I 



Wolves and Wolf Nature 



that he was entitled to undisturbed rest for 

 the remainder of the night. 



A year or two ago, while riding out to look 

 at a bunch of cattle, I saw as I rode over a 

 little hill near the house, a coyote down in the 

 next valley, and with the coyote was a badger. 

 I had no gun, and the coyote seemed to know 

 it, for he paid no attention to me, but ap- 

 peared to be playing with the badger. He 

 would prance around it, make a feint of at- 

 tacking it, and then run off a little way, the 

 badger immediately running after him. This 

 he did until the badger had gone sixty or 

 seventy yards, when I got so near the two 

 that the badger saw me, and ran into a hole, 

 and the coyote trotted off a short distance, 

 and lay down. This was not the first time 

 that I had seen something like this going on, 

 but I had never quite comprehended what it 

 meant. Evidently the two animals were either 

 playing with each other — which was most un- 

 likely — or the wolf was teasing the badger. 

 Further consideration, and talk with others 

 who had seen the same thing, led me to be- 

 lieve that the wolf was plaguing the badger in 

 order to make it follow him. The badger is 

 notoriously short-tempered, and would rather 



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