﻿EXPERIMENTS 
  WITH 
  LIVE 
  COYOTES. 
  25 
  

  

  country. 
  A 
  long 
  lane 
  was 
  first 
  built, 
  with 
  sides 
  7 
  feet 
  high, 
  made 
  

   with 
  poultry 
  netting 
  of 
  a 
  small 
  mesh. 
  Fourteen 
  cross 
  fences 
  of 
  

   heights 
  from 
  30 
  to 
  GG 
  inches 
  and 
  of 
  various 
  designs 
  were 
  built 
  at 
  

   intervals 
  along 
  the 
  lane. 
  They 
  were 
  arranged 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  coyotes, 
  

   introduced 
  at 
  one 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  lane, 
  should 
  have 
  presented 
  to 
  them 
  

   gradually 
  increasing 
  difficulty 
  in 
  passing 
  the 
  fences. 
  Two 
  coyotes 
  

   were 
  released 
  singly 
  into 
  the 
  lane, 
  and 
  their 
  progress 
  and 
  methods 
  of 
  

   passing 
  the 
  cross 
  fences 
  were 
  carefully 
  noted. 
  One 
  was 
  badly 
  

   frightened 
  by 
  the 
  presence 
  and 
  noise 
  of 
  dogs 
  and 
  men, 
  but 
  the 
  

   experiment 
  with 
  the 
  other 
  was 
  not 
  made 
  in 
  public. 
  

  

  The 
  coyotes 
  ran 
  with 
  their 
  noses 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  ground 
  and 
  seemed 
  to 
  

   have 
  no 
  knowledge 
  of 
  jumping. 
  Neither 
  of 
  them 
  succeeded 
  in 
  getting 
  

   over 
  a 
  fence 
  more 
  than 
  36 
  inches 
  in 
  height. 
  The 
  method 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  

   climbing, 
  assisted 
  by 
  the 
  hind 
  feet, 
  rather 
  than 
  of 
  jumping. 
  All 
  

   attempts 
  to 
  pass 
  the 
  obstructions 
  began 
  with 
  efforts 
  to 
  get 
  the 
  muzzle 
  

   through 
  openings. 
  If 
  the 
  entire 
  head 
  could 
  be 
  thrust 
  through 
  and 
  

   there 
  was 
  enough 
  room 
  for 
  the 
  shoulders 
  to 
  spread 
  out 
  laterally, 
  the 
  

   whole 
  wolf 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  follow. 
  Both 
  went 
  through 
  rectangular 
  

   openings, 
  5 
  by 
  12 
  inches 
  and 
  5 
  by 
  8 
  inches, 
  but 
  the 
  larger 
  animal 
  

   failed 
  to 
  pass 
  a 
  mesh 
  5 
  by 
  6 
  inches. 
  The 
  smaller 
  animal 
  went 
  

   through 
  an 
  opening 
  4 
  by 
  12 
  inches 
  and 
  another 
  5 
  by 
  6 
  inches. 
  Had 
  

   these 
  openings 
  been 
  triangular 
  in 
  form 
  the 
  animal 
  could 
  not 
  have 
  

   passed 
  through. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  conclusions 
  were 
  drawn 
  from 
  the 
  experiments 
  : 
  

  

  1. 
  Prairie 
  coyotes 
  will 
  not 
  willingly 
  jump 
  over 
  a 
  fence 
  above 
  30 
  

   inches 
  in 
  height. 
  

  

  2. 
  They 
  will 
  readily 
  climb 
  over 
  fences 
  built 
  of 
  horizontal 
  rails 
  or 
  

   crossbars, 
  especially 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  escape 
  from 
  captivity. 
  

  

  3. 
  Barbed 
  wires 
  do 
  not 
  deter 
  them 
  from 
  crawling 
  through 
  a 
  fence 
  

   to 
  escape. 
  Whether 
  they 
  would 
  go 
  through 
  a 
  closely 
  built 
  barbed- 
  

   wire 
  fence 
  to 
  attack 
  sheep 
  or 
  poultry 
  is 
  still 
  an 
  open 
  question. 
  

  

  4. 
  Woven-wire 
  fences 
  should 
  have 
  meshes, 
  when 
  rectangular, 
  less 
  

   than 
  6 
  by 
  6 
  inches 
  to 
  keep 
  out 
  coyotes. 
  For 
  such 
  fences 
  triangular 
  

   meshes 
  are 
  much 
  better 
  than 
  square 
  ones. 
  

  

  5. 
  In 
  fencing 
  against 
  coyotes 
  with 
  woven 
  fences 
  care 
  must 
  be 
  used 
  

   to 
  see 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  openings 
  at 
  the 
  ground 
  through 
  which 
  ihe 
  

   animals 
  can 
  force 
  themselves, 
  since 
  they 
  are 
  more 
  likely 
  to 
  crawl 
  

   under 
  a 
  fence 
  than 
  jump 
  over 
  it. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  experiments 
  the 
  animals, 
  under 
  some 
  excitement, 
  were 
  

   attempting 
  to 
  escape 
  from 
  confinement. 
  In 
  the 
  judgment 
  of 
  the 
  

   writer, 
  the 
  experiments 
  are 
  insufficient 
  to 
  determine 
  what 
  a 
  coyote 
  

   would 
  do 
  if 
  the 
  conditions 
  were 
  reversed 
  and, 
  impelled 
  only 
  by 
  the 
  

   stimulus 
  of 
  hunger, 
  he 
  were 
  attempting 
  to 
  enter 
  an 
  inclosure 
  built 
  

   of 
  these 
  fences. 
  The 
  barriers 
  would 
  surely 
  be 
  far 
  more 
  formidable. 
  

   Experiments 
  with 
  certain 
  types 
  of 
  fence, 
  with 
  sheep 
  inclosed 
  within 
  

  

  