88 



THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



fhtto by J. W. McLtllan] 



RUSSIAN WOLF 



TAis is a most characteristic photograph of one of the to-called "greyhound wol-vci " of the 



Russian forests 



offered an altogether different 

 problem. Frequently we came 

 upon one after it had gorged 

 itself on a colt or calf. Under 

 such conditions, if the dogs 

 had a good start, they ran into 

 the wolf and held him. . . . 

 Packs composed of nothing 

 but specially bred and trained 

 greyhounds of great size and 

 power made a better showing. 

 Under favourable circum- 

 stances three or four of these 

 dogs readily overtook and 

 killed the largest wolf. . . . 

 Their dashing courage and 

 ferocious fighting capacity 

 were marvelous, and in this 

 respect I was never able to see 

 much difference between the 

 smooth and rough the 

 Scotch deerhound or the 

 greyhound type." 

 The litter is from four to nine. There was one of six 



[Highbur, 



Wolf cubs are born in April or May. 

 a few years ago at the Zoological Gardens at The Hague, pretty little creatures like collie puppies, 

 but quarrelsome 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 it is mentioned above, followed the armies from Russia. 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 sangui- 

 nary 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 PRAIRIE-WOLF 



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

 and mountains of western North America. This animal is known as 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 gray wolves and coyotes are the only 



