564 



REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



other carnivora, as is evidenced by the dogs of most savage tribes; 

 the different breeds have probably sprung from several different 

 stocks. 



The coyote of the old days . was unacquainted with cultivated 

 fields, domestic animals, traps and guns. Hence he was sometimes 

 too bold and too open in his attempts to get food from the farm- 

 yard. Consequently the race was reduced in numbers. The rem- 

 nant, which for several decades led a precarious existence in the 

 inaccessible swamps, were timid and cautious. At last they found 

 that they could secure food about the farms under certain condi- 

 tions. They again became bolder, but at the same time were cau- 

 tious. They fared better now and increased in numbers, and at the 

 same time advanced in knowledge of traps and guns. The present 

 generation are bold, yet cunning, and there is apparently little 

 hope of exterminating them completely except by draining swamps 

 and reducing all of the land to cultivation. Even then it is probable 

 that some, like the foxes, will remain in rough ground along creeks 

 and rivers. They have extended their ranges in the last five or 

 six years, and there is danger that they will spread over the entire 

 State unless vigorous measures are taken to check them. 



All correspondents agree that they are very destructive to poul- 

 try, pigs and lambs, as well as game. Mr. Darrow says : ^ ' A region 

 where they are abundant is almost destitute of game." Mr. Bussel 

 says: ''They are especially destructive to turkeys. They would 

 kill a flock of 50 turkeys and leave most of them lying on the ground, 

 possibly eating one apiece. * * * There is no doubt in my mind 

 but what these wolves have destroyed thousands of dollars worth 

 of poultry, lambs and pigs. ' ' 



Their method of killing, like that of the larger wolves, is to give 

 a slashing cut with the teeth, not holding on, but slashing and 

 dodging. This is what makes them so destructive to a flock of 

 poultry, and a large flock will be destroyed in a few minutes by the 

 animals dashing among them and biting right and left. They use 

 the same method in fighting, and hence are more than a match for 

 a dog of their own size and strength. They hunt in packs and cap- 

 ture their prey in the open chase like the timber wolves. 



The mating season is in February, and the young are born be- 

 tween the first and 15th of April. A })urrow is usually dug by the 

 parents in a high place in the prairie, where the adults can lie at 

 the entrance and keep an outlook for danger. Sometimes the den is 

 in a hollow log in the more oi)en woods. 



