David E. Lantz

“ While it is certain that the larger wolves have greatly diminished in numbers under the system, forces far more potent than mere rewards have operated against them. Chief of these has been the encroachment of civilization. Coyotes have in some places held their ground under bounties, and possibly might have been held in check nearly as well under the operation of the same forces that helped to decimate the timber wolves. But the observed effect on the coyote of contact with settlements hardly justifies such a conclusion. That the bounties in some places have done effective work is undoubted ”

“ The establishment of pioneer homes throughout the country has always resulted in restricting the numbers of the larger wolves, which have gradually become extinct over large areas in the eastern and middle parts of the United States where they were formerly abundant. Not so with the coyote. Except in a few thickly settled regions, it has thrived upon civilization and is practically as numerous as it was before settlements began. Indeed, in many parts of the West coyotes are said to be increasing in spite of a constant warfare against them. ”

“ Before setting the traps many trappers rub their feet and hands on a skin or some strong-smelling meat or carcass to conceal the human odor. Oil of anise or rhodium is sometimes used for the same purpose. Any strong odor is likely to attract the attention of the coyote and allay suspicion. Care must be taken not to spit on the ground or kneel or throw down any clothing in the vicinity of the trap. A good plan is to set a line of traps and leave them for a day or two, and then go the rounds with a horse and drag, and bait the traps without dismounting. ”

“ Fifty to two hundred sheep on a farm would at once make this part of Texas the most important woolgrowing section of the State. Other advantages to be gained would be keeping down the cactus and chaparral, which are inclined to spread and occupy much of the ground, keeping the edges of pastures and fields cleaned up so that they would not harbor a host of predaceous insects and rodents in close proximity to growing crops, and furnishing to the farmers and small towns a supply of fresh meat other than chicken. In this warm climate beef is rarely available, except in the larger towns. ”

“ Indeed, in our markets mutton is coming to be more and more in favor, and this growing demand may be one of the causes for the present drain upon the flocks and the decrease in their numbers; but the chief discouragement of the industry undoubtedly lies in the depredations of worthless dogs and coyotes.
The dog question is a serious one, especially in thickly settled parts of the country, but the evil is best remedied by a resort to taxation. The tax on dogs should be sufficiently high to put most of the worthless ones out of existence. ”

“ In the western part of the United States the practice of keeping sheep in vast herds has resulted in much deterioration of the ranges, due to overcrowding, and the cost of herding has absorbed much of the profits of sheep raising. The process of withdrawing lands for homesteads and the various reservations has diminished the free range and increased the crowding, until flock owners for their own protection have been compelled to purchase lands for range purposes. ”

“ The coyotes usually catch the rabbits by lying in wait behind bushes and bunches of grass near their paths and pouncing upon them as they pass. Sometimes they have been known to hunt jack rabbits in company. While a single coyote would not be able to run down a jack rabbit, by hunting together, taking turns in the drive, and by taking advantage of the tendency of the hare to run in a circle, they are able to capture it. ”

“ Many of the pastures are not half eaten down, and the dead and dry vegetation becomes a nuisance. After harvest cattle and horses are usually turned into cotton and grain fields, where they do good work in cleaning up grass and weeds in the field and along the borders. Still there is abundance of feed constantly going to waste, and a small flock of sheep could be kept with great profit and no expense on almost every farm. ”

“ Ducks resorted there in considerable flocks, and I several times found that they had been eaten by coyotes, as evidenced by tracks of the animals and feathers of the birds.
Like the larger wolves, the prairie wolf kills deer and antelope. In hunting these they always go in packs of two or more and take turns in the chase. They know that their prey runs in large circles, and at intervals individuals drop out of the pursuit and, crossing a chord of the circle, lie in wait until the quarry passes near them again. ”

“ Cultivated areas are far apart: stock ranges are extensive; tall grasses, weeds, cactuses, and sagebrush afford excellent hiding places; rabbits, prairie dogs, ground squirrels, and other small animals are plentiful; and, when these natural resources of the country fail, sheep and young calves furnish abundant food.
In nearly all the Western States the efforts of ranchmen to destroy the coyote have been supplemented by laws authorizing the payment of bounties from public funds. ”

“ The coyote is especially notorious as an enemy of the sheep industry. In many parts of the West sheep raising has greatly languished because of the depredations of wild animals upon the flocks. While some of the injury is caused by the larger wolves, mountain lions, bears, and lynxes, the coyotes are by far the most formidable enemy. ”

“ Any kind of fresh meat will do for bait—rabbits and other small rodents are often used, but larger baits seem to be more attractive. it is also of advantage after setting the trap to make a 'drag' of the bait for a quarter to a half mile, at the end of a rope from the saddle horn, and finally to fasten it to a bush or stake close to the trap, or cut it in bits and scatter all around the trap so that not all can be reached by the coyote without walking over the trap. ”

“ The destruction of the larger game by man may partly account for the change to farm animals as a diet, but it is probable that the quality of the introduced food had much to do with the coyote's preference for it. ”

“ Success by this method depends largely upon the condition of the animal as regards hunger, and may be helped by making what is known as a 'drag' in the neighborhood of the bait. A small animal—a bleeding dead rabbit is good—is dragged over the prairie and the morsels of bail left at intervals along the 'drag.' Two days previous to a general coyote hunt in Oklahoma a steer badly affected by 'lumpy jaw' was killed, opened, and left in the middle of the area to be hunted. During the first night coyotes howled all night in the vicinity of the carcass, but failed to touch it. ”

