MONTANA STATE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



51 



ON THE TRAIL OF THE KILLER CATS 



By R. 10. Bateuax 

 U. S. Leader of Fn ddton/ ^Ininidl Control 



SPORTSMEN and stockmen throughout Montana may 

 well be proud of the achievements of trained hunters 

 and trappers employed by the state fish and game com- 

 mission and the Buxeau of Biological Sui'vey. They are 

 saving thousands of dollars annually in game and stock 

 through the destruction of predatory animals which for 

 ^ears have taken their expensive toll. And their lives are 

 one long series of exposure and adventure. Only skilled 

 woodsmen capable of outwitting the cunning of the killer- 

 cats, the trap-shy wolves and the crafty coyotes are capable 

 of keeping pace with the demands of the department. They 

 are hardy skilled fellows whose experience in tight places 

 has made them capable of following their cougar dogs, ex- 

 isting in the mountains in severe weather and then out-wit- 

 ting the predatory animals that spread destruction. 



Ordinary hunters and trappers may be had by the score, 



yet men selected for this trying work must be super-men. 



Mountain hunters and trappers often spend weeks trailing 



E. E. Bateman an old lion over rugged territory. Coyote hunters on the 



with his favorite bleak prairies follow their poison and trap lines daily despite 



foxhound, JacTc ^^^ weather. Frost bitten hands, feet and faces are but 



ordinary experiences. Yet they enjoy the thrill of the hunt and the joy of the 



capture. 



Predatory animal hunters devote their time to the traps during warmer weath- 

 er in the diy portions of the year. Experience has developed modern \ 

 methods whereby predatory animals can be more satisfactorily trapped 

 during the dry summer months than in the winter. Larger catches are 

 made with traps during the warm months. For a short time in the spring 

 the hunters search for dens of coyote pups and at that time they make 

 especial efforts to wipe out the parent wolves. With the use 

 of good trail hounds hunters are enabled to locate the mother 

 coyotes at the den where the pups are found. Old coyotes usu- 

 ally follow the hounds back to the den, to meet death when the 

 hunter, cached near the spot, opens fire. Many are killed in 

 this manner by predatory animal hunters while the bounty- 

 hunter takes only the pups and goes on his way. We are after 

 the old ones and are getting them. 



The winter months are devoted almost entirely 

 to the poison campaign. Hunters who have well 

 trained packs of stag and fox hounds, however, go 

 after the bigger killer cats. The stag or gray hounds 

 have made splendid records for their masters during 





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