Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-04-01
A COYOTE PAR , NERsHlP.
How Prairie Wolves Get an Antelope
For Breakfast.

FOR Breakfast.
The prong-horned antelope is the
swiftest animal on the plains, and yet
the coyotes catch good many Of them
just by running them down. This
sounds like a paradox, yet it is quite
true, and is explained by the cunning
of the wolves and the habits of the
antelope.
A single coyote who under took to
run down single antelope would get
tired and hungry before he accomplish
ed much, but when two or three coyotes
are together it is quite different thing.
The coyotes do not all run after the
antelope together. They take turns,
and while one runs the others rest,
and so at last they tire the antelope
out.
If when it was started the antelope
ran straight away, 1t would of course
leave all the wolves behind, those that
were resting even more than the one
that was chasing it, but the antelope
does not run straight away. Instead 1t
runs in large circles, and this enables
the wolves to take turns when chasing
1t.
When three or four prairie wolves
decide that they want antelope meat
for breakfast, one of them creeps as
close as possible to the one they have
selected, and then makes a rush for
it, running as fast as he possibly can
so as to push the antelope to its best
speed and to tire it out. Meantime his
companions spread out on either side
of the runner, and get upon little hills
or knobs so as to keep the chase in
sight. They trot from point to point,
and pretty soon, when the antelope
turns and begins to work back to-
get as nearly as possible in its path,
and as it flies by the wolf dashes out at
it and runs after it at the top of its
speed, while the one that has been
chasing the antelope stops running and
trots off to some nearby hill, where,
while the water drips off his lolling
tongue, he watches the race and gets
his breath again. After a little the
antelope passes near another coyote,
which in turn takes up the pursuit.
And so the chase is kept up until the
poor antelope is exhausted, when it is
overtaken and pulled down by one or
more of the hungry brutes. OF course
the coyotes do not catch every ante
lope they start. Sometimes the game
runs such a course that 1t does not
pass near any of the waiting wolves,
and only the one that starts it has any
running to do. In such a case the
pursuit is abandoned. Sometimes the
antelope is so stout and strong that IL
tires out all its pursuers.
1t is a common thing for a coyote
to chase an old doe with her kids just
after the little ones had begun to run
about. At that time they are very
swift for short distances, but have not
the strength to stand long chase.
In such a case mother will often
stay behind her young, and will try to
fight off the coyote, butting him with
her head and striking him with her
forefeet. He pays little attention to
her, except to snap at her, and keeps
on after the kids. Several times l have
seen a mother antelope lead her little
ones into the midst of bed of cactus,
where the wolf could not go without
getting his feet full of thorns. IL the
bed is small the wolf will make fer
ocious dashes up to it's border, trying
to brighten the little ones so that they
will run out on the other side and he
can start after them again. but usually
the mother has no trouble in holding
them.-Forest and Stream.