274 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA [No. 55 



when fully adult, usually have from 7 to 11 young at a litter in 

 March or April, and remain associated as a family, or pack, led by 

 the old male through summer and fall to the beginning of the next 

 breeding season. The breeding dens are usually large holes in banks, 

 under rocks, log jams, or in hollow logs where the little black puppies 

 are guarded with great care until they are large enough to come out 

 and follow the parents to the kill and later to join in the hunt. 

 Apparently the first litter of young is small, often only 3 or 4 pups. 

 The male and female mate for one or more seasons. The male de- 

 votes all his time and energy to protecting, feeding, and leading his 

 family until the young are full grown and able to kill their own 

 game. 



Food habits. The wolves are hunters, and, where game is plentiful 

 kill as they need food and usually more than is eaten. If large game 

 is scarce, they will kill rabbits or any small animals, or attack do- 

 mestic stock on the range. Their diet is almost entirely meat, 

 usually freshly killed, but in case of hunger any old carcass that 

 can be found will furnish a meal. Among the Olympic Mountain 

 elk herds, wolf droppings along the trails are generally composed 

 entirely of elk hair, while in areas where there are no elk and plenty 

 of deer, deer hair predominates. Stomachs examined by trappers 

 show deer, sheep, and rabbit meat, accompained by enough of the 

 hair to readily identify the animals. Deputy Game Warden Ben S. 

 Patton, of Estacada, caught an old female wolf on the upper Clack- 

 amas Kiver on June 6, 1914. With her family of young, she had 

 eaten all the skinned body of a recently killed bear. The old wolf 

 was caught in traps baited with fish heads (Oreg. Sportsman 2 (7) : 

 16, 1914). 



Economic status. These large wolves are so destructive that 

 neither game nor domestic stock can be successfully maintained 

 where they are present in any considerable numbers. Fortunately, 

 however, they keep as far as possible from settlements and civiliza- 

 tion, and owing to this restricted range are more easily controlled 

 than are the coyotes. In Oregon, at the present time, they are so 

 nearly under control that their damage is negligible, but a careful 

 watch must be maintained to keep them from getting a fresh start. 



CANIS LYCAON NUBILUS SAY 



BUFFALO WOLF; GRAY WOLF; PLAINS WOLF; LOBO; HOHNI of the Cheyenne 



(Wied) 



Canis nubilus Say, Long's Exped. to Rocky Mountains, v. 1, p. 169, 1823. 



Type locality. Engineer Cantonment, near Blair, Nebr. 



General characters. Larger than the eastern timber wolf with heavier 

 skull and paler coloration. About the same size as gigas, but with longer, 

 lighter skull and general coloration much lighter gray, some individuals be- 

 coming almost white. In winter fur light gray from the combination of cream- 

 colored underfur overlain with the black tips of long outer hairs ; back of ears 

 and top of nose buffy ; face clear gray ; feet and legs creamy white, nose pad, 

 lips, and eyelids black. Summer coat darker and more yellowish gray. Young 

 black at birth, soon fading to dusky and buffy gray. 



Measurements. Adult male from Coif ax County, N. Mex., measured in the 

 flesh by E. T. Seton : Total length, 1,575 mm; tail, 406; weight, 102 pounds. 

 Well-tanned skin of large male from Miles City, Mont.: 1,750; 400; 245; ear, 

 9o. Skull of large male from Montana: Basal length, 230; zygomatic breadth, 

 145. Skull of large male from Fort Kearney, Nebr,: Total length, 258 (10.15 

 inches) ; greatest width, 137 (5.4 inches). 



