FUR FACTS 167 



large number of pelts taken annually would indicate that they have 

 been very successful. 



The lobo wolf is usually the leader of the pack, grows to a great 

 size, is a terrible killer, is crafty, smart, and very hard to trap. Forest 

 Rangers are employed by the United States Government to trap 

 wolf, especially to take the big lobo wolf in sections where they do 

 great damage to live stock. Mr. Wm. M. Anderson, Forest Super- 

 visor of the Ashley National Park, has been very successful in the 

 catching of these big wolves, as well as Mr. Walter Fry, Ranger in 

 charge of Sequoia and General Grant National Parks. Both of these 

 men use and recommend Funsten Wolf Bait. 



In the stock country food baits do not appeal to the wolf very 

 strongly, and he is more or less suspicious of animals that are killed 

 and prepared for him. He much prefers to do his own killing, and 

 for this reason the big lobo wolf is very hard to coax into a steel 

 trap. About the only way they are brought to the trap is with the 

 use of prepared scent baits. 



As a rule the wolf is a coward, but if he is forced into it he will 

 put up a hard fight and is a dangerous opponent. Much has been 

 written about packs of wolves attacking a man or a lone wanderer, 

 but there are few, if any, authentic cases of this on record. The 

 wolf is deadly afraid of man and will only attack a man when he has 

 fallen down, weak, helpless, and exhausted, and even then the wolf 

 would have to be starving and pressed pretty hard before he would 

 do so. However, they will attack most any sort of an animal, and 

 as they usually hunt in packs they can do great damage. 



The Forest Service has waged war on the western wolf and large 

 numbers of them have been captured in and around the forest re- 

 serves. In addition to the Forest Rangers the Government has em- 

 ployed professional trappers for this work and some of the wiliest, 

 craftiest old wolves have been taken by these experienced men. 



The wolf that roam the plains of Texas and parts of New Mexico 

 are smaller in size than the Western wolf and the fur is coarser, in 

 fact on some of them the fur is almost hair and is very brittle. So 

 far as the value of the wolf pelt is concerned for furriers' purposes, 

 the color of the wolf does not make any material difference. Prac- 

 tically all wolf that are used for furriers' purposes are dyed; there- 

 fore the natural color, whether it be a light gray or a silvery gray 

 is not considered in valuing the pelt. The Southwestern coyote 

 is even more greedy and bloodthirsty than his brother of the farther 

 North, and if anything they are more sneaking and cowardly. They 