“ Barbed wires do not deter them from crawling through a fence to escape. Whether they would go through a closely built barbed wire fence to attack sheep or poultry is still an open question.
4. Woven wire fences should have meshes, when rectangular, less than 6 by 6 inches to keep out coyotes. For such fences triangular meshes are much better than square ones.
5. In fencing against coyotes with woven fences care must be used to see that there are no openings at the ground through which the animals can force themselves, since they are more likely to crawl under a fence than jump over it. ”

“ When the number of animals taking part in the work is considered, the enormous importance of its bearing in maintaining the 'balance of nature' becomes apparent.
The coyote is useful also as a scavenger. In the prairie country, especially in winter, it comes into towns at night searching for garbage thrown into the alleys. ”

“ Many ranchmen find dogs an efficient help in guarding against coyote depredations. For this purpose the small varieties are useless, since the coyotes do not fear them. Beagles and larger foxhounds are too slow. Staghounds, Russian wolfhounds, greyhounds, and their crosses are to be preferred: and at least three are needed to successfully chase and safely kill a coyote. These dogs soon learn to hunt wolves, and are seldom known to harm sheep. Ranches on which they are kept are comparatively free from depredations of wild – 21 – animals, while others within a few miles are by do means exempt. ”

“ In parts of the Southwest sheep growers have estimated their losses from wild animals as equal to 20 percent of the flock. The average loss reported from several States is 5 percent. In nearly all the States west of the Mississippi the industry has declined in the past two years, and one of the principal causes given is losses from coyotes. At present the industry thrives only in sections where the local conditions permit the herding of sheep in large flocks—a system highly injurious to the pasturage. ”

“ The ordinary greyhound can easily overtake a coyote, but is usually unable to kill it alone.
Coyote drives, in which an entire community engage, have become a popular feature of rural sport in some parts of the country. ”

“ The barriers would surely be far more formidable. Experiments with certain types of fence, with sheep inclosed within – 26 – them, and in a country with wolves as plentiful as they are at Chattanooga, would be far more conclusive in establishing a safe basis for practical recommendations to farmers.
The writer interviewed a number of farmers in Kansas who have had experience with poultry and farm animals in coyote-infested country. Several of them had for some years been using for corrals and small pastures woven wire fences, and had found those from 57 to 60 inches high entirely coyote-proof. ”

“ Eye witnesses to such a performance state that they do not fight over the division of the rabbit's carcass, but that all obtain a share. The constant warfare of many coyotes upon these rodents has much to do in keeping down the numbers; and the abundance of rabbits in some sections of the West has been largely attributed to a local decrease in the number of coyotes, caused by an unusual activity against them which had been stimulated by high bounties.
Prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus and other species) are also a staple coyote food. ”

“ The day of free pasturage on public lands is fast passing, and with private ownership of ranges, fencing must be resorted to to confine the flocks. The additional expenditure necessary to make the fences proof against coyotes would be inconsiderable when all the advantages are properly weighed. ”

“ Coyotes are abundant in most parts of their range, except the extreme north and the more thickly populated regions where waste lands are scarce. It is, however, on the plains of the western part of the United States that they come most closely in contact with the advancing tide of settlement. ”

“ Among the mammals included in the food of the coyotes are many injurious species; and, so far as their food is confined to these, the animals are decidedly beneficial to the farming interests of the country. The destruction of rabbits, both large and small species, is of great advantage, especially on the plains and in the cultivated valleys, where their depredations are keenly felt by the settlers. The various species of jack rabbit have often been observed as included in the coyotes' fare, and the smaller rabbits are also habitually eaten. ”

“ There are few if any large stock ranches, but each farm has its pastures for horses and cattle. These pastures are the wild land covered with scattered mosquito, post oak, and patches of chaparral and cactus. The native grasses are abundant and of excellent quality, and in this mild climate furnish good feed throughout the year. ”

“ Few of the mammals of the farm are exempt from coyote raids. Even house cats, roaming far from home in search of rodents or birds, become victims. A correspondent of Forest and Stream, writing from Shirley Basin, Wyo., October 7, 1896, says:
I live on a ranch, and we are somewhat troubled by field mice and mountain rats, and so we must keep cats. ”

“ The double product, wool and million, usually places the profit of handling them above that of cuttle or horses. The gains also come oftener, since sheep mature in a year, while cattle and horse require three.
Vernon Bailey, chief field naturalist of the Biological Survey, writing from Seguin, Tex., under date of November 8, 1904, says:
No sheep are kept in tins part of Texas, and in talking with several intelligent farmers I find that the reason invariably given is the abundance of coyotes. ”

“ The coyote captures them by hiding behind clumps of weeds or bunches of grass at some distance from the burrows. When the unsuspecting rodent, in feeding, approaches near enough, a few leaps enable the coyote to secure it. ”

“ The trap should be fastened to a bush or stake, or if these are not available, to a clog. For the last a pole lying on the ground is best, since it may be utilized without moving it or disturbing the surroundings. If the trap is anchored to a bush or small tree the chain must be securely fastened with snap or wire. A stout stake over which the ring will not slip, driven out of sight into the ground, is better. Every part of the trap and chain is covered, and the ground left in as natural and undisturbed condition as possible. ”

“ In some parts of Mexico where the natives have for many years practiced systematic poisoning, the coyote is becoming rare, but in most sections of its range it is either increasing or no substantial decrease has been observed.
COYOTES IN KANSAS.
The State of Kansas, where settlements are comparatively old and where man's warfare against the coyote has been long continued, affords an excellent illustration of the animal's ability to maintain its numbers under seemingly adverse circumstances. ”