WOL VES. 
5 01 
account of this greater length of the fur, the coyote appears to be a thicker built 
and shorter-legged animal than it really is. The colour varies considerably at 
different seasons of the year, being of a bright fulvous brown in summer, and grey 
or greyish in winter; this ground-colour at both seasons being overlaid with a 
shading of black, which tends to form stripes along the back and across the 
shoulders and loins. The under-parts are of a dirty white tint; while the 
upper portion of the muzzle, and the outsides of the ears and legs, are generally 
tawny. The coyote ranges from the south of Costa Rica, in Central America, to 
the lower portions of Hudson’s Bay. It is still abundant in Texas and Northern 
Mexico, but is rare in Guatemala; and it has been suggested that it is but a com¬ 
paratively recent immigrant into Central America. 
The coyote is more generally in the habit of burrowing in the ground than 
the common wolf; it is also far less savage and destructive, and becomes more 
docile and gentle in captivity. Like the common wolf, it will on occasions hunt 
in packs; and it is at least as noisy an animal, although the tone of its howl is 
quite different. As regards food, it appears to be almost omnivorous; and, when 
an animal diet is unattainable, it will feed upon juniper-berries, or the prickly 
pear. Rabbits, rats, young birds, etc., form, however, its staple diet; and it 
does not appear that it ever attacks the larger mammals, although, when 
wounded and brought to bay, it will defend itself fiercely. In speed it is far 
inferior to the wolf, and it can be readily overtaken by a good horse. The cubs 
are born in May and June; the number in a litter usually being five or six, 
but occasionally ten. 
The Antarctic Wolf (Canis antarcticus). 
Seeing that no true wolf is found in continental South America, it is strange 
to meet with a small species, apparently nearly allied to the coyote, inhabiting the 
Falkland Islands. The antarctic wolf is rather smaller than the larger individuals 
of the coyote, and has shorter fur and a less bushy tail. The general colour is 
yellowish mingled with black, the individual hairs being yellow at the base, 
with black tips; the fur of the under-parts is whitish. White is also the colour 
of the fur on the lips, chin, and throat, as well as on the inner margins of the ears. 
The most characteristic coloration is, however, that of the tail, in which the first 
two-fifths are of the same hue as the body, the next two-fifths black, and the 
remainder white. 
The antarctic wolf was discovered by Pernety during his voyage in the years 
1763 and 1764, and was again observed by Commodore Byron of H.M.S. Dolphin, 
who circumnavigated the world in 1767. Darwin, who saw them during the 
voyage of the Beagle, writes that “ these wolves are well known, from Byron’s 
account of their tameness and curiosity, which the sailors, who ran into the water 
to avoid them, mistook for fierceness. To this day their manners remain the same. 
They have been observed to enter a tent, and actually pull some meat from 
beneath the head of a sleeping seaman. The Guachos also have frequently in the 
evening killed them, by holding out a piece of meat in one hand, and in the other 
a knife ready to stick them. As far as I am aware, there is no other instance in 
