THE WARY WOLF 147 



The hunter and the trapper keep bringing 

 forward new and skillful ways of poisoning and 

 trapping wolves. But getting a wolf becomes 

 increasingly difficult. The majority of wolves 

 now trapped are the young or the stupid ones. 

 Many trappers use traps by the gross. These 

 are set in clusters in selected places in narrow 

 trails, round carcasses, and in the approaches to 

 stream crossings. The traps are concealed; 

 placed in water; they are deodorized, hidden, 

 and false-scented with offal. Whole batteries 

 are placed before or round a stake the top of 

 which is highly scented with something alluring 

 to wolf nostrils. 



One day I watched a trapper spend several 

 hours in placing more than a hundred traps 

 round the carcass of a cow. He avoided touch- 

 ing the carcass. This concealed trap arrange- 

 ment was as complicated as a barbed-wire en- 

 tanglement. At one place he set the traps 

 three abreast and five deep. On another prob- 

 able line of approach he set ten traps, singly, 

 but on a zigzag line. Two fallen logs made a 

 V-shaped chute, which ended close to the car- 

 cass. In the narrow end of this chute another 

 cluster of traps was set. Thus the carcass was 

 completely surrounded by numerous concealed 

 traps. It seemed impossible for any animal to 

 walk to the carcass without thrusting a foot into 



