolves follow the caribou bands and exact a daily toll. However, the wolves tend to weed out the weaklings. This practice of the wolves is one of nature's methods of keeping the caribou herds physically fit. It is a natural process and has existed for thousands of years.

The introduction of domestic reindeer offers serious complications to the welfare of the native caribou, both through the introduction of disease and through breeding of the strong native caribou with the weaker and smaller domestic reindeer. The crossing of the inferior reindeer with the caribou endangers the perpetuation not only of the caribou in Mount McKinley Park but the magnificent herds throughout interior Alaska. Where the two animals occupy the same range, the caribou is doomed to disappear and the resulting population will be a mongrel mixture. Since reindeer and caribou cannot exist together, it would be wise to restrict the territory occupied by the reindeer in such a way that the caribou may be preserved.

Owing to the transient nature of the species it is exceedingly difficult to get any satisfactory count or census of the entire caribou population. However, by going over certain typical sections of their range and by making careful counts in 1926 and again on the same areas in 1932, we feel confident that there has been no serious loss in the total caribou population of the park during that time.

GENERAL APPEARANCE.—The Dall sheep is somewhat smaller than the Rocky Mountain bighorn of the United States. A fair-sized ram of the Dall sheep stands about 39 inches at the shoulders and weighs more than 200 pounds. The older rams have large, much curled horns (frontispiece). Young rams and female sheep have short, slightly curved goatlike horns (fig. 74). The female is about two-thirds the size of the ram. At a distance young rams are difficult to distinguish from the females. The ears of the Dall sheep are short, round, and well covered with hair (fig. 74). The tail is small and inconspicuous, being only about 4 inches long. Total length, 58 inches; tail, 4 inches; hind foot, 16.6 inches.

Figure 74.—Female Dall sheep, showing short, slightly curved, goatlike horns, and heavy, pure white winter coat, the ewes are sometimes incorrectly called "ibex."
Photograph taken May 30, 1932, Savage Canyon. W. L. D. No. 2706.

IDENTIFICATION.—Two important diagnostic characters of the Dall sheep are the white color and, in the rams, the relatively slender, wide-spreading horns (fig. 75). Contrasted with the Dall sheep, the Rocky Mountain bighorn of the United States is sandy-brown in color; its horns are large at the base and are closely curled and they do not extend out on either side of the head to so great a distance. Tracks of the Dall sheep show straight-sided-hoof marks which are well separated anteriorly (fig. 76) and are only half as large as are the tracks of caribou.

Figure 75.—Characteristic features of the male Dall sheep are the relatively slender widespreading horns.
Photograph taken June 1, 1932, Igloo Creek W. L. D. No. 2453.

Figure 76.—Tracks of ewe and lamb (Ovis dalli). Note straight-sided-hoof-prints and anteriorly spread toes.
Photograph taken June 7, 1926, Savage River. M. V. Z. No. 5205.

DISTRIBUTION.—Dall sheep are found in the mountains of central and northern Alaska and the Yukon Territory. They are numerous throughout the park on the north side of the main Alaska Range. The reason for this is that the snowfall is so heavy on the south side of the range that it would be difficult or impossible for the sheep to exist throughout the winter. Not only would their food be covered, but they would be so hampered in their movements by the heavy snowfall that they would be in grave danger from natural enemies. However, on the north slope the snowfall is relatively light and many ridges are swept bare of snow by the winter winds. This means that on the steep mountain slopes food is available during all seasons of the year and that the sheep are able to move about freely all winter and to thus escape their enemies.

HABITS.— During the entire period of our stay in the region in 1926, there was scarcely any time in the 24 hours each day that it was not possible to look out from our camp and count from 57 to as many as 104 Dall sheep on the surrounding hillsides within a mile of the camp.

In 1932, following the most severe winter in 40 years, I learned that the unusually heavy snowfall had caused many mountain sheep to die, presumably through lack of available food. Both mountain sheep and caribou, because of their disadvantage in deep snow, are said to have been killed by the timber wolves and coyotes. The apparently poor reproduction among the sheep in the spring of 1932 may have been due to the poor physical condition of the ewes.

