El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-04-17

He viii kill them for sheer devilment.
10 catch him is difficult, for he is ex-
trmely cunning and can outruu any
dog Inasmuch as the female produces
from eight 10 ten young in a litter
coyotes multiply with enormous randi
lty- II allowed 10 breed, and the BUSH
ness Of keeping down their numbers
l. expensive and troublesome.
Considered n Blessing.
On the other had, oddly enough
there are well informed persons who
contend that the determination Of
coyotes would be a misfortune They
are the principal natural enemies OF
prairie dogs and jack rabbits In CALI
1Crnia not long ago a bounty of 50
was voted by the legislature for every
coyote killed Seventy-five thousand
OF them were destroyed during the
following twelve months: hut imme-
diately thereafter a plague of rabbits
followed and it was claimed that the
balance OF nature nad been unwisely
disturbed.
Pumn Is Also. n Problem.
The puma or mountain lion is an
cther beast Of prey which officers Of
the forest service are obliged 10 take
Tito serious account 1t is very fond
OF deer meat But above all it is a
killer Of horses There are regions in
the Rocky mountains where il is al
most impossible to raise horses on open
ranges, because these great cats kill
the young colts as fast as they are
born The mountain lion is very keen
OF scent and hard to trap; but 10 hui
man beings il is harmless.
win the wild cat il is much the
same way The creature acts as il
very fierce, but viii never attack a
man At the same time, it is a
dreadful killer Of sheep and especially
lambs, destroying them for the pure
lust Of blood shedding.
Wild Cats Easily Killed
lldcats otherwise known as bob
CATS and lynzes are easily extermin-
ated by traps and dogs. Commonly
they are chased into trees Knocked
down with stones and clubs and beaten
10 death. Bears, with the exception
the grizzly, are not dangerous. and do
comparatively little damage-though
now and then one acquires a taste
1or mutton or pork and makes forays
upon sheepfolds and pig pens The
Diack and brown ears do no harm
worth mentioning 10 man or beast,
beyond rObbtng an occasional campers
outfit Of sugar and bacon.
The recent rise in the price Of f11rs
has attracted many professional tran
pers who have either sought employ
ment from the government in the ma
uOnal forests or have obtained Der-
mlIs 10 hunt and trap predatory ami
mails therein There is money in the
business the pelt Of a coyote, for ex-
ample having present market value
Of s.. With view to extending the
work as much as possible, the forest
service makes It practice 10 lend
traps and even to give poisOn to SET
tiers and other private individuals.
The prairie dog is hardly to be
Classed as predatory mammal
NtFertneless, he is recognized as very
harmful and the forest service is CO.
operating with the biology survey for
the destruction Of the species. which
is being successfully wiped out over
great areas. Whole counties in Kan
Sas- long abandoned TO the dogs. have
Ieen redeemed for stock raising
Prairie Dogs WORTHLESS
II Is estimated that $50 prairie dogs
VIII eat as much grass as one cow.
Ihirty-two Of them will eat as much j
as would feed one sheep. Inasmuch /
as no use whatever has been found I
TOT the dogs, il is impossible that such /
condition of affairs should be toIer- 4
ated- Not only do they eat the grass.
lut they convert the territory they 4