THE ENEMIES OF WILD LIFE 195 



any campaign against coyotes. Such injurious insects as 

 grasshoppers, crickets, June-bugs (white grubs), etc., are 

 also eaten by coyotes. Nevertheless it would appear that 

 the damage they inflict far outweighs the benefits they ac- 

 complish. Peculiarly enough they are also fond of fruit 

 and consume wild fruits and berries. 



Cougar. — The cougar or puma, also known as the moun- 

 tain lion or panther, is the largest of the cat tribe in North 

 America. In Canada it is to be found in the Rocky Moun- 

 tains and westward to Vancouver Island, on which it ap- 

 pears to be most common. Large specimens may measure 

 7 to 8 feet in length, and weigh over 200 pounds. They 

 prey upon every kind of game, but are specially destructive 

 to mountain sheep, goat, and deer, and a large male cougar 

 will kill a horse, cow, moose, or wapiti. Deer form their 

 chief prey. When cougars occur in numbers the deer and 

 mountain sheep invariably decrease in numbers; for exam- 

 ple, I am informed that the decrease in deer and sheep 

 in the Lillooet region of British Columbia, which formerly 

 abounded in such game, has been largely due to the depre- 

 dations of cougars, which are increasing in that region, al- 

 though a steady decrease in cougars in British Columbia as 

 a whole is reported. 



The Wolf and Coyote Problem as Affecting 

 Live-Stock Interests 



From an economic point of view the destruction of live 

 stock, especially sheep, by wolves, and particularly by 

 coyotes, constitutes a more serious problem than the de- 

 struction of wild life, and it is fitting that in such a presen- 

 tation as I am making of the economic aspect of our native 

 predatory animals we should consider the relation of these 

 animals to our agricultural interests. 



British Columbia. — As a result of an extensive investiga- 

 tion that I have made into the losses inflicted by these 



