Part 5

The cougar is frequently a wide-ranging hunter and its hunting territory may be the area in a radius of thirty to fifty miles from the home den. For that reason it is widely distributed and does not become very numerous in any comparatively small area.

The range of the cougar is comparable with that of the various species of deer since they and the other larger mammals of that type are the cougars’ preferred food. They have been found to be quite destructive to domestic stock also and have been extensively hunted for that reason. Normally the cougar does not kill more than it needs at a time and is known to cache the uneaten portion of a carcass for future use. However, occasional animals have acquired reputations as killers.

A cougar’s den is usually in a cave but may be in the shelter of windfalls if a suitable cave is lacking. Here the young, from one to three or four in number, averaging two, are born. They are generally born in late winter or early spring, but may be born in any month of the year. Like our domestic cat, the cougar is a playful animal; adults as well as young have been found to be rather easily tamed. The young are spotted for approximately six months after birth.

General description: A very large cat with a proportionally small head and a long cylindrical tail. Body long, lithe and powerful. Fur soft and rather short, of a tawny or dull yellowish-brown color. The males are somewhat larger than females. Length 7 or 8 feet and weight about 150 pounds.

Terms: Male—tom or lion; female—lioness; young—cubs or kittens.

Where found: Rare in the park and has seldom been seen. Ranges the timbered mountain areas and may be about during the daytime but most usually in the evening or night. Its scream is supposed to be blood-curdling but that of the bobcat has probably been mistaken for the cougar on frequent occasions. Cougars have been reported so rarely and their sign seen so little that they are considered one of the rarest of animals in the park.

COYOTE Canis latrans

The “little wolf” was a common sight on the western prairies in earlier times, his nightly serenade ringing out from the summits of the buttes through which the lonely trails wound. In spite of the persecution by man the coyote is just as common, even now, in many parts of his range, and even in the more settled farming areas his intelligence and wily ways have enabled him to continue a precarious existence.

Coyotes are not only accused of making serious depredations on game animals but on domestic animals as well. It is true that they have caused damage in stock-growing areas among sheep, poultry and young animals, for in such areas other food is scarce. The coyotes of Yellowstone were originally blamed for serious wildlife losses until the results of careful research proved differently. This research has shown us that the chief food of the coyote consists of marmots, picket-pins, mice, rabbits and other small animals as well as carrion. Seldom are larger wild animals killed other than the young, the old, sick or crippled that are comparatively easy prey. It was customarily assumed that when coyotes were seen on a carcass that they were the cause of the death, when actually many of the animals died from other causes before the coyotes found them.

In fact, the elimination of the coyotes, it is thought by some, would mean the increase of rodents to such an extent that we would be faced with a serious problem of over-population of them, as well as a probable increase in disease among the larger animals. The deer, elk and others of the larger animals, in good physical condition, are capable of killing the coyote and it is a frequent sight to see several of them chasing a coyote instead of being chased. An over-population of coyotes can become a menace to any animal, large or small, and in some instances control of coyote numbers has been found necessary.

The coyote home is in some little cave or cavity among rocks or a burrow in the ground. The five to seven young are born in April and are well cared for by both parents. By August they are nearly full grown and are hunting in family groups. Come winter the young disperse to new range areas and have been known to travel many miles from their place of birth.

General description: A rather small, slender animal resembling a shepherd dog in general appearance, with a fairly long and heavy coat, coarsely grizzled buffy, grayish and black, almost yellowish in some subspecies; underparts lighter. Tail large and bushy. Males larger than females. Total length 3½ to 4½ feet; height at shoulder 16 to 18 inches and weight 35 to 45 pounds.

Here in Yellowstone large coyotes are