324 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



It is probable that in the Adirondacks the raccoon will flourish, as it prefers 

 clearings and open groves to the denser forest. In this respect the raccoon is in 

 sharp contrast with the marten and fisher, both of which retire before the 

 approach of civilization deeper and deeper into the woods. 



The wolf and red fox are the representatives of the second family, the 

 Canidae, in the Adirondacks. 



Wolf. 



The Appalachian gray or timber wolf {Cants mexicanus nubilus) was originally 

 very abundant in the Adirondacks and remained so down to 1871. That year a 

 bounty was placed on wolf scalps, and, curiously enough, this animal became 

 scarce. The disappearance of wolves at that time has never been satisfactorily 

 explained, as from that date to 1897 only ninety-five, bounties were paid. There 

 were said to be, in the early days, a gray and a black variety, but it is too late 

 now to determine this question. 



Vanderdonck, writing in 1645 of the region of the lower Hudson River, says 

 that on account of the ravages of wolves it was almost impossible to keep sheep 

 in the colony. These animals find their chief food supply among the deer, and it is 

 quite possible that the disappearance of wolves noted in 187 1 was due to a decrease 

 in number of the latter, as hide hunters were very active in those days. It is 

 interesting to note the persistence of wolves in Europe, where a considerable number 

 are still annually killed in Germany and France, as contrasted with their rapid 

 decline nearly everywhere in America. The universal habit of carrying firearms 

 and the use of poison in this country probably account for the difference. 



That the wolf in the Adirondacks is not altogether extinct is evidenced by 

 the bounty records, which show that six wolves were killed in each of the years 

 1895, 1896 and 1897, although in the six years preceding no bounties were paid. 



Fox. 



The Adirondack red fox is indistinguishable from the type species {Vulpes 

 fulvus), which extends from Minnesota to Nova Scotia and from Quebec and Maine 

 to North Carolina. This fox is subject to color variations, culminating in the alihost 

 priceless pelt of the black fox, and in that of the valuable silver or cross fox. 

 These variations were once supposed to represent distinct species, but inasmuch 

 as the animals showing them have been found in the same litter, the question is 

 no longer open to dispute. The black and silver foxes are scarce in all countries, but 

 tend to increase in numbers in the north. They appear to be particularly 

 rare in the Adirondacks. 



