3i8 Field Museum of Natural History — Zoology, Vol. XL 



Wolves rarely lie in wait for their prey, but usually hunt in packs, 

 at least in the winter, and run down their game, following the trail 

 like hounds. In the vicinity of a ranch, where Sheep or Cattle can be 

 had, they have learned by experience that little effort is required to 

 secure food and in such cases often hunt alone or in pairs, doing their 

 work in a stealthy manner. But when hunting a Deer they take the 

 trail openly, trusting to their power of endurance to pursue the animal 

 until it becomes exhausted. A hunt of this character is described by 

 Mr. Ernest Thompson Seton who says,* "An instance in point was 

 related to me by Gordon M. Wright, of Carberry, Man. During the 

 winter of 1865 he was logging at Sturgeon Lake, Ont. One Sunday he 

 and some companions strolled out on the ice of the lake to look at the 

 logs there. They heard the hunting cry of Wolves, then a Deer (a 

 female) darted from the woods to the open ice. Her sides were heaving, 

 her tongue out, and her legs cut with the slight crust on the snow. 

 Evidently she was hard pressed. She was coming towards them but 

 one of the men gave a shout which caused her to sheer off. A minute 

 later six Timber-wolves appeared galloping on her trail, heads low, tails 

 horizontal, and howling continuously. They w^ere uttering their hunt- 

 ing cry, but as soon as they saw the Deer they broke into a louder, 

 different note, left the trail, and made straight for her. Five of the 

 Wolves were abreast and one that seemed much darker was behind. 

 Within half a mile they overtook her and pulled her down, all seemed to 

 seize her at once. For a few minutes she bleated like a lamb in distress ; 

 after that the only sound was the snarling and crunching of the Wolves 

 as they feasted. Within fifteen minutes nothing was left of the Deer 

 but hair and some of the larger bones, and the Wolves fighting among 

 themselves for even these. Then they scattered, each going a quarter 

 of a mile or so, no two in the same direction, and those that remained 

 in view curled up there on the open lake to sleep. This happened about 

 ten o'clock in the morning within three hundred yards of several wit- 

 nesses." 



Gray Wolves make their dens in caves, hollow logs, or burrows in 

 the ground. The young are born in April and usually number from 

 6 to 8, although as many as 13 have been found in a litter. 



Mr. Vernon Bailey states that in 1907 litters of Wolf pups were found 

 in the Michigan peninsular in Marquette and Dickinson counties, and 

 that during the year 34 Wolves were killed in Ontonagan County and 

 54 in Luce County. t A full grown Gray Wolf in northern Wisconsin 

 or Michigan will weigh from 70 to 100 pounds, and Seton records one 



* Life Histories of Northern Animals, II, 1909, pp. 755-756- 

 t U. S. Dept. Agr., Bureau Biol. Surv., Circular, No. 63, 1908. 



