Coyote 



the Colorado valleys they range in great numbers, making their 

 dens among the broken sandstone ridges of that lonely country. 



In the flat lands they dig burrows for themselves or else 

 take possession of those already made by badgers and prairie- 

 dogs. Here in the spring the half-dozen or more coyote pups 

 are brought forth, and it is said that at this season the old 

 ones systematically drive any large game they may be chasing as 

 near to their burrow, where the young coyotes are waiting to 

 be fed, as possible, before killing it, in order to save the 

 labour of dragging it any great distance. When out after jack- 

 rabbits two coyotes usually work together. When a jack-rabbit 

 starts up before them one of the coyotes bounds away in pur- 

 suit while the other squats on his haunches and waits his turn, 

 knowing full well that the hare prefers to run in a circle, and 

 will soon come round again, when the second wolf takes up 

 the chase and the other rests in his turn. In this manner the 

 jack is finally tired out and overtaken. When some particularly 

 shy old jack-rabbit starts off for a straightaway run instead of 

 circling, the coyote in pursuit tears away to one side and gen- 

 erally succeeds in turning him back towards the spot where the 

 other wolf is waiting. 



When hunting antelope and deer the coyotes spread out 

 their pack into a wide circle, endeavouring to surround their game 

 and keep it running inside their ring until exhausted. 



Sage-hens, grouse and small birds the coyote hunts suc- 

 cessfully alone, quartering over the ground like a trained pointer 

 until he succeeds in locating his bird, when he drops flat in 

 the grass and creeps forward like a cat until close enough for 

 the final spring. 



It is a well-known fact that a coyote will follow a trapper 

 or a party of roving Indians, picking up the scraps left about 

 their camp-fire, or wherever they may have been skinning game. 

 If unmolested at such times, he soon loses much of his native 

 wildness and exhibits considerable boldness. 



During hard seasons, when there is little food to be had 

 and even gophers and field-mice are hard to find, the coyote, 

 it is said, adopts a partially vegetable diet, eating the fruit of 

 the prickly pear, and in winter wild-rose hips and Juniper 

 berries. 



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