430 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



GRAY WOLF 



Canis mcxieanus nubilus Say 



Does not the wolf also deserve a place in the Yellowstone Park? 

 He is the noble or ignoble hero of much of our literature. Who 

 would not give a year of his life to see a wild wolf or a whole pack 

 of wolves trailing down an elk or deer? The carnivorous animals 

 that kill their prey are always our choice in story and in the hunting 

 field. If they were not killers that show pluck and courage we 

 should not admire them. But since we admire the wolf and are 

 thrilled by his exploits why not tolerate him, at least in our wilder- 

 ness parks ? Great elk herds are not conducive to a balanced piece 

 of nature without the wolf to add fire and alertness to their lives. 

 Protected like cattle the elk become like cattle. Herds of hoofed 

 game, without the presence of a few carnivorous beasts whom they 

 fear, lose much of their character and interest. Should we not be 

 glad to pay for a wolf's mere presence and his "demoniac" howl with 

 one or two elk a month as food ? 



There are but few wolves now remaining in the Yellowstone; 

 they are almost exterminated in a land where at least their voice 

 should be heard. I was saddened last year in Yellowstone Park not 

 to hear a w^olf howl. Northern Michigan and Wisconsin outdo the 

 Yellowstone as a wilderness in which the howl of the wolf is still a 

 woodland melody. In that land of forest and swamps he howls 

 nightly. He lives afar from the ranch of the stockman, and no lum- 

 berman or forest owner fears him or wishes to accomplish his ex- 

 termination. I hope some day to see a pack of wolves in full cry 

 after their hoofed cjuarry and see with my own eyes how they pull 

 down their game. I do not advocate the support of many wolves 

 in our parks, but a few would help secure a condition of balance 

 amid our wild life and maintain the alertness of the game animals. 



MOUNTAIN COYOTE 



Canis testes Merriam 



A very much maligned anin'ial in the Yellowstone Park is the 

 coyote. Here he dwells in the one place where protection should 

 be afforded him, in a Park where all the hoofed denizens get a fairly 

 square deal, a chance to lead their normal lives to a normal finish. 

 What a National Park should in general aim to be is a balanced 

 piece of nature, where we see nature as it was before the coming 



