FIELD BOOK OF MAMMALS 



and as bold as they have ever been, for there the conditions 

 are different. 



The presence of Wolves will be oftenest noted by their 

 big, dog-like tracks, occasionally by the deep, sinister howl, 

 and possibly by the discovery of the kills they have made. 

 The Wolf is strong enough to prey upon the largest of the non- 

 carnivores and in some places is very destructive to domestic 

 stock. With the settlement of a district, the establishment of 

 farms and ranches, and the disappearance of the game 

 animals, the Wolf departs as well. He has no place in the 

 modern scheme and is being poisoned, trapped, and shot 

 throughout the western states. In most of the eastern states 

 the Wolf has been exterminated or is very scarce; in the 

 Adirondacks the last Wolf was killed in 1893, in Pennsylvania 

 in 1907, and in New Jersey they were all killed early in the 

 nineteenth century. 



The hunting range of an individual Wolf is usually very 

 extensive. The animal is capable of traveling far and swiftly, 

 and it follows the larger mammals which it prefers as prey. 



The Wolf frequents the plains, the broken country where 

 plateaus are intersected by canyons and ravines, and the 

 forests. It is able to adapt itself to a variety of environ- 

 ments, but needs either dense, inaccessible cover or a wide 

 expanse of territory where its speed will serve it in place of 

 adequate cover. 



The Wolf makes its den in a cave, a hollow log, or in a hole 

 in the ground. The location is generally selected near a rise 

 of ground from which one of the Wolves can stand guard. 

 The young vary in number from three to thirteen, with six or 

 seven as the average. The young are born from early March 

 to the middle of April. The old Wolves are devoted parents 

 and the male helps the female to feed and rear the young. 

 When born the pups are blind and the eyes are not fully 

 opened until the ninth day. 



Wolves hunt together, usually in small packs. These 

 packs may be the individuals of one family or, in winter, 

 several families may be represented, and at this time the packs 

 are larger; at other seasons large packs are unusual. 



Seton gives several calls for the Wolf. The commonest 

 is the "long smooth howl" very much like the howl of a large 

 Dog but decidedly eerie, nevertheless. Another howl is on a 



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