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Night Spotlighting Table 3: Results of mammalian carnivore sightings during two -ten evenings of dusk - darkness spotlight surveying on and within a two miles of the project site. Area Species Cat Dog Striped Skunk Opossum Coyote Red Fox -------------------------------------------------- On Site: 5 15 4 3 1 1 Off Site: 17 11 9 6 2 1 Among wild carnivores observed on the night spotlighting drives, the striped skunk and opossum were by far the most numerous. " This occurrence in not unique to this area but appears to be the norm throughout South San Joaquin County and many other agricultural areas in California. The combination of these r. species large litters, wide range of food preference, and their effective forms of defense accounts for this fact. Domestic carnivores dominated the sightings, and the combined effects of competition for rodent prey by cats and harassment by dogs may account for the relative few observations of coyotes and red fox. The only fox species observed during the spotlight surveys and recorded in the track board work was the red fox (Vulpes vulnes ssp• ) . It should be noted that this red fox was not the threatened Sierra red fox (Vulpes vulpes necator) which inhabits remote areas of the Sierra Nevada but instead one of a rapidly growing number of descendants of eastern red foxes which either : escaped or were released from fur farms near Sacramento in the late nineteenth century (Jameson, 1988) . Their numbers continue to increase throughout the Central Valley, a situation which . presumably adds new competitive pressure on other mammalian predators including the SJKF. In addition to the predator species listed in Table 3 , Audubon cottontail rabbits were observed on each night of the August . survey in the area of the small stock pond on the west edge of the sites. Their presence here may account for the records of coyote tracks at this pond and along Hospital Creek west of the highway. Black-tailed hares were observed on several occasions :. along the eastern edge of the orchard area during the August ,, survey. At this time harvested almonds were in windrows between the tree rows and most likely provided a temporary attraction for ,,. both hares and omnivores such as the opossum to this area. one significant negative result was that there were no sightings of the common barn owl on the site proper, although it was seen often while driving routes through the irrigated pasture and crop : land east of the project site. Its absence at this site most likely reflects the scarcity of small rodents on this parcel. The combination of clean orchard floor maintenance, soil surface disruption in the quarry area, and intense grazing in the dry grassland area negates the possibility of key rodent prey species such as the California meadow vole from establishing even � F 9 6 ? i