168 FUR FACTS 



will run down deer and hamstring the victims, and take especial 

 delight in killing the young fawn. Their howl has a shrill piercing 

 note, and all together the southwestern coyote is rather a mean low 

 down creature. 



In some sections of the west the cattlemen and sheepmen pay 

 trappers salaries to trap the coyote, and to especially direct their 

 attention against some one bad offender. Often a lone wolf will 

 terrorize an entire county, and show wonderful intelligence in avoid- 

 ing every trap and snare that can be set for him. These renegade 

 wolf do great harm, and often stockmen become desperate and offer 

 big prices for their capture. 



Wolf are rather prolific and have from five to twelve in a litter. 

 They are hardy, tough creatures, and soon grow up and are able to 

 take care of themselves after they are several months old. The 

 Department of Agriculture says that the actual number of cattle 

 killed by wolves can not be determined. Comparatively few animals 

 are found by cattle men and hunters when freshly killed, with wolf 

 tracks around them and wolf marks on them. Not all of the adult 

 cattle missing from the herd can with certainty be charged to the 

 depredations of wolves, for missing calves may have been taken by 

 dogs, wolves, mountain lions, or by cattle rustlers. But enough data 

 has been secured to convince the men who have investigated the 

 matter thoroughly that considerable live stock is killed by wolves. 



In a great many sections of the West bounties are paid for wolf 

 scalps, and oftentimes the state, county, and local cattle organiza- 

 tions will pay a separate bounty. It is stated that in one state alone 

 $160,000.00 was paid out over a period of ten years in bounties, but 

 even with excessive bounty there is some question as to whether any 

 headway has been made against the wolf. 



Wolf skins are often badly damaged by cutting the heads off 

 almost down to the shoulders in order to collect the bounty. This 

 is a wasteful and absurd practice and should be discontinued. Other 

 states require that both ears and a small piece of the scalp be turned in 

 to collect the bounty, and this is a much more sensible plan as the 

 cutting of the ears and a part of the scalp does not injure the fur 

 itself, in fact there is not much damage, unless the wolf was an un- 

 usually fine specimen that could be used for mounting for museum 

 work. 



Often there is so much red tape in connection with the collection 

 of the bounty that trappers do not bother about it, but trap merely 

 to cash in the valuable pelts. In some states it is necessary to pre- 



