THE DOG FAMILY— WOLF. 



193 



one hundred and eighty thousand head of horned 

 Cattle and three times that number of small domes- 

 tic animals are annually slain by them; Lazarewski 

 estimates the loss in domestic animals as amounting 

 to fifteen million and that in game to fifty million 

 roubles. Besides all this, Wolves sometimes suffer 

 from hydrophobia, and then are equally dangerous 

 to Man and beast. 



Animals that It is easy to understand that these 

 Withstand dangerous animals are dreaded not 

 the Wolf. on iy by Men but also by other ani- 

 mals, especially where they exist in large numbers. 

 Horses become extremely restless when they scent a 

 Wolf, and the other domestic animals, except the 

 Dog, take to flight when they have the slightest 

 warning of the proximity of their principal foe. 

 Good Dogs, on the other hand, delight in nothing 

 so much as in a Wolf-hunt, it being a characteristic 

 trait of Dogs that they are 

 fondest of the most dan- 

 gerous hunting. It is dif- 

 ficult to understand, or, at 

 least remarkable, that 

 hatred should become so 

 great between two species 

 as closely allied as the 

 Wolf and Dog. 



There are other domes- 

 tic animals also which 

 know how to defend them- 

 selves against the Wolf. 

 In southern Russia Wolves 

 live in burrows which they 

 dig for themselves, some- 

 times as deep as six feet. 

 At night they continually 

 prowl around the herds of 

 the Russian steppes. They 

 approach the Horses with 

 caution, and try to steal 

 Colts that have strayed too 

 far from the flock; or they 

 attack an isolated Horse, 

 springing at his throat and 

 throwing him down. If 

 other Horses perceive the 

 Wolf, they immediately go 

 up to him, and if he does 

 not retreat they strike him 

 with their front hoofs, and 

 the Stallions may even 



seize him with their teeth. He gets into quite 

 as bad a plight when he tries to procure himself a 

 pork roast in the forests of Spain or Croatia. A sin- 

 gle Hog may fall a prey to him, but a large, com- 

 pact herd is always avoided by Wolves. If he mis- 

 times his attack by a moment, he is trampled down 

 by the enraged Hogs and devoured with as much 

 enjoyment as a meal of pork might afford him. 



Attributes The Wolf possesses all the Dogs' attri- 

 and Traits of butes and traits; he has their strength 



the Wolf. anc j perseverance, their acute senses and 

 their sagacity. But he is much more one-sided and 

 less noble than the domestic Dog, undoubtedly be- 

 cause he lacks the education which Man gives to the 

 Dog. His courage is out of all proportion to his 

 strength. When he is not hungry he is one of the most 

 cowardly and timid animals in existence. He then 

 flees not only before a Man, a Dog, a Cow, or a Goat, 

 but even before a flock of Sheep, if only the animals 

 crowd together and turn their heads towards him. 



The Wolf is by no means inferior to the Fox in cun- 

 ning and caution; if anything he surpasses Reynard 

 in these qualities. As a rule he adapts himself to 

 circumstances, reflects before he acts and knows how 

 to find a loophole of escape in danger. He sneaks 

 up to his prey with as much cunning as caution; and 

 if he is himself pursued he trots along with the 

 utmost deliberation. His sense of smell, sight and 

 hearing are all equally acute. He is said not only to 

 track prey but to scent it at a great distance. When 

 he finds spoor in his path, he knows very well the 

 animal to which it pertains. He follows it and does 

 not suffer anything to divert him from it. His cow- 

 ardliness, his slyness and the acuteness of his senses 

 are well shown in his methods of attack. 



The Mother In the early spring the female Wolf 

 Wolf and gives birth to from three to nine, usu- 



Her Young. a iiy f rom f our x.o six young, in some 



THE STRIPED WOLF. The Fox-like muzzle, long legs, long tail, and general appearance of agility and 



intelligence are striking characteristics of the Striped Wolf, an African species. It does not attack large animals 

 and does little harm, unless it be the occasional killing of a Chicken, and is little molested by the natives of the 

 country it inhabits. (Canis aduslus.) 



hidden place, in the depth of the forest. The newly 

 born whelps remain blind for twenty-one days, grow 

 very slowly at the first and very rapidly when they 

 are older, and conduct themselves exactly like young 

 Dogs. They are very playful and their howling and 

 yelping during their romps are sometimes heard at a 

 great distance. The mother treats them with all the 

 tenderness of a good canine mother, licks and cleans 

 them, suckles them for a very long time and then 

 procures them ample nourishment, suitable for their 

 age; she is always on her guard lest she betray them, 

 and if her distrust has been aroused or danger threat- 

 ens, she carries them to another place she deems more 

 secure. The age a Wolf may attain probably reaches 

 to twelve or fifteen years. 



It has been sufficiently proven by many experi- 

 ments that the interbreeding of the Wolf and Dog 

 produces hybrids, capable of further reproduction. 

 These cross-breeds are not always intermediate in 

 character between the Wolf and Dog, and even the 



