88 



The Living Animals of the World 



Photo ly J. W. Mclellan] 



RUSSIAN WOLF. 



This is a. most characteristic photograph of one of the so-called "greyhound wolves" of the 



Bussian forests. 



gorged itself on a colt or a 

 calf. Under such conditions, 

 if the dogs had a good start, 

 they ran into the wolf and 

 held him. . . . Packs com- 

 posed of nothing but specially 

 bred and trained greyhounds 

 of great size and power made 

 a better showing. Under 

 favourable circumstances three 

 or four of these dogs readily 

 overtook and killed the 

 largest wolf. . . . Their dash- 

 ing courage and ferocious 

 fighting capacity were mar- 

 vellous, and in this respect I 

 was never able to see much 

 difference between the smooth 

 and rough the Scotch deer- 

 hound or the greyhound 

 type." 



Wolf cubs are born in 

 April or May. The litter is 

 from four to nine. There was 

 one of six a few years ago at 



the Zoological Gardens at the Hague, pretty little creatures like collie puppies, but quarrel- 

 some and rough even in their play. When born, they were covered with reddish-white down ; 

 later the coat became woolly and dark. 



The European wolf's method of hunting when in chase of deer is by steady pursuit. Its 

 speed is such and its endurance so great that it can overtake any animal. But there is no 

 doubt that the favourite food of the wolf is mutton, which it can always obtain without risk 

 on the wild mountains of the Near East, if once the guardian dogs are avoided. M. Tschudi, 

 the naturalist of the Alps, gives a curious account of the assemblage of wolves in Switzerland 

 in 1799. They had, as is mentioned above, followed the armies from Eussia. Having tasted 

 human flesh, they preferred it to all other, and even dug up the corpses. The Austrian, 

 French, and Russian troops penetrated in 1799 into the highest mountain valleys of Switzerland, 

 and fought sanguinary battles there. Hundreds of corpses were left on the mountains and in 

 the forests, which acted as bait to the wolves, which were not destroyed for some years. 



Wolves will interbreed with dogs readily, which the red fox will not. The progeny do 

 not bark, but howl. The Eskimo cross their dogs with wolves to give them strength. 



THE COYOTE, OR PKAIRIE-WOLF. 



Besides the large grey wolf, a smaller and less formidable animal is common on the 

 prairies and mountains of the northern half of the continent of America. This is the COYOTE. 

 It takes the place of the hyaena as a scavenger, but has some of the habits of the fox. It 

 catches birds and buck-rabbits, and feeds on insects, as well as small rodents like prairie-dogs 

 and mice. Its melancholy howls make night hideous on the northern prairies, and it is the 

 steady foe of all young creatures, such as the fawns of prong-horned antelope and deer. Its 

 skin, like that of most northern carnivora, is thick and valuable for fur wraps. The coyotes 

 assemble in packs like jackals. 



In the National Park in the Yellowstone Valley grey wolves and coyotes are the only 

 animals which it is absolutely necessary to destroy. As the deer and antelope and other game 



