The Coconino sun., 1923-08-24
MUSGRAVE TELLS ABOUT
THE SCAVENGER COYOTE

Inspector M. E. Musgrave, chief o.
predatory animal control in Arizona
Cor the United States, is probably ONT
of the most skillful hunters of bis
game in Arizona. 1t is his job, aidet
by force of experienced hunters, tt
rid the state of the animals that prey
upon the livestock and game of Ari
zona. In order to successfully com
bat the depredations Of the preyine
animals Musgrave has studied theil
habits and characteristics to point
where he can out-guess the elusive
beasts and put an end to their raids
upon the storckgrower.
Whether his objective is iobo wolf
which he says is the greatest menace
to eattlemen, or the bear, mountain
lion, coyote or lesser predatory ami
mails, Inspector Musgrave knows by
long experience just how to go about
getting his quarry.
In some cases dogs are most eff
fective; in others, the trap will ans
wer best, while in still others, prop
erly placed poison will end the de-
vastating career of the maurauder.
The prairie Wolf" !.
14lS COHOtC ID sCO1IlIuOlliX CldSSGu Dc
wolf among fur buyers and men of
the middle west" said Musgrave. "In
reality he is prairie wolf and orig
inally did not inhabit timbered areas.
Until comparatively few years
back the coyote was unknown in heav-
lily wooded sections, but confined him
self to the open plains and sage brush
country. He, gradually changed his
habitat, however, until now he is
found practically in all parts of the
west, and as far east as Iowa.
''The coyote, like the grey fox, is
able to adapt himself to any sur
roundings, making it next to impos-
sible to exterminate him from any
part of the country. He eats var
iety of feeds, including berries, fruits
of any kind, he is very fond of mes
quite beans; will eat almost any kind
of insects or reptiles, as well as the
flesh of any animal. He is also a
scavenger and will eat carrion Of all
kinds.
Is Night Prowler
"To some extent the coyote travels
in the daytime, but usually he is noe
turnal, and does his hunting by night,
or early in the morning or late in the
evening.
"In Arizona we have several diff
ferent kinds of coyotes, ranging from
the little Mearns coyote of the desert
to the Colorado plains coyote of north
ern Arizona. This large coyote is
sometimes called the brush wolf. How
ever, it is very easy to distinguish the
coyote from the wolves of the west
ern states. For one thing, wolf the
size of coyote would have feet twice
or three times the size of the other
animal. The ears of the coyote are
longer and more pointed and are al
ways of a yellowish red color.
Come Out in Winter
"In our predatory animal control
work in Arizona we have found that
the coyote migrates from northern
Arizona to the southern areas of the
state in winter, and returns north
again in the spring. He follows the
herds of sheep that are drifted down
from the north TO the lambing ranges
of the low deserts. When they return
he follows them.
"The curiosity of the coyote fre-
quently occasions his downfall. For
instance, if a coyote discovers some
thing a little unusual on the trail,
something with which he is not fa-
miliar, he cannot resist the tempta-
tion OF investigating. Coyotes will
often dig a trap out of the group, car
ry the trap off and cover it up, and
often turn it over without throwing
it. In one case we had a coyote who
would go over our wolf trapline prac-
tically every night. He would dig up
the traps, throwing from one to three
traps each night, without getting
caught.
"Upon careful investigation / dis
covered that the coyote, which proved
to be a female, would lie down and
then scrape the dirt off the top of
the trap with her front feet. When
her feet came in contact with the
buried chain, she would drag the trap
out of the ground, carry it off, play
with it for while, then cover it up
with each and look for another trap
to dig up.
Old Female Trapped
81 returned one of the traps she had
dug out to the place where it had