Part 3

BENEFICIAL HABITS.

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. 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. 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 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 grass in a prairie dog 'town' is usually cropped very short, and all tall-growing weeds are cut down. Sometimes a weed is permitted to grow to maturity on the cone-like mound sit the mouth of a burrow. Only three species of weeds have been seen so growing by the writer--the horse nettle (Solanum rostratum), the Mexican poppy (Argemone), and a Euphorbia (Euphorbia marginata). These afford shade to the animals, but do not obstruct the view. All other weeds, and even cultivated crops, are cut down to prevent the unseen approach of an enemy. When the cultivated crop is some rapid-growing or dense one which they can not clear away, they abandon the land rather than stay to be devoured.

But clearing the prairie dog town of weeds is not sufficient to baffle the coyote. In the absence of hiding places he takes to new methods of hunting. J. H. Gaut, of the Biological Survey, records his observations in a prairie dog town in New Mexico:

The coyote started at one end of the town and ran at lightning speed in a straight line until he cut off one from its burrow. When the prairie dog saw that it could not get to its hole, it stopped and began to kick until the coyote caught it and killed it in very much the same way that a dog kills a rat.

Besides rabbits and prairie dogs, the food of the coyote is known to include the following mammals:

Rice rats (Oryzomys), kangaroo rats (Dipodomys and Perodipus), wood rats (Neotoma), ground squirrels (Ammospermophilus, Callospermophilus, and Spermophilus), woodchucks (Marmota), voles (Microtus), pocket gophers (Thomomys), chipmunks (Eutamias), and pocket mice (Perognathus). All of these are more or less harmful, and the coyote performs an important service in preying upon them. The service is not an occasional or a spasmodic one, but lasts throughout the year and throughout the life of the coyote. 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. Here it finds remnants of meat from the table, offal from game, and similar prizes. When hungry it will reject no animal food, not even carrion. The slaughterhouses near the towns are favorite feeding places, and the animals are often shot there by moonlight. On the ranges they soon consume dead horses and cattle. Leaving the bones clean.

INJURIOUS HABITS.

Coyotes have been known to capture some of the wild animals that assist man in his warfare' against insects and rodent pests. Among them are the weasels. In August, 1903, a member of the Biological Survey met a coyote carrying a weasel in the Pecos River Mountains of New Mexico at an altitude of 11,600 feet. The coyote, frightened, dropped its prey and ran off. The various kinds of skunks also are probably captured and eaten.

GAME DESTROYED BY COYOTES.

Coyotes destroy considerable game. Birds that roost and nest on the ground are frequent victims. Quail, grouse, and wild ducks are caught on the nest, and both birds and eggs are eaten. Wild ducks and geese, when wounded and unable to fly, may be found along the banks of streams and ponds, and the coyotes regularly patrol the shores in search of them. In Oklahoma I found fresh coyote tracks each morning on the grassy borders of a large artificial pond. 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. In this way the wolves keep fresh until the pursued animal is exhausted, but all of them are 'in at the death.' The present scarcity of these large game animals gives few opportunities for such chases, but on the plains they were formerly of frequent occurrence.

DEPREDATIONS ON FARM ANIMALS.

The coyote is widely and unfavorably known as a destroyer of domestic animals. Its depredations upon these indicate a marked change of habit since the first settlement of the West. Previously its food was restricted to the wild animals, including young buffalo, antelope, and deer. 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.

The coyote kills hens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. Its usual method of capturing them in daytime is to lurk behind weeds or bushes until the fowls come within reach. Turkeys, which range far afield in search of grasshoppers and other insects, are frequent victims. At night the coyote captures poultry from the roost, provided the door of the henhouse is left open. A correspondent of the Biological Survey wrote from Rexburg, Idaho, that one neighbor had lost 60 chickens and another 30 in one night, taken by coyotes. Another correspondent, in Mayer, Ariz., writes:

Have lost about 100 chickens by coyotes. With the exception of killing chickens, I believe them to be beneficial in keeping down the rabbit pest.

In approaching ranch buildings either by day or by night the coyote conies from the leeward side and with great caution. Once satisfied that no danger lurks in the shadows, it becomes exceedingly hold. George A. Coleman, formerly a member of the Biological Survey, wrote from London, Nemaha County, Nebr.:

Depredations by wolves here upon henroosts and pigpens are of frequent occurrence. I have observed them several times. They come with a dash into the yard, take a chicken by the neck, and are gone before anyone can stop them. In the same way they visit the pigpens and take the young pigs away from the mother. In one instance they made way with eight 6-weeks-old pigs in one night. At another time two of them attacked a pig which would have weighed 75 pounds, and had they not been stopped by dog's would probably have killed it.

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. We have them, but we do not keep them long, because they are caught by coyotes. Within a few months I have lost four cats in this way.

The coyote has been known to kill the young of most farm animals--colts, calves, pigs, lambs, and goats. Colts are seldom killed, because the dam can usually protect them. Calves are taken only when the mother cow is feeding at a distance or has gone for water. The coyotes lie watching in the grass until this opportunity comes. Sometimes older animals are killed. Ranchmen in Oklahoma told the writer that in winter yearling cattle in good condition are sometimes killed by coyotes. To accomplish this two or more of them must hunt together, and get the victim separated from the herd.

Capt. P. M. Thorne, writing to the Biological Survey from Fort Lyon, Colo.. January 4, 1887, says:

Old cattlemen who have lived here nearly all their lives agree in saying that the coyotes kill cattle, even full-grown ones. They say that they have seen them at their work, which is done in packs; they surround an animal and keep up a constant nipping at its legs until it falls from weakness and loss of blood.

In July. 1893, at Farmington, Utah, Vernon Bailey saw two coyotes chasing calves and yearlings about a pasture, evidently trying to separate one from the lot. He notes that in June. 1889, at St. Thomas, Nev., coyotes killed a hog that weighed about 100 pounds.

THE COYOTE'S RELATION TO THE SHEEP INDUSTRY.

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. They are not only more abundant than the other animals mentioned, but they are present throughout the year, and their depredations are a steady drain upon the resources of the flock owner, comparable in extent to the losses caused by worthless dogs in many parts of the country.

Dr. E. A. C. Foster, writing from Russell, Kans., in 1887, said: