THE ENEMIES OF WILD LIFE 209 



that the receipts from these sales will aggregate 8 to 10 per 

 cent of the cost of operations, and the net proceeds are 

 turned into the United States Treasury. 



In the annual report of the Biological Survey for the year 

 ending June 30, 1919, it is stated that a force of from 400 

 to 500 hunters is employed in the destruction of predatory 

 animals, under the direction of district inspectors in the 

 nine districts mentioned above. About one-fifth of these 

 are paid from co-operative funds provided by the States 

 or contributed by local organizations or individuals. The 

 net proceeds already received for the skins taken during 

 the year amount to $76,128.56. 



The work of the United States Department of Agriculture 

 demonstrates very conclusively the success of the policy of 

 properly organized and systematic hunting by paid hunters, 

 working under the close direction of district inspectors, as 

 a means of destroying predatory animals over a large area, 

 and it affords an excellent object-lesson of what might be 

 done in Canada by the adoption of a similar policy. 



Lesser Predatory Mammals 



Lynx. — The Canada lynx is found throughout the Do- 

 minion from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, and north- 

 ward as far as the limits of our northern forests. Richardson 

 states that it is found on the Mackenzie River as far north 

 as latitude 66°. It is too well known to need description, 

 but, as it is sometimes confused with the bobcat or bay 

 lynx of eastern North America by the uninitiated, it may 

 be pointed out that the Canada lynx is distinguished from 

 the latter animal by its lighter gray colour, the tuft of long 

 black hairs on the tips of its ears, and the large, hairy paws. 



Its chief food is the varying hare or rabbit, and the close 

 relation between the periodic fluctuations of the rabbit and 

 those of the lynx is discussed in another chapter. It also 



