396 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Protection Against Wild Animals. 



Forest officers killed the following animals harmful to live stock and 

 to game animals: 



Predatory animals destroyed. 



' Also 2 wolverines and 6 foxes, or total of 1,006 animals for California. 



The total number killed was 12.5 per cent less than in 1910. There 

 was a falling off of 21 per cent in the number of bears, 10 per cent in the 

 number of mountain lions, 53.5 per cent in the number of wolf pups, 

 11 per cent in the number of coyotes, 25 per cent in the number of 

 wild cats, and 45 per cent in the number or lynxes. There was, how- 

 ever, an increase of 25 per cent in the number of grown wolves killed. 

 These reductions are probably due to a general reduction in the num- 

 ber of predatory animals infesting the National Forests and adjacent 

 ranges. The work has served as an example and a stimulus to the 

 settlers within and adjacent to the Forests, who have themselves 

 killed many thousands of animals. On the Wallow^a National Forest, 

 in Oregon, the spread of rabies among the coyotes during the summer 

 of 1910 caused widespread apprehension and resulted in serious 

 losses of live stock. At the request of the settlers, the district forester 

 assigned several of the best qualified forest officers in the State to 

 the work of destroying the coyotes. They were so successful that 

 this spring some of the permittees allowed their lambing bands to 

 graze unattended throughout an entire day wdthout suffering any loss 

 whatever from wild animals, a condition practically without precedent 

 in the history of the country. 



The work of clearing the ranges of prairie dogs continued until the 

 latter part of the year, when arrangements were made with the 

 Biological Survey to take over the work. The natural distribution of 

 the dogs is mainly within districts 2 and 3, and most of the work 

 performed was within these two districts. The treated areas have not 

 been entirely freed from rodents, but the prairie dogs have been so 

 reduced in number that they can no longer completely denude the 

 lands occupied. 