In the Mount McKinley district the mountain sheep have distinct summer and winter ranges. The chief wintering ground is the north, or outside, range and adjacent foothills. The territory occupied by the sheep in winter varies in elevation from 1,000 to 5,000 feet. This winter range is characterized by a relatively light snowfall, 3 to 4 feet, and by the general ruggedness of the topography. In many cases the mountain slopes are so steep that the snow does not stick. Another reason for this region being favorable winter range for the sheep is the abundant growth of red-top and other grasses, found in sheltered nooks at the bottom of the lower rock-slides and cliffs in the area, often attaining a height of 3 feet during the summer. This grass matures and cures naturally so that a nutritious and accessible food supply is available even during the heaviest storms. The abundance of tracks and other "signs" found about these places and amid the alder thickets indicate that the sheep congregate in considerable numbers at such points during late winter and early spring. The sheep abandon the winter range usually during the first week in June and, crossing the low valleys, move southward to the higher summer pastures in the main Alaska Range. Here they obtain fresh forage throughout the summer following the springing vegetation upward along the snowline. Thus we find a very marked system of deferred grazing practiced by the Dall sheep. Their sojourn in the main Alaska Range during the summer gives the vegetation on the winter range an opportunity to grow and mature. Incidentally, this system assures the sheep an adequate food supply during the stressful time of winter, when the main range is heavily blanketed with snow.

The head of Savage River, above the Caribou Camp, is a favorite summer home of several bands of mountain sheep. This is one of the most accessible and best places for park visitors to see not only mountain sheep but also caribou and even grizzly bears. Divide Mountain, between the Sanctuary and Savage Rivers on the old trail to Copper Mountain, is also an excellent place to find sheep, particularly in late summer (fig. 77). Those visitors who make the trip to the base of Mount McKinley have numerous opportunities to observe the Dall sheep at Sable Mountain, Toklat, and various points en route. However, it was our experience that the opportunity to study sheep was even more favorable at Igloo Creek and Sable Mountain than it was nearer the base of Mount McKinley.

Figure 77.—Male Dall sheep on summer range.
Photograph taken July 22, 1920, Double Mountain. M. V. Z. No. 5171.

We witnessed several migrations of sheep from their winter range to their summer pasture. On June 15, 1926, a typical trek was observed at about 10 o'clock in the morning. We noted a flock of 64 mountain sheep working down from the north range into the valley near the transportation company's main camp on Jenny Creek. The sheep grazed down the hill, keeping in a compact body in the open away from the spruce timber. At a distance they looked like a large moving mass of snow spreading out over the brown tundra. After considerable hesitation the band, led by an old female, made a dash across the willow bottom land to a nearby gravel ridge on the opposite side of the valley. The flock traveled in single file as they went through the willow thickets which dotted the stream bed. Each animal marched along with military precision until their River Jordan had been crossed. Upon reaching elevated hard ground on the other side the flock broke rank and scampered off wildly along the ridge into the foothills of the nearby main Alaska Range. Groups of old rams often linger for several days on the winter range after the ewes and lambs have left.

One reason for the sheep wintering in the more rugged portions of the north range is doubtless because in such places suitable protection is secured for the young lambs at birth. Thus we found that certain south-facing, rugged cliffs in Savage River Canyon were regularly selected as lambing grounds. The presence there of numerous small potholes and caves at the bases of perpendicular or even overhanging cliffs (fig. 78) gave abundant protection to the newly born lambs and to their mothers. Tracks of wolverines and observed attempts of golden eagles to capture the young lambs proved the value of such hiding places, particularly while the lambs were small. As a matter of fact, observations showed us that the young lambs would not normally venture more than 50 or 100 yards from such havens of refuge until they were several weeks old and able to run about and in a large measure to take care of themselves. To many people, a small pothole at the base of a cliff—often filled with broken rock (fig. 79)—would seem a hard cradle indeed, yet it affords safety and protection to the lambs which is so essential to their welfare.

Figure 78.—Lambs of the Dall sheep are usually born at the base of some secluded cliff such as that shown here.
Photograph taken July 27, 1926, Savage River.

Figure 79.—Slight depressions filled with broken rocks often serve as cradles for the lambs of the Dall sheep.
Photograph taken June 5, 1926, Savage Canyon. M. V. Z. No. 5204.

The lambs are born from early in May, while there is still considerable snow on the ground, until late in June. In studies made extending over a period of years, considerable seasonal variation has been found in the lambing period. For instance, in 1926, following an early rutting season, the first lamb of the year was noted on May 5 and by the last of May all of that season's lambs had been born. In 1932, following a late breeding season, the first lamb was seen May 31 and some lambs were not born until the last of June. Two pregnant ewes that became stranded in deep snow were captured by rangers and later were taken to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks where they gave birth to normal lambs on the 17th and 18th of May.

