iV^ 



WOLF 



COYOTE 



able big-game animals, except 

 bears, and have contributed to 

 the great decline of the reindeer 

 herds. Predation on caribou is 

 severe, and a heavy toll is exacted 

 a^ the wolves follovt^ migrating 

 herds throughout the year. 



Wolves usually run in family 

 groups of from three to eight, 

 though larger groups are sometimes 

 reported. In color they are all 

 shades and combinations from black 

 to white, with darker wolves more 

 common in Southeastern Alaska, 

 and lighter ones in the Arctic. 



Though they are seldom seen, the 

 presence of wolves can be detected 

 from their large dog-like tracks 

 along beaches and river bars. Be- 

 cause wolves are predators, there is 

 a bounty on them, and the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service through its 

 Branch of Predator and Rodent 

 Control carries out control 

 measures. 



Coyote — The coyote (its name is 

 from an Aztec word coyotl) or 



brush wolf was not present in Alas- 

 ka until about the turn of the cen- 

 tury. It entered Alaska through 

 the Yukon Territory of Canada. 

 There are a few on the mainland 

 of Southeastern Alaska, and they 

 have spread all through the In- 

 terior. They are most abundant in 

 the Matanuska and Copper River 

 Valleys and on Kenai Peninsula. 

 Coyotes destroy mountain sheep. 



LYNX 



34 



