Yosemite Sam is an American animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros. Animation . The name is somewhat alliterative and is inspired by Yosemite National Park . Along with Elmer Fudd , he is the de facto archenemy of Bugs Bunny . He is commonly depicted as an extremely aggressive gunslinging prospector , outlaw , pirate , or cowboy with a hair-trigger temper and an intense hatred of rabbits, Bugs particularly. In cartoons with non-Western themes, he uses various aliases, including "Chilkoot Sam" (named for the Chilkoot Trail ; Sam pronounces it "Chilli-koot") in 14 Carrot Rabbit (although in the same cartoon, when he tries to gain Bugs Bunny's trust, he cleverly invents the alias "Square-deal Sam"), "Riff Raff Sam" in Sahara Hare , "Sam Schultz" in Big House Bunny , "Seagoin' Sam" in Buccaneer Bunny , "Shanghai Sam" in Mutiny on the Bunny , and "Von Schamm the Hessian " in Bunker Hill Bunny and many others . During the golden age of American animation , Yosemite Sam appeared in 33 shorts.