On June 28, 1932, Mr. F. W. Morand, while collecting insects high up amid the crags of Cathedral Mountain, heard a low groaning sound and stealing cautiously around a rocky point he found himself within 6 feet of a female mountain sheep which was in labor. Not wishing to frighten the animal he retreated and stole quietly around to the other side of her where he was 20 feet distant and partly concealed. By that time the lamb had been born and the ewe was standing over it and licking her new offspring. The lamb's cradle was a warm pocket in the rock, screened in on both sides and above by protecting cliffs. Delivery of this lamb had taken only about 15 minutes. As a rule each ewe gives birth to but one lamb per season although at times there are twins. The long-legged, wobbly, fuzzy lambs are a never-ending source of interest to park visitors. They are grayer in color than the adults and in the distance appear to be decidedly darker than their mothers, who keep a very watchful eye over their offspring.

It was found that frequently from six to a dozen ewes and their lambs congregated into a sort of nursery, or school, which was always near protected cliffs or rocks. Thus, on May 27, 1926, in the Savage River Canyon, we crawled up to within 200 feet of a hunch of ewes and lambs. At this time the ewes were in poor physical condition. Their white coats were earth-stained from lying on the thawing ground. Near the same locality on June 5, we found what we took to be the same flock. There were 10 lambs in a close little pasture romping about together. They appeared to love to scamper about the rock piles and sheer cliffs. When alarmed, they would all rush at once to the top of a pinnacle rock where they would stand, bunched together. Then, at a signal they would fairly fly down the steepest way only to return and repeat the performance. On numerous occasions we noted that such schools of lambs were always watched over by an old female (fig. 80). There seemed to be some division of labor, since the other mothers seized this opportunity while the youngsters in the nursery were playing under the vigilant eye of their teacher to go off for some considerable distance, in certain cases almost a quarter of a mile, to secure food. The favorite game of the lambs seemed to be follow-the-leader. Each youngster would take his turn at leading the way up the side of a boulder or cliff which seemed unscalable to us. The remaining lambs made every effort to follow in the footsteps of the leader and they usually succeeded. As soon as one circuit had been completed a new leader would start out, choosing a slightly different route. This system of play, which seemed to us to be extremely hazardous, doubtless was nothing but the normal training for young mountain sheep which would enable them to maintain their race and to escape their enemies. Only on one occasion did we see any unusual concern exhibited by the mother for her wayward offspring. In this instance, a lamb ventured out onto a sloping rock which overhung a sheer drop of about 80 feet. We held our breath as we watched the daring youngster, seemingly headed for certain destruction. The watchful lamb's mother had also taken in the situation and suddenly dropping her seeming indifference she bounded quickly over the rocks and deftly butted her erring offspring back to safety.

Figure 80.—One ewe (Ovis dalli) protected her lamb by standing over it, while the other ewe started to leave.
Photograph taken May 27, 1926, Savage Canyon. M. V. Z. No. 5189.

In one rocky basin of about 20 acres we counted 34 sheep, all being ewes with their small lambs. At this date, May 23, 1926, the lambs were small enough to walk under their mothers' bodies without touching them. One lamb ran in between its mother's front legs and began to nurse, butting the udder just as a domestic calf sometimes does. While this lamb was nursing, another one of the same size which we thought might be one of a pair of twins started to nurse also; the mother turned around and repeatedly butted it aside. It evidently did not belong to her. We found that the young lambs were not particular about seeking out their own mothers. They would attempt to suckle any nursing ewe. However, the latter had decided objections to nursing the offspring of other ewes so that it was not uncommon to see a lamb try two or three times before he succeeded in finding his own maternal font.

On one occasion we watched a baud of 10 ewes and 11 small lambs as they fed together on a small bench in an area not more than 100 feet square. While we watched, a golden eagle circled out around a projecting cliff directly over the sheep. The moment the eagle came into sight there was an immediate scamper. The young lambs disappeared as if by magic, seeking safety in the potholes and overhanging cliffs. Within 5 seconds not one of the lambs was in sight, and a period of 10 minutes passed before they began to reappear. We watched them as they came timidly forth from under the overhanging cliffs. On this occasion we were unable to distinguish any signal of alarm on the part of the adult sheep. The lambs simply scattered in all directions upon catching sight of the eagle. During the summer of 1932 I watched several golden eagle nests containing young, but I never found the bones or other remains of lambs in or below any of the nests. In the same locality in June 1908, Charles Sheldon observed golden eagles swooping at young lambs which were protected from such aerial attacks by the ewes standing over them (fig. 80) and thrusting their horns upward at the swooping eagles. On June 7, 1908, at the forks of the Toklat, Sheldon visited a golden eagle's nest and found the bird on her nest while ". . . on the rocks nearby were strips of skin and other remains of lambs, demonstrating that this eagle at least had been successful." Ewes and their lambs more than 6 weeks old, seem to be indifferent to eagles.

