380 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION 



There are three recognized races of the coyote in California. The 

 mountain coyote {Canis latrans testes), often wrongly called "gray 

 wolf," is found in most of northern California, and south along the 

 higher parts of the Sierra Nevada. The valley coyote {Canis ochropus 

 ochropus) ranges throughout the foothills and lowlands of California 

 west of the higher Sierra Nevada, and south to the Mexican line. The 

 desert coyote {Canis ochropus estor), lives on the Colorado and 

 Mohave deserts, west to Antelope Valley and north into Inyo County. 

 The mountain coyote, well-furred, large and aggressive, is the race 

 which is of most economic importance. The valley and desert coy- 

 otes, being more cowardly, come less in conflict with man's interests. 

 Living in the warmer districts of the state their pelts also are of 

 less value. 



EXTENT AND NATURE OF DAMAGE 



Livestock, poultry and wild game all suffer through depredations 

 of this animal. Typical instances of such depredations are as follows : 

 On the Churchill Kanch near Dorris, Siskiyou County, in the spring 

 of 1916, between 50 and 70 pigs, valued at $4 each, were destroyed 

 by coyotes. Another rancher in Shasta Valley in the same county 

 had lost $250 worth of calves, sheep and pigs each year through this 

 animal. These are not extreme cases, and losses of similar magnitude 

 have been sustained by ranchers, sheepmen and poultrymen elsewhere 

 in the state. 



In addition to this considerable property loss there is also, at 

 certain times, grave danger of the spread of rabies by coyotes. This 

 disease has been readily transmitted through the bite of a rabid 

 coyote to horses, cows, goats, dogs, cats, and other domestic animals, 

 and in several known cases directly to human beings with fatal results. 



VALUE OF THE COYOTE TO THE STATE 



Even a coyote has his good points and on a sound business basis 

 these should be fully recognized. The coyote is now, with the excep- 

 tion of the skunk, the most valuable fur-bearer in this state. During 

 the open season of 1917-18 the capture of 1941 coyotes was reported 

 to the State Fish and Game Commission by the licensed trappers of 

 California. A trapper operating in the mountains in the south-eastern 

 part of the state reports the sale of one lot of six coyote skins at $20 

 a pelt. Even higher prices than this have been obtained for excep- 

 tionally good pelts from other districts. Although the average price 

 received for coyote skins last year was considerably less than $10, it 



