FOREST AND RANGE RESOURCES OF UTAH 51 



mice, grouse, and other small animals and birds, sometimes killing 

 young deer and ewes, and often taking lambs. They usually do their 

 hunting at night, and any bird that nests on the ground is easy prey. 



A bobcat may destroy annually $40 to $50 worth of poultry and 

 livestock, and game the value of which can not be estimated. Though 

 they do some good in destroying rodents, this by no means offsets 

 the damage they do. Their skins, when prime, sell for from $1 to 

 $8 each and are used for scarfs, muffs, coats, and trimmings on 

 dresses and coats. 



Canada lynxes were common through the Wasatch and Uinta 

 Mountains, but now only a few remain. 



MOUNTAIN LIONS 



Mountain lions, the largest members of the cat family inhabiting 

 North America, live in the roughest parts of the mountain ranges. 

 Deer meat is their favorite food, although they are fond of colts, 

 sheep, and calves, and occasionally kill porcupines, rabbits and other 

 rodents. Often they wander many miles in a night hunting game. 

 They have a keen sense of smell and are very powerful. An adult 

 lion will kill a full-grown deer, elk, colt, or steer with apparent ease 

 and occasionally one will kill a grown horse. Sometimes when they 

 find a herd of sheep they kill a large number. 



Where deer are numerous a lion will kill at least one deer a week 

 and will stay around a small bunch of deer in the winter until all are 

 killed. Individual mountain lions may destroy from $500 to $1,000 

 worth of livestock annually, besides valuable game. 



COYOTES 



Coyotes are the most abundant and destructive of all predatory 

 animals, and possess great cunning. They appear to thrive under a 

 great variety of conditions, being found in the most barren wastes, 

 throughout the mountains, and even in the outskirts of the thickly 

 settled districts. They range over the same general territory through- 

 out the year. Many of them spend their lifetime in and adjacent to 

 a mountain valley or within a few miles of the same spring or water- 

 ing place on the desert areas. Through their keen sense of smell 

 they can scent game from a long distance, and they are cunning in 

 detecting the approach of an enemy. They wander about largely at 

 night and hunt rabbits and other small rodents, kill chickens, lambs, 

 and small pigs on the farms, live well on choice mutton, veal, venison, 

 poultry, game birds, and other birds, and will thrive on a diet of 

 crickets, beetles, lizards, and snakes. They often raid the farmers' 

 orchards, gardens, and vineyards, and feed on fruit, vegetables, and 

 grapes, and are very fond of watermelons and peaches. 



Coyotes prefer to kill their own meat, usually by biting the animal's 

 throat, and they often kill far beyond their needs. Their custom is 

 to hunt singly or in pairs, and a lone coyote can easily kill grown 

 sheep, small deer, or small calves. Sometimes they hunt in families, 

 and they regularly kill adult deer. They have voracious appetites; 

 a single coyote will eat a good-sized lamb for a meal. Sometimes 

 a coyote will kill several sheep at a time. In some instances this is 

 apparently just to satisfy a lust for killing, though often in the win- 