On May 27 we located a band of ewes and small lambs that had bedded down on the very summit of a pinnacle rock. Cliffs dropped away on all sides but one. There was considerable snow in patches at this elevation (about 3,500 feet). Here, for the better part of an hour, I watched two ewes and their lambs. By peeking through a crack in the rock at a distance of 75 yards I was able to study them unobserved. One or the other of the two female sheep stood guard constantly (fig. 80). After a 10 minute period of watching in all directions the ewes changed places. On another nearby rock I found 20 sheep, 10 ewes and 10 small lambs, lying down and chewing their cuds contentedly. The ewes' coats were very ragged and the animals were thin. Their sides and under parts were stained brown from contact with wet soil, although the sheep I observed were resting on well drained, dry ground. After securing a series of photographs I stood up in plain sight. Upon my sudden appearance the old ewe on guard jumped fully 20 feet, straight down into a deep snowdrift on the south side of the rock. One ewe with a very small lamb turned around and tried to escape another way, but finding that this was impossible, she turned back and, leading the lamb, followed the way that the others had taken. It would have been utterly impossible for a man to go down the steep cliff and across the snowslide which was traversed with ease by the sheep. Even the lambs never hesitated a moment and seemed to enjoy the run. I endeavored to follow the sheep but found this was impossible and was forced to turn back and seek another route. At length I again found the whole band of sheep feeding contentedly on a steep talus slope a thousand feet below.

On July 27, 1926, I found a flock of about 20 sheep sleeping in the shade during the heat of the day under some conglomerate cliffs which formed an outcrop high up on a ridge at an elevation of 5,000 feet. Here I saw an old ewe accompanied by her lamb of the year and by her previous year's male lamb. The latter had horns about the length of those of his mother. They were all feeding together; and they kept together even when I approached. I followed them about for some time in order to make sure that both lambs belonged to this particular ewe. There was no question regarding her anxiety and care for both offspring.

In the McKinley district mountain sheep visit certain "licks" or mineral springs at regular intervals, usually about every other day during the spring. One of the best known licks is located on Ewe Creek (fig. 81), just within the park boundaries on the north side of the secondary range. Here we found that sheep had established regular highways leading from the higher ridges down across the gravel-strewn plain to the springs which cover an area of about one-quarter of an acre. These well-traveled trails (fig. 82) were visible to the naked eye a mile distant and doubtless had been traveled by countless generations of mountain sheep. They were as nearly straight as the contour of the land permitted. Another lick is located on the divide near Double Mountain, between the Sanctuary and Teklanika Rivers. This latter lick is visited perhaps more frequently by caribou than by sheep, although we found numerous tracks of both animals there early in July. The sheep visit the licks for the mineral salts which they obtain there. It is thought by persons who are familiar with the animals that the reason for sheep visiting the licks in the spring is that certain mineral requirements have been lacking in their winter food. Perhaps such visits may also assist in the shedding of their hair which is molted at this time. The lick on Ewe Creek was located on a high bank of the stream. Several beds of talc were exposed and in one place where the rock is of a purplish-slate color, an area of about 20 by 30 feet is literally covered with sheep tracks where the animals have come to lick and gnaw off portions of the soft rock. In some cases the rock is worn off by licking and undercutting to a depth of 6 or 8 inches. I tried tasting some of this formation which the sheep sought but there was no decided taste that I was able to detect. Samples of the rock were saved and brought back to the University of California, where they were analyzed by Dr. G. L. Foster, of the Division of Biochemistry. He reports that calcium and iron phosphate are the two minerals present in this material which would be soluble in digestive fluids, such as the gastric juices of the mountain sheep's stomach. He also found certain insoluble substances present, chiefly magnesia and silicates. Our observations indicate that such licks were not frequently visited by the sheep after the first of June. By the middle of June the sheep move to their summer range, some 15 or 20 miles distant, and there is no opportunity for them to visit these particular licks during the summer.

