34 



NATURAL HISTORY OF VERMONT. 



Part 1. 



THE COMMON WOLF. 



THi: COMMON WOLF. 



and his bite very severe. His legs are 

 very short and his feet webbed, on whicli 

 account he seems to be better fitted for 

 swimming tiian for running upon land ; 

 and he is so eminently aquatic in liis hab- 

 its that he is seldom seen at much distance 

 from the water. This animal when fnlly 

 grown measured according to Dr. Wil- 

 liams, 5 or six feet in length and weighed 

 about 30 pounds, but the total length of 

 those taken at present seldom exceeds 

 4 feet. The price of the skin is at pres- 

 ent from 5 to 7 dollars, but it iias been at 

 times in such demand as to be worth 10 

 or 152 dollars. 



Genus Canis. — Linnaus. 

 Generic Characters. — Teeth 42 — Incis- 

 ors a canine 1-1. grinders R.ii The three 

 first finders in the upper jaw are small and edged, 

 and are termed false molars, or grinders ; the 

 great carnivorous tooth above biciisped, with a 

 small tubercle on the inner side, and two tubercu- 

 lous tcelli beiiind each of the carnivorous ones. 

 Muzzle clongaied, naked and rounded at the ex- 

 tremity ; tongue smooth, ears pointed and erect in 

 the wild species; fore feet with 5 toes and hind 

 feet with 4, having robust nails. 



3^ 



THE COMxMON WQLF. 

 Cants lupus. — Likn/ecs. 

 Dkscription. — General color yellow- 

 ish or reddish gray, blackish on tlie shoul- 

 ders and nmij), and yc^llowish wliite be- 

 neatli, but varying mncli according to age 

 and climate, being in some cases nearly 

 black and in others almost white. ^ On 

 the back and sides there is usually an 

 intermixture of long black, and wliite hairs 

 with a grayish wool, wliieh partially ap- 

 pears, giving to those parts a grayish hue, 

 which deepens along tiie back into black ; 

 liair on the back part of the cheeks, busliy ; 

 tail straight and bushy like that of the fox 

 and nearly the color of the back ; eyes 

 oblique; ears erect; teeth very strong. 



*Diflt3rence of colour has been the occasion of the 

 division of this species into the following varieties : 



Variety \. Lupus griseus^ Common Gray Wolf. 

 " 9. Lvpti=: alhns. White Wolf. 

 " 3. Lvpvs stictr, Pierl Wolf. 

 " t. Lvpn.i niibilv.'^i Dusky Wnlf. 

 " 5. Lupus alcr, Black Wolf. 



Length of the specimen in the collections 

 of the College of Natural History of the 

 Vermont University, from the nose to tlu; 

 tail -1 feet 3 inches, tail 17 inches; height 

 at the shoulder 2 feet.^ 



History. — For some years after the.sct- 

 tleinent of this state was commenced, 

 wolves were so numerous and made such 

 havoc of the flocks of sheep, that the keep- 

 ing of sheep was a very precarious busi- 

 ness. At some seasons particularly in 

 the winter thej' would prowl through the 

 settlements by night in large companies, 

 destroying whole flocks in their way, and, 

 after merely drinking their blood and per- 

 haps eating a small portion of the choicest 

 and tenderest parts, would leave the car- 

 cases scattered about the enclosure and 

 go in quest of new victims. Slaughter 

 and destruction seemed their chief de- 

 light; and while marauding the country 

 they kept up such horrid and prolonged 

 bowlings as were calculated, not only to 

 thrill terror through their timorous vic- 

 tims, b».\t to appall the hearts of the in- 

 habitants of the neighborhood. Though 

 the sheep seems to be their favorite victim, 

 wolves sometimes destroy calves, dogs, 

 and other domestic animals ; and in the 

 forest they prey upon deer, foxes, hares 

 and such other animals as they can take. 

 Impelled by hunger they have been 

 known in this state to attack persons,' 

 but they usually flee from the presence of 

 man. The wolf bears a strong resem- 

 blance to our domestic dog ; is equally 

 prolific, and its time of gestation is said to 

 be the same. It ])roduces its young in 

 tlie early part of summer, having from 

 four to eight at a birth. Between the dog 

 and the wolf prolific hybrids have often 

 been produced, which however partake 

 more of the nature of the wolf than of the 

 dog. 



AVolves have always been so great an 

 annoj'ance that much pains have been ta- 

 ken for their extermination, but at pres- 

 ent, their number is so much reduced 

 that com])arativeIy very little damage is 

 done by them in this state. The legis- 

 lature, however, continues in force a law, 

 giving a bounty of ,*t;20 for the destruc- 

 tion of each grown wolf witinn the state, 

 and i^lOfor each'sucking whclpof a wolf ; 

 and the amount paid annually for wolf 

 certificates is usually froin one to two hun- 

 dred dollars. The largest wolves killed 

 in Vermont have weighed from 90 to 100 

 pounds. The only part of the wolf which 

 is valuable is its skin, which affords a 

 warm and durable fuf. 



*Tliis sppcimpn is distorted by too much stufTinij. 

 It was killed in Addison county abont ten years aire* 



♦Willinms Flisf. I. 101. 



