THE DOG FAMILY— WOLF. 



191 



in the Atlas country. He also extends all over 

 northeastern and central Asia, throughout Afghan- 

 istan and Beloochistan south to the Indus, perhaps 

 to the upper Punjab, and has a so closely allied rela- 

 tive in North America that his range may be said to 

 extend also over the western hemisphere, and the 

 North American and Mexican Wolves may be re- 

 garded only as varieties. 

 TheWolfas Theancientsknew the Wolf well. Many 

 Known to Greek and Roman authors mention him, 

 the Ancients, some not only with the horror which he 

 has always excited, but with a secret terror of the 

 uncanny or ghost-like attributes of the animal. In 

 the old German mythology the Wolf, as the animal 

 consecrated to Woden, is rather venerated than de- 

 iested; the latter feeling arises, however, later, when 

 •Christianity takes the place of pagan mythology. 

 Then Woden became "The Wild Hunter" and the 



south. It even takes up its habitation in bushy but 

 not very large thickets, in damp forests, in maize 

 fields, and, in Spain, is even found in corn fields, 

 sometimes in the immediate neighborhood of vil- 

 lages. In'densfely populated districts it shows itself 

 before sunset only in exceptional cases, but in lonely 

 forests it begins its activity in the afternoon, like th6 

 Fox under similar conditions, and prowls around, 

 seeking something for its ever famished stomach. 

 During spring and summer it lives singly, in twos 

 or in threes; during the autumn it lives' in families, 

 and in winter in more or less numerous packs, va- 

 rying in size with the favorable or unfavorable char- 

 acter of the locality for such a union. 

 How the Wolf When Wolves have once gathered 

 Hunts in into a pack they do everything in 

 Paclis or Singly, common, calling each other with a 

 howl, and mutually assisting in the search for food. 



6TTABA. This is the native name of an animal also called the Red Wolf, or Maned Wolf, which has a wide range in South America 



and is especially plentiful in southern Brazil, Paraguay and the Argentine Republic. It differs from other Wolves in its lighter build, more 

 pointed muzzle, shorter tail and elongated feet. The fur is yellowish on the under portion, reddish brown on the sides and a darker brown on 

 the spine, where it forms a mane about five inches long. The hair is short and smooth on the face and feet and longer on the body. Its caution 

 keeps it away from settlements, and it is cunning and cowardly, fearing Man and fleeing at his approach. It rarely attacks domestic animals, 

 but lives principally on small animals, especially rodents, which it finds in the marshes which form its favorite haunts, and is ^so said to eat 

 small fruits. ICanisjuiaius.) 



Wolves his Dogs, until finally the animal becomes 

 the ghost-like Wolf of nursery fables, a monster who 

 is alternately Man and Wolf. 



The numbers of the Wolf are being more and more 

 reduced, but his last days in civilized Europe are evi- 

 dently still far off. During the past century this 

 harmful Beast of Prey existed in every larger Ger- 

 man forest, and statistics show that even during this 

 century thousands have been killed. They appeared 

 in great numbers in the wake of the French army 

 fleeing from Russia, that retreat furnishing them so 

 many corpses which served them as food. 



Where the The Wolf inhabits lonely, quiet regions. 

 Wolf Makes and spots in the wilderness, delighting 



His Lair, jn dense, gloomy forests, bogs with alter- 

 nating swampy and dry places, and plains in the 



A Wolf prowls around in company with others 

 exactly in the same way as he does singly ; he fol- 

 lows chains of mountains, wanders through plains, 

 traverses entire provinces in crossing from one wood 

 to another, and therefore may suddenly make his 

 appearance in localities where he has not been seen 

 for a long time, sometimes for a lapse of several 

 years. It has been proven that he may cover from 

 twenty-five to forty- three milas in a single night on 

 his wanderings. Not infrequently, and always in 

 winter when the snow is deep, packs of Wolves run 

 in single file, like Indians on the warpath, and tread 

 into each other's foot-marks, if possible, so that 

 even an expert finds difficulty in estimating the 

 size of the pack. The agility of the Wolf presup- 

 poses a great expenditure of strength, rapid, tissue 