Figure 82.—This old Dall sheep trail was 14 inches wide and worn 3 inches deep in rocky ground.
Photograph taken June 5, 1926, Savage Canyon. M. V. Z. No. 5203.

The mountain sheep's daily program during the summer was as follows: Through the early morning hours, from 3 o'clock until 8 o'clock they foraged about actively, often descending nearly to timber line. By 10 o'clock they returned to the higher cliffs (fig. 83) and during the heat of the day were found bedded down at the foot of perpendicular cliffs or escarpments which protected them from the unexpected approach of any enemy from above. They directed their watch downward and were able to detect readily the approach of any enemy from below. Six o'clock in the evening usually marked the time of the second grazing period in the day.

Figure 83.—A flock of Dall sheep returning to the cliffs for their midday rest.
Photograph taken July 20, 1932, Igloo Creek. W. L. D. No. 2719.

At Double Mountain on July 9, 1926, I watched numerous bands of mountain sheep bedded down on rocky ledges near the top of a rugged cliff. At about 6 o'clock in the evening the sheep began to come to life and several old rams started down the talus slope to feed in the green meadows below. Soon there was a veritable avalanche of sheep pouring down the hillside, forming a long stream from the cliffs to the meadows. Sixty-three sheep were counted on one hillside in an area less than 40 acres in extent. The old rams fed fearlessly even down among the willows where the grass was tall and tender. A band of caribou came over the pass and mingled with the sheep as they all fed. Nearly half of the adult sheep were rams; one in particular was very large and had nine growth-rings on his horns. This adult ram stayed with the band of ewes, but another flock of 11 young rams stayed together in a band by themselves. They were very curious and were not afraid of me. Some of them stood and watched me for awhile. Then they lay down though they continued to watch. By walking slowly toward them I was able to get within 50 yards of the entire flock. This band of sheep fed slowly and were still grazing when I left them at 10 o'clock in the evening.

On the evening of June 24, 1926, at the head of Savage River, a flock of from 50 to 60 sheep was observed feeding along the lower edge of a melting snowbank. Just as the last rays of the setting sun turned the whole landscape into gold this flock ceased grazing, walked over to a bare open ridge, dug out beds in the gravel with their front feet, and at 11 o'clock all lay down for a short night's rest.

In traveling from their homes amid the cliffs to the forage grounds below, the sheep pass over rock slides and cause numerous rocks to become loosened and to plunge down the steep slopes. At Double Mountain on July 22 we found that the sheep were constantly dislodging rocks in this way. They were very keen to the first indicating sound of this danger and each member of the flock gave instant heed in order to avoid any jeopardizing slippage from the cliffs above them. We found that it was exceedingly perilous in such localities to try to approach sheep from below. On one occasion a rock the size of a nail keg plunged down the mountainside past us, missing us by a close margin. We found one dead sheep which had been caught and killed in a snow or rock slide and another large ram with a broken leg which we believed had been injured by falling rocks. For this reason, we caution park visitors not to get below the sheep on a rocky slope and to be extremely careful themselves when traveling in a group.

The only time that we heard Dall sheep utter any audible sound was when two yearlings approached a band of four adult rams. On this occasion, while the yearlings were running toward the rams they were heard to make a sound somewhat like the bleat of a domestic sheep, except that it was deeper and harsher.

The sense of sight in the mountain sheep is exceedingly keen, whereas their sense of smell does not seem to be very sensitive. When observed at close range, their eyes seem very large and dark and in marked contrast to the whiteness of their bodies. Charles Sheldon reports (1930, p. 148) one ewe with yellow eyes. It has been observed that if a person remains off the skyline and motionless, Dall sheep will often pass without detecting his presence—even at 50 yards distance. Too, this may happen when the wind is blowing directly from the man toward the sheep. Thus on June 12, while I was watching a band of these animals as they were returning from a salt lick, they passed within 50 yards of me and were unaware of my presence although the wind was blowing directly from me toward the sheep.

When frightened by some sudden shock the Dall sheep show a slight tendency to rush together. One would naturally suppose that thunder would have little or no effect on them. Contrary to our expectation, the thunder did seem to affect them. On June 1 when we were on one of the sheep mountains there occurred a sudden and extremely heavy clap of thunder. As we looked back, a compact band of sheep was rushing through the pass where we had been a half hour earlier. There were more than 70 in the flock, not counting an abundant sprinkling of lambs. Suddenly there was another clap of thunder and the sheep dashed madly up the steep slope. We had had this flock under observation throughout the forenoon and were unable to ascribe any other cause for their fright than the unusually heavy thunder.

