24 



OKDEES OF MAMMALS— FLESH-EATERS 



ardly animal. It is not dangerous to man, and 

 never was, and is bold only in the persistence 

 with which it hangs upon the outskirts of civiliza- 

 tion, and prowls around ranches in quest of food. 



The delicacy of the Coyote's judgment in keep- 

 ing always beyond fair gun-shot is truly wonder- 

 ful. If he is not a mind-reader, his actions belie 

 him. Twice in Montana, each time for two 

 weeks, have I tried my utmost to shoot a Coyote ; 

 but during those periods not one would offer 

 more than a running shot at three hundred yards 

 or more. Twice, however, — and immediately 

 after the above, — when riding quite unarmed, 

 have Coyotes sat down beside the trail, waited 

 for me to approach within forty yards, then 

 yawned in a bored manner, and slowly trotted 

 off. It is my belief that those animals knew per- 

 fectly well my inability to shoot. 



The food of Coyotes consists chiefly of 

 prairie-" dogs," ground-squirrels, sage grouse, 

 hares, and rabbits. The largest animals ever 

 killed by- them are deer and prong-horned ante- 

 lope. From the ranchman they steal poultry, 

 pigs, lambs and sheep. They "den" in "wash- 

 outs," or deep holes in the cut banks of ravines, 



and rear from five to seven puppies every 

 May. 



The cry of the Coyote is a dog-like yelping, 

 half howl and half bark ; whereas, the call of the 

 gray wolf is a prolonged and steady deep-bass 

 howl. As far as they can be heard, these wolves 

 can be distinguished by their cries, and to those 

 who have camped on the plains, or in the wild 

 and weird "bad-lands" of the great West, the 

 high-pitched, staccato cry of the Coyote as he 

 announces the coming dawn, is associated with 

 memories of vast stretches of open country, mag- 

 nificent distances, fragrant sage-brush and free- 

 dom. The specific name of this animal {latrans%- 

 means "barking," and was bestowed on account 

 of its peculiar dog-like cry. 



The Coyote ranges from the latitude of the City 

 of Mexico northward through the Great Plains and 

 Rocky Mountain region to Alberta. The size of 

 my best Montana specimen was 37f -I- 16 inches 

 in length, and 20J inches in height at shoulders. 



Coyotes vary in color from the typical pepper- 

 and-salt gray to yellowish gray, the latter being 

 found in the Southwest. At rare intervals, 

 black specimens occur. 



CO 



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S5 



GENUS. 



Red Fox 

 Group : 



Genus 

 Vulpes. 



Gray Fox 

 Group : 



Genus 

 Urocyon. 



ENGLISH NAME. 



Red Fox, .... 



Cross Fox, . . 



Black Fox, 



Plains Fox, . . . 

 Kadiak Fox, . . . 

 Newfoundland Fox, 

 Swift Fox, . . . 

 Large-Eared Fox, . 

 Arctic, or Blue Fox, 



LATIN NAME. 



Vulpes fulvus (Desma- 



rest). 

 Vulpes fulvus decussatus 



(Desmarest). 

 Vulpes fulvus argentatus 



(Shaw). 

 Vulpes macrourus (Baird) . 

 Vulpes Aammam'(Merriam). 

 Vulpes deletrix (Bangs). 

 Vulpes velox (Say). 

 Vulpes macrotis (Merriam). 

 Vulpes lagopus (Linnaeus). 



HalllsIandFox, . Vulpes hallensis(MeTTmin). 



Gray Fox, . . . 

 Florida Gray Fox, 

 Scott's Gray Fox, . 



Texas Gray Fox, . 



Coast Gray Fox, . 



Townsend's Gray 



Fox, 



Urocyon dnereoargenteus 



(Schreber). 

 Urocyon dnereoargenteus 



floridanus (Rhoads). 

 Urocyon dnereoargenteus 



scottii (Mearns). 



Urocyon dnereoargenteus 

 texensis (Mearns). 



Urocyon dnereoargenteus 

 californicus (Mearns). 



Urocyon dnereoargenteus 

 townsendi (Merriam). 



LOCALITY. 



Virginia to Alaska. 



New York to Man- 

 itoba. 



Northwest Terri- 

 tory, Alaska. 



Great Plains. 



Kadiak I., Alaska. 



Newfoundland. 



The Great Plains. 



Southern California. 



Polar regions of both 

 hemispheres. 



Hall Island, Bering 

 Sea. 



Soutljeastern States. 



Florida. 



New Mexico to 

 Southern Califor- 



Texas. 



Southern California. 

 Northern California. 



