THE WOLF QUESTION. 



FROM WYOMING AND MONTANA. 



Ames, Neb. 



Editor Recreation: Replying to the 

 questions propounded by Mr. E. S. 

 Thompson on page 45 of July Recreation 

 I have this to say: 



Wolves have caused enormous losses to 

 cattle men, in Eastern Montana and Wyo- 

 ming, and Western Dakota. No one can 

 estimate the amount of such loss, for the 

 last 8 or 10 years. Some people reckon it 

 greater than the average losses from win- 

 ter exposure, and without any doubt the 

 wolves have destroyed many millions of 

 dollars' worth of stock, within this time. 



For the last 2 or 3 years, in Wyoming, 

 we had persuaded ourselves that the num- 

 ber of wolves was sensibly diminished, 

 through our efforts; but this year the en- 

 tire Northeastern quarter of Wyoming is 

 suffering greatly from their ravages. Our 

 own cattle company, with 2 hunters oper- 

 ating in Montana and 2 in Wyoming, has 

 killed 250 wolves in the last 3 months, prin- 

 cipally puppies. 



It is extremely difficult to catch or de- 

 stroy grown wolves, and so far as I know 

 no one has ever yet been able, by any 

 means, to kill enough grown wolves to ef- 

 fect any valuable decrease in their numbers. 

 A good many are killed by poison, but I 

 do not believe that in a score of years the 

 number of wolves can be greatly lessened 

 by the use of poison, by as many hunters 

 as choose to use it. After a short time the 

 wolves refuse entirely to take baits, and 

 they are not under the least compulsion to 

 do so as there is always an abundance of 

 food in the shape of calves, cattle and foals, 

 all over the range. 



I have known a small ranchman, having 

 in a pasture 11 head of mares, with 11 foals, 

 to have all the foals and one mare killed 

 by wolves, within a short time. I heard, 

 this year, of a ranchman with a small bunch 

 of cattle, having lost one of his calves every 

 night until all were gone. The depreda- 

 tions of these hungry brutes are not con- 

 fined to calves. They attack and kill all 

 classes of cattle; but naturally more calves 

 than older animals. On the spring round- 

 ups, recently finished in Wyoming, there 

 has been everywhere evidence of great 

 numbers of wolves, and many cattle are 

 found, in every drive, wounded and bitten. 



Our range in Wyoming, where our 

 breeding cattle are, is in Crook courity, the 

 Northeast county, and as I have said, 

 wolves are very troublesome in that coun- 

 try; also in the entire country on either 

 side, East in Dakota, South and West in 

 Wyoming and North in Montana. They 

 have been particularly troublesome in, Con- 

 verse, Natrona and Johnson counties, Wy- 



oming. I do not know that they destroy 

 many sheep, as these are always penned at 

 night, and are in charge of a herder in the 

 day time; but they destroy vast numbers 

 of calves and cattle, and are particularly 

 fond of foals. 



As I have said it is impossible to estimate 

 the amount of damage, but I should judge 

 it to be $50,000 a year, in our own county, 

 and $500,000 for the entire State of Wyo- 

 ming, which is twice the cost of running 

 the state government. 



I have never known of a grey wolf in- 

 juring or even threatening a man, on the 

 plains. Sometimes they are very bold, and 

 finding that a person approaching them is 

 not armed make no effort to get out of the 

 way. I have heard of perhaps 2 fairly au- 

 thenticated cases of wolves being really 

 menacing or dangerous, to men; but noth- 

 ing of the kind has come within my own 

 observation. The reason for this is that 

 there is always an abundance of food pres- 

 ent, and the wolves never suffer from hun- 

 ger. Their food is so abundant that at 

 times of the year the old wolves get very 

 fat. They are then so short-winded they 

 are easily overtaken and roped, by cow- 

 boys. 



We believe we have had some valuable 

 effect in decreasing or holding down the 

 numbers of wolves, on our own immediate 

 range, by our efforts, for a number of 

 years. Since the spring of '95 we have 

 killed about 500 grey wolves, on our range 

 in Wyoming; and for the few years pre- 

 ceding '95 had killed a considerable number, 

 but not so many. Last spring they ap- 

 peared as numerous, or more so, than ever 

 for a while; but as the roundups pro- 

 gressed and our cowboys made reports of 

 other ranges, we find our efforts have not 

 been without effect, and that there are 

 fewer wolves in our immediate country 

 than on neighboring rangres. 



Considering the Northeastern quarter 

 of the State of Wyoming there are prob- 

 ably now as many wolves as there have ever 

 been; and including the much larger terri- 

 tory mentioned before, the same is prob- 

 ably true. No one can definitely answer 

 the question as to whether there are more 

 wolves than 5 years ago; as accounts con- 

 flict greatly. There must, however, be as 

 many, and perhaps more. Having abun- 

 dance of food and being protected from 

 cold, by living in holes in the ground, there 

 is no reason why they are not increasing 

 in numbers. They are very prolific, and 

 the females have litters of anywhere from 

 4 to 12 or 13 each year. 



I never heard any one mention such a 

 thing as wolves making signals to e^ch 

 other, and do not believe they do. In Wy- 

 oming the hunting is so good, everywhere, 



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