On the whole, the Dall sheep is of a retiring, we might even say timid, disposition; yet he is curious. By repeated experiments we found that if we tried to sneak stealthily up to a band of sheep they would become alarmed and would run away, whereas, if we advanced slowly, in the open, and were visible to the band at all times, in many instances they would be interested rather than afraid and might even advance toward us, if we stopped and remained perfectly still. As a further test we tried making considerable noise, although we remained as nearly motionless as possible the while. Instead of becoming alarmed we found that our shouting merely excited their curiousity. One old ram in particular kept coming toward us, evidently eager to find the cause of all the racket.

On June 28, at the head of Savage River, I approached quietly and very slowly to within 30 steps of a young ram that was very curious to learn what sort of an intruder I might be. This ram, his nostrils dilated, stretched his neck and made every effort to identify me by scenting me. As I stood quietly watching, he shifted around until he was directly to windward of me, but he was evidently still baffled. Finally he indulged in a favorite trick of mountain sheep; he bounded off over the ridge as though in full flight, but finding that I did not follow he promptly returned and cautiously peered back over a rock pile, just his white head showing and even that blending with the white clouds in the sky.

The enemies of mountain sheep fall into two classes, the first being predatory birds and mammals and the second, man. The golden eagle is a potential enemy of young lambs but apparently does not levy a heavy toll. Sheldon found sheep remains at a nest but these may have represented carrion, for these eagles are known to feed on carrion. Among mammals, the wolf, coyote, lynx, and possibly wolverine prey on sheep but it appears that the sheep are usually able to escape these enemies if they are not surprised too far from the friendly cliffs. This is probably one of the main reasons why the Dall sheep remain close to broken rocky ground and cliffs where they may flee for refuge when pursued by either wolves or coyotes. On June 16, 1932, at 10 o'clock in the morning, I watched a large gray coyote trying to ambush a band of 80 ewes that were attempting to cross a broad low valley between their winter and their summer range. The coyote hid in the low bush near the trail where it crossed open ground. The sheep saw the coyote and several times many of the nervous ewes fled wildly back to the protection of the cliffs. Sheldon (1930, p. 368) let his dog chase a 3-year-old ram, which had a start of 100 yards, in order to observe how a sheep chased by a wolf might behave. The dog gained at first but when the ram made a steep slope he easily kept in the lead, stopping at short intervals, apparently but little worried, to look back at the dog, which soon became too tired to follow. Sheldon remarks (p. 369), "The actions of the ram led me to suspect that a wolf would not have followed more than a few feet up such a slope, its experience, which Silas lacked, having taught it that a sheep could easily escape when once headed upward on a steep slope." In May 1932, the remains of three sheep were noted out on the open ground. These sheep may possibly have been killed by wolves. Under normal conditions the sheep seem well able to fend for themselves.

In the Mount McKinley region, man has been an outstanding enemy of mountain sheep. In the olden days, before the park was established, market hunters made a regular business of shooting sheep in the region, and of sending the meat to the mining centers along the Tanana River. According to the testimony of reliable men and also as evidenced by the numerous pairs of bleached horns which still remain in the vicinity of the many crude log shelters that served as winter camps and are still extant along the Savage and Sanctuary Rivers, hundreds of sheep were slaughtered each winter.

The older rams are less fearful of enemies and are more independent than are the smaller sheep. This was well shown by the actions of two large males found on July 27, on the very summit of a pinnacle rock. Their eyes were closed and they were chewing their cuds in perfect contentment. Upon my very slow approach from above the younger sheep amid the ewes fled, but the sleeping rams allowed me to get within 50 yards of them. Finally the smaller of the two rams, which had a broken horn, possibly injured in some recent fight, detected some slight movement. He stood up and came over to investigate; the larger, 10-year-old-ram—as shown by the growth rings on his horns—continued to doze peacefully until I approached to within 60 feet of him. Even then he did not see me but became alarmed because of the flight of the smaller sheep and the falling rocks from the cliff behind him, and rising to his feet he stood with distended nostrils (frontispiece) looking intently in every direction in his attempt to locate the cause of the disturbance. His only avenue of escape was by way of the narrow ledge on which I was standing, for the cliffs dropped off on all sides from 50 to 200 feet. Suddenly the old ram lowered his head and bounded towards me. One might have thought that the ram was charging at me; however, I feel sure that this was not the case. He made no effort to molest me though he was so close to me as he passed that I could have reached out and touched him. He merely seemed very anxious to escape and join the rest of the flock on the heights.

