104 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



It is thus a good deal easier to run a Wolf with swift hounds till 

 he turns to bay, than to get the hounds to tackle and worry him. 

 Strychnine has been found an excellent means of exterminating Wolves, 

 but the use of poison has the objection that Dogs as well are likely 

 to suffer. The only use of the Wolf when taken is to provide a very 

 warm and serviceable fur for rugs, coats, &c. 



The Wolf is subject to hydrophobia, and much dreadful havoc has 

 been, and still is, occasionally wrought by rabid Wolves. 



THE COYOTE 



(Canis fatrans) 



THE Coyote is a purely American animal, haunting the prairie districts 

 of the north of that continent. In colour it is quite similar to many 

 Wolves, being reddish grey with black ticking, but it is a smaller 

 beast than a true Wolf, with a narrower muzzle and fuller brush, thus 

 showing a distinct approach to the Fox type. The coat generally is 

 very full. 



The Coyote is a timid, skulking creature, full of cunning, and a 

 dire foe not only to small and weak wild animals, but to sheep, poultry, 

 and the like, but it does not attack man. It is, indeed, inclined to hang 

 about his vicinity in the hope of what it can find or steal. It barks 

 a great deal, and in nocturnal howling it is particularly proficient, like 

 the Jackals of the East, which it much resembles in ways and character ; 

 and, like the Jackal of India, it can put up with fruit as food when its 

 more natural animal diet is not conveniently available. It does well 

 in captivity, but is not nearly so common in menageries as the Wolf. 



