166 CARNIVORA FISSIPEDIA. 



elk, and when pressed by hunger will attack isolated 

 travelers, having even been known to enter villages and 

 carry off children; but they are cowardly and sneaking 

 in their advances, retreating rapidly if disturbed by a 

 man or dog, and showing great cunning in avoiding 

 traps. They are still numerous in France, Hungary, Spain, 

 Turkey and Russia, but became extinct in England in 

 the Fifteenth Century, and disappeared from Scotland 

 and Ireland in the early part of the Eighteenth Century. 



"There are numerous other species of Wolves in dif- 

 ferent parts of the world. Some like the Thous grading 

 into jackals; others like the Fox Wolf inclining more 

 toward the foxes ; and most of them interbreed easily with 

 some varieties of the dog in the countries they inhabit, 

 the dog itself being a composite of a mixed wolf an- 

 cestry. 



Many stories have been told about the ferocity of the 

 Wolves, and when food is scarce in the winter they are 

 doubtless dangerous animals to meet when they are trav- 

 eling in packs ; but the writer has heard the Coyotes howl 

 all night without offering to come within gunshot range 

 when the bright fires burning in the camp told the cun- 

 ning animals that a warm reception was awaiting them. 

 It is claimed however that the common Wolf of Europe 

 is of a bolder and fiercer disposition than any of the 

 American species, and the reports that come to us from 

 time to time of thrilling adventures of sledging parties 

 in Russia support this contention. 



The Russian or Black Wolf is larger than the other Eur- 

 opean varieties, which are about the size of a large dog, 

 and has long black top-hairs with a thick brownish red 

 underfur, bluish at the ground. The full tail is of 

 medium length dark brown above and light below and 

 has a black tip ; the ears, which are generally dark brown, 

 are covered with a soft velvety fur; and the black whis- 

 kers are few in number. The Siberian Wolf is larger still 

 than the Russian variety, and is of a much lighter color 

 and has much harsher fur. 



The American Grey or Timber Wolf (Canis-lupus-occi- 

 dentalis), found in the wild regions of North America as 

 far north as twenty-seven degrees north latitude, is 

 fully as large if not larger than the Siberian Wolf. 



