El Nuevo mexicano., 1917-02-22
In Outwitting Wolf
Stockman Has His
Work, Cut Out For Him
WONDERFUL CUNNING OF ANIMAL
INCREASES WITH DIMiNuTIoN IN
NuMBERs; LIVES EIGHT TO
FIFTEEN YEARS

.NH N# --- N.W
That the wolf has kept one lap ahead OF
man, his pursrer, and developed a system
atic cunning to meet each contraption of
gun, poison, or trap is well set forth In artt
Gle, "Outwitting the Wolf" by Enos A.. Mills,
naturalist Of national reputation, In the Sat
urday Evening Post OF February II.
He points out that where in the early,
eighties the sight of a wolf Of q pack was a
common sight in the western cattle coun-
try, now wolves are seen but rarely though
his destructive appetite has increased.
Formerly wolves followed the buffalo herds
up and Town the plains. They now follow
cattle herds /. winter with the cattle in
the ~lowlands, and in the summer accom-
pany the beef on hoof up into the higher
ranges. They appear to be equally at home
up in the mountains, in the forest. in the
thickets or on the prairie. They probably
live from eight to fifteen, years. A single
wolf has been charged with eighty head OF
cattle a year"
And while the wolf population may not be
so numerous as 1t once was, the present day
maurauder Ia more active and aggressive.
Speaking of his working district Mr.. Mills
says, "They spend their life in one locality.
This has a diameter of fifteen or twenty
miles" dependent to a certain extent upon
food supply and topography. They are ever
adapting themselves to changing environ.
rhent. When the wolf began to be a serious
menace to the livestock industries heavy
bounties were offered to make his capture
worth while. Despite this heavy bounty
for fifteen years the wolves actually multi
piled" And the writer supports this state
ment with his experience over the entire
western part of the continent, and gives as
the safety first slogan that every wolf par
ent must teach the young: avoid being
seen By man; and never. never touch any
thing that carries the scent Of man or of
iron or steel"
In speaking of the development of the
VOLTS sagacity the author of the article
points out that the catching Of them be-
comes increasingly difficult. "The majority
OF the wolves now trapped are the young
or the stupid ones. Forced by poison and
traps to avoid dead stuff that man has
touched the wolf is compelled to do more
killing. Then, too, his special development
and increased experience. afford him a
living and leave him spare energy and time;
so for the fun of it he kills and kills.
There has been a lack Of conservatism in
many campaigns against wolves. Organic.
ed hunts. the employment of unskilled wolf
.ers and the payment of heavy bounties have
generally been poor investments; and they
have not exterminated the wolves. Yet
in these times Of high bounties wolves ac-
tually multiplied. Even the most conserva-
tive figures of the total annual wolf damage
to stock and ranch interests in the west go
up into millions of dollars. The amount an.
nually lost and the money spent in trying to
destroy wolves, together with the vast pay
ments in bounties, aggregate an enormous
sum-"
In suggesting adequate measurers to bring :
about their eradication Mr.. Mills shows that,
ito eradicate wolves, then, IT appears neccs-
snry to understand their life habits and to
use vigilance In discovering wolf dens."
And as a solution to the wolf menace he
quotes a prominent stockman: From now
on there will be intensive cattle raising.
This includes intensive w~olfing-that is, we
shall fight wolves with brains"
In Nevada where the state has been CO.
operating with the U. s. bureau of biologi.
cal survey, during the period from April.
1916. to January 1, 1917, Ills wild animals
were taken at a cost Of $29, sos. rs to the
state. During the same period 10000 poi.
son bats we're distributed and a conserva-
tive estimate based upon the reports of
hunters and interested stockmen show that
at least 10 per cent were effective Only a
portion Of such animals were recov-
cred so that the work of DISCRIMINATING
predatory animals In Nevada is accomplish
ing even more than the first figures would
indicate.