1 50 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



of intelligence and the wisdom of experience. 

 Surviving wolves have learned absolutely to 

 avoid those insidious means of death that high 

 bounties have led man to invent for their exter- 

 mination. 



Apparently, too, old wolves promptly edu- 

 cate their children; so that the youngsters avoid 

 these new complex dangers. Whether this edu- 

 cation is consciously given on the part of the 

 old wolves matters not. The fact that wolves 

 multiplied in the midst of the concerted and 

 relentless war waged against them by man indi- 

 cates that the youngsters learned how to take 

 care of themselves from the experience and not 

 from the instincts of their parents. The safety- 

 first slogan in the wolf world appears to be: 

 "Avoid being seen by a man; and never, never 

 touch anything that carries the scent of man or 

 of iron or steel." 



A generation or two ago a wolf took no pains 

 to keep out of sight; now he uses his wits to 

 avoid being seen. Then it was easy to trap 

 him; now he has become exceedingly difficult 

 to trap. Long-range rifles, poison, and steel 

 traps brought about these changes. It was 

 about 1880 when wolves began to develop this 

 cunning for self-preservation. Heavy bounties 

 brought numerous trappers and hunters into 

 the wolf domain; but such was their develop- 



