158 



THE DESERT 



Home of 



the wolf. 



The coyote. 



early morning you may catch a glimpse of him 

 sneaking up a mountain canyon, but he usually 

 keeps out of sight. His size is great for a wolf 

 — sometimes over six feet from nose to tail tip 

 — but it lies mostly in length and bulk. He does 

 not stand high on his feet and yet is a swift and 

 long-winded runner. In this and in his strength 

 of jaw lies his special equipment. He is not 

 very cunning but he takes up and follows a 

 trail, and runs the game to earth with consider- 

 able perseverance. I have never seen anything 

 but his footprints on the desert. Usually he 

 keeps well up in the mountains and comes down 

 on the plains only at night. He prefers prairie 

 or table-land country, with adjacent stock 

 ranges, to the desert, because there the hunting 

 is not difficult. Sheep, calves, and pigs he will 

 eat with some relish, but his favorite game is the 

 young colt. He runs all his game and catches 

 it as it runs like the true wolf that he is. Some- 

 times he hunts in packs of half a dozen, but if 

 there is no companionship he does not hesitate 

 to hunt alone. 



The prairie wolf or coyote is not at all like 

 the gray wolf. He seldom runs after things, 

 though he does a good deal of running away 

 from them. And he is a fairly good runner too. 