It has been said that the old rams do not mingle with the ewes and younger sheep during the summertime. For the most part this is true. However, there are exceptions. On July 26 a large band of mountain sheep was found bedded down at the foot of a high cliff on Mount Margaret; in their midst was one old very broad and deep-chested ram, one of the largest of the 3,000 to 4,000 which we observed. At another locality on July 27, near the head of Savage River, two large rams were found bedded down on top of a pinnacle rock. They were accompanied by numerous yearlings and one old ewe with her offspring of the year. At various other times in the latter part of July we found some of the males mixing freely with the adult females and young. Prior to this, that is during May and June, the old rams usually keep in small, isolated flocks, three to eight being found together. By August the young rams, those from 3 to 5 years old, indulge in sparring and fighting, so at this time there is much rushing together and bumping of huge horns.

At Double Mountain on July 22, 1926, the younger rams were beginning to feel belligerent or playful, and we watched numerous jousts or contests. The procedure was as follows: Five or six young rams would congregate forming a circle of from 10 to 12 feet in diameter (fig. 84). A ram would select an opponent apparently by looking at him intently; then he would back off. If the opponent accepted the challenge he likewise would hurriedly back away until each had retreated a distance of between 20 and 30 feet. Then after pausing a moment they would dash at each other, meeting head-on at the center of the ring. Just before they collided they would rear up on their hind legs and strike their horns together with a resounding thud which was clearly audible to us, as we sat watching the sheep with binoculars, a quarter of a mile distant. This would some times be repeated three or four times until one or the other of the contestants was worsted and then a third ram would often step in and challenge the winner. At these times the older rams keep to themselves, but on occasion they were seen to seek the company of some adult ewe.

Figure 84.—Right is being determined by might in the circle of young rams (Ovis dalli) at extreme upper right.
Photograph taken July 22, 1926, Double Mountain. M. V. Z. No. 5200.

The mating season of mountain sheep in the McKinley region has been found to vary from season to season. Charles Sheldon, who spent the winter of 1907-8 in the Toklat region studying the habits of Dall sheep, reports (1930, p. 198) that he observed the first actual mating of mountain sheep on November 6, 1907, also that it was the first positive sign of the rut. The bands of rams had broken up in October and the older rams had traveled about the mountains but they had not joined the ewes until the latter part of October. By November 18, the rutting season was at its height and it "continued until the middle of December." Sheldon (1930, p. 209) points out that at the height of the rut several rams were observed to serve several ewes of the same flock as they came in season, and ". . . not once did any of the four rams show any sign of jealousy or pugnacity." However, if a strange ram from another flock of sheep enters the field during this season his right is challenged by the local rams and a crashing battle ensues. The ewes look on such contests with mild interest and the ram that is beaten merely moves off toward some nearby flock leaving the victor the undisputed master.

To reiterate briefly, in midwinter these hardy sheep, clothed in their heavy coats of long winter hair (fig. 74), seek the comparatively snow-free, high, barren slopes and are seemingly indifferent to the cold and winds. They paw aside the snow in order to reach the stunted growth of grass and herbaceous plants which comprise their food at this season. So long as they remain on the steep slopes they are relatively safe from sudden attacks by wolves or other natural enemies. In August 1932 former Ranger Lee Swisher told me that at that time he did not believe there were more than 1,500 sheep in the entire park, as contrasted with a count and estimate of between 10,000 and 15,000 that he had found present on his patrols over the same area in 1929 when the mountain sheep population was at its highest peak. The explanation of the reduction is not clearly understood but it has been attributed variously to (1) starvation and death caused by heavy snowfall and prolonged winter weather (fig. 85); (2) failure of the surviving sheep to reproduce, due to their poor physical condition; (3) destruction of many sheep by coyotes and wolves. The problem needs careful investigation.

Figure 85.—Following a hard winter and scarcity of food in 1932, many ewes ran no lambs, note 13 ewes and only 1 lamb (centre), ordinarily, at least half of these ewes would have had lambs.
Photograph taken August 26, 1932, Sable Mountain. W. L. D. No. 2713.