The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-07

| The enormous losses suffered by stock
 men on the western cattle ranges and
 the destruction of game on forest re-
 serves, private game preserves, south
 ern plantations, large farms and in na-
 tional parks through the depreciation of
 wolves has been the cause of a spe-
 cial investigation by the biological sur
 vey in cooperation with the forest ser
 vice to ascertain the best methods
 for destroying these pests.
 The chief object of the report, ac-
 cordng to Chief Forester Graves, is
 to put into the hands of every hunt 1 CT. trapper, forest ranger and ranch
 man, directions for trapping, poison
 ing and hunting wolves and of finding
 the dens of the young. Should the di-
 rections be rigidly followed it is be- ieved that the wolves can be so re-
 duced in number that their depreda
 tions will cease to be series menace l to the increase of stock and game. 1 Prime wolf skins" Mir Graves said.
 "are worth from s4 to s6 each. enough | to induce trappers and enterprising
 ranchmen to make effort to secure them If a reasonable degree of sue | little encouragement to catch or kill
 wolves on their own ranges and it is l believed that the forest rangers will
 be able to keep dbwn the increase on | the forest reserves. Their complete eX- 1 termination on the western ranges is
 not, however to be expected in the
 near future and it Is only by constant and concerted effort that their number
 can be kept down sufficiently to pre-
 vent serious depredations."
 1 The biological survey in an exhaus- tive report shows the wolves to be di- l vided into two groups, the smaller
 coyotes or prairie wolves of the west 1 ern United States, Mexico and south
 western Canada, comprising several species and sub-species and the larger
 gray, black or timber wolves. distrib uted practically throughout the whole
 of North America from Florida and
 the table land of Mexico to the Arctic
 ocean. These large wolves, commonly called "loafers," or 'lobos," include at l least half dozen species or geographic
 races, comprising the small dark gray
 or black wolf of Florida and the south-
 eastern United States, the red wolf of
 southern Texas, the brindled wolf of
 Mexico, the light gray wolf of the
 central plains region, the dark gray
 wolf of eastern Canada, the almost
 white wolf of northern Canada and Alaska and the large black or dusky I wolf of the northwest coast region.
 The wolves still occupy most of their | original range, except where crowded out | of the more thickly settled regions. The | large gray wolf of the plains and middle
 west is at present the most abundant
 species in the United States, and the
 most destructive to stock. Over the thin | ly settled ranch country of Montana, the | rtc of na O. l braska and of Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and western Texas. where stock raising is an important industry, the wolves have held their own, and in fav | orable sections have increased since the destruction of their former prey, the buff l falo. and the introduction of domestic cattle.
 |. From a physical enumeration of the
 population and habitat of the wolves, MT. Graves says "the natural inference would be that the forest reserves serve as breeding grounds. from which the
 wolves raid the surrounding country.
 Such is not the case, however, as will
 be apparent from the reports that have
 been received here. The wolves breed
 mainly below the edge of the forest re-
 serves or on the reserves where partly
 open foothill country is included. In talk
 ing with hunters, trappers ranchmen
 and forest rangers who have been much
 in the northern mountains in winter l
 have not found one who ever saw wolf tracks in the mountains during the breed-
 ing season, or knew of wolf den above the foothills. All agree that the wolves leave the mountains when the cattle come down in the fall and return only when the cattle are driven into the noun | tains again in June, just as they original ly followed the migrations of buffalo The foo hat abundant valleys in winter also supports the mi- grafton theory, but their continued pres- ence in the valleys in summer would in dicate that not all follow the cattle into the mountains in the winter.
 .',rhe stock killed by wolves Is mainly cattle, Calves and yearlings are gen orally selected, but if these are not avail able. cows and even full grown steers are killed They are usually attacked from behind and literally eaten alive. Occas- iorally an animal will escape the wolf with a great piece torn out of Its ham, while the wolf goes on to catch and kill another Cattle so bitten die, hence ranchmen claim that more cattle are killed than eaten.
 "The actual number of cattle killed by wolves cannot be determined. Compar- atively few animals are found by cattle men and hunters when freshly killed. It been wolves will destroy about $3000 worth of
 stock on large ranch per annum. Not only do wolves destroy cattle and
 game. but they frequently kill colts and grown horses Evidently this Is not
 matter of choice of food, for trappers
 generally agree that wolves prefer horse flesh to beef, an opinion that my own
 observations fully substantiate. The ex-
 planation is doubtless to be found in
 the methods of attack from the rear, long and successful practice on the buff falo and equally successful with cattle, but not generally with grown horses. Colts. however. are often killed by wolves On the other hand, mountain lions kill more horses than cattle be- cause their catlike methods of springing at the head and throat succeeds better with the horse than with cattle
 s.Herded sheep are rarely troubled by wolves, which are kept at distance by the presence of herders and dogs. Occa- sionally, however, an unguarded herd Is raided and a large number of sheep are killed. but so rarely that in open country sheepmen have little fear Of wolves in comparison with coyotes and wild cats. In timbered regions wolves kill more sheep and small herds are not safe even in pastures unless inclosed with wolf-proof fences.
 Hogs are killed in great numbers by
 wolves in the timbered bottoms and