346 ANNUAL, EEPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



have been similarly protected so that ewes and lambs are allowed to 

 range freely without being driven to bedding grounds at. night. 

 This has made it possible to carry at least one-third more ewes* on a 

 lambing ground, to save a higher percentage of lambs dropped, and 

 at the same time to reduce the expense of handling. The practical 

 elimination of coyotes from the range country will result also in a 

 great increase in both the wool and the meat output. In addition to 

 the sheep they kill, coyotes destroy many goats, calves^ pigs, and 

 domestic fowls, and are among the most destructive enemies of large 

 and small game, including both birds and mammals. The bobcat 

 ranks next to the coyote in destructiveness to sheep and goats, while 

 wolves, mountain lions, and some bears cause heavy losses of cattle 

 and horses. 



Not all predatory animals are equally destructive of live stock. 

 Some individuals become strongly marked among their fellows be- 

 cause of their depredations. This is particularly the case with moun- 

 tain lions, wolves, and coyotes. As illustrative of losses caused by 

 these animals, the following instances, which have occurred during 

 the year, may be cited : 



One mountain lion killed by a bureau hunter near Roosevelt, Ariz., 

 had a record of destroying 50 calves and 3 colts on one ranch besides 

 many killings on other ranches. 



A trapper in New Mexico found 23 calves killed by a notorious 

 wolf which he succeeded in taking; another wolf had killed 30 head 

 of cattle in Wyoming before being captured ; a pair of wolves killed 

 near Split Rock, Wyo., were each reported to have killed from 

 $1,500 to $2,000 worth of stock a year; another pair of wolves which 

 were taken were known to have killed 100 sheep and 7 colts for one 

 rancher and 50 sheep for another during the month before they 

 were captured. 



Coyotes in New Mexico were reported taking from 3 to 6 lambs 

 each night from one ranch, notwithstanding the fact that Mexican 

 herders were sleeping in close proximity and that the usual devices 

 were employed to keep the animals away. After a bureau hunter 

 had killed 7 large, old coyotes and 2 wildcats in the vicinity the losses 

 entirely ceased. 



In Custer Countj^, S. Dak., during a period of six or seven years, 

 one wolf still at large is credited with having killed more than $25,000 

 worth of cattle. Other notorious individual stock-killing animals 

 occur in all parts of the range country. 



Whenever a report of the activities of such predatorj?^ animals is 

 made to a district inspector of the bureau, expert hunters are detailed 

 to effect their capture. In this wa}^ the careers of many of the most 

 notorious stock killers of the western ranges have been ended. 



RABIES. 



Predatory animals are carriers of rabies, which still persists in 

 California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The 

 destruction of these animals through the campaign led by this 

 bureau has greatly reduced the occurrence of the disease and the 

 losses caused by it. Now, whenever an outbreak of rabies is reported, 

 trappers are concentrated about the locality, the affected animals 

 are soon destroyed, and the disease promptly disappears. But for the 



