The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-11-06
ENORMOUS LOSSES
! FROM THE WOLVES
Chief Forester Graves to In.
struct Rangers and Hunt
4 ers to KIN Them.
MANY sTockMtH VICTIMS
AND, eovTHGRN PLANTATIONS
HAvg 1sRN tNFGsrGo ~ the
oRUrao-o,o sovMTv 10 PAID
ron HIDES.
~ S,pNgv Gspgv.

losses suffered BY stockmen on the
western cattle ranges and the des-
tructton Of game ON forest reserves.
Dgivate game reserves. southern plan
laGiens. large farms. and In national
parks through the dspredations Of
wolves has been the cause of . spe-
eial Investigation By the biological
survey. in cooperation with the forest
service et ascertain the best methods
for dsstroyins these pests.
The chief object Of the report. &C.
cording to Chief Forester Graves, 10
TO put into the hands Of every hunter.
trapper. forest ranger and ranchman.
directions for trapping. poisoning and
hunting wolves and Of finding the
dens Of the young. Should the direc-
tions b rigidly followed It II believ-
"a that the wolves can be - reduced
n number that their depredations will
cease 70 be serious menace TO the
Increase Of stock and game.
Endorsement 70 Trappsrs.
Prime wolf skins." said Mr..
Graves. ARE worth from - to Is each,
enough 70 induce trappers and enter
prisjns ranchmen to make an effort to
secure them II . reasonable degree Of
success 10 assured. Stock owners
need little encouragement to catch
or hill wolves on their own ranges.
and Il 70 beloved that the forest
rangers Will - Abls to keep down the
incrsaSs on he forest reserves. Their
complete determination on the west.
ern ranges 10 not. however, to be OK.
spected IN the near future. and It II
only By .conqtant and concerted ef-
fort that their number car. be kept
down sSMctently - pvevent serious
dopro1AtjoaRS.
Y Thb Ale6gical survey In an exhaus-
ytive t46ost shows the wolves to be
i1ivideeS into the groupe. the smaller
;eoyotes ec peAlsis. wolves Of the west.
,srn Unite& ;otstteA Msxico. and south.
lwestsrn Cenada comprtsing several
:ppeciss sa66&sab-sDepae4: and the
larger glAy. bhok @or timber wolves.
distributes Deatt3taI3N throughout the
whole oe North Americe from Florida
and the tabls h4ds Of Mexico to the
Arctic ocean. These .large wolves.
lcommonly cal1ed ''l6sESrs'''. or "lobos. -
Include 1T lGist halt . dozen species
or geogyaphc raced cQMprising the
small da<RIfay or black wolf Of Flor
Ida and .Sthe southeaslsrn United
STATES. ~ red wolf of-seuthern Tex.
q. the brildled wolf Of Mexico. the
lisht ray wolf Of the central plains
REGION. the o4rk gray~Wolf<of eastern
Canada. the almost white wolf of
northern Canada and Alaska and the
large black or dusky wolf Of the
northwest coast region.
The wolves still occupy most Of
their original range. except where
crowded out OF the more thickly set.
tied regions. The large gray wolf Of
the plains and middle west 10 at pres
ent the most abundant species In the
United States. and the most destruct-
Ne 70 stock. Over the thinly settled
ranch country Of Montana. the west
leru parts Of the Dakotas and Nebras;
IN. and Of Wyoming. Colorado. New
Mexico and western Texas. where
stock raising 10 an important indus.
try. the wolves have held their own
'Aad In favorable sections have. in.
oreosod since the destruction Of their
former prey. the buffalo. and the In.
PRODUCTION Of domestic cattle.
Where Animals Breed.
Prom . physical enumeration OF
the population and habitat Of the
wolves" Mr.. Graves says. "the natur.
III differences would be that the forest
reserves serve ~ breeding grounds.
from which the wolves raid the sur
rounding country. Such IL not the
case. however. 10 will be apparent
fFU0 the reports that have been re-
celved here. The wolves breed main.
~ below the edge Of the forest reserve
Or on the reserves where partly foot.
Hill country 10 Included. In talking
With hunters. trappers. ranchmen and
forest rangers who have been much
In the northern mountains in winter !
have not found one who ever saw
wolf tracks In the mountains. DURING
the breeding season. or knew Of a
fWVss 0So 0OOvG tuO tOOtuitt8- AL
asree that the wolves leave the noun
tains when the cattle c0na down In
the fall and return only whea. the
cattle are driven into the mountains
aeAiA IN June. just ~ they originally
followed the migrations Of buffalo.
The tact that wolves are abundant. In
The valleys In winter also supports
the migration theory. but their con-
tinued presence In the valleys In sum.
0er would indicate that not all fol-
Jow the cattle Into the mountains In
the winter.
"TAs stock killed BY wolves IL
mainly cattle. Calves and ysarlines
sre gsassally selected. but II these
ero not available. cows and even full
Fown steers are killed. They are
oonally attacked from behind and Mt
ega1ly eaten alive. Occasionally an
on1mal viii escape the wolf with q
oreat Piece torn out OF IL han. while
~ wo8 epss a to catch sn& hin an.
64hsr. Cattle % bi(tsa diG hence
(Anohmsn claim that Aors cattle are
tllDed than eaten.
~TAe actual nunAsr oe cattle killed
" wolves cannot b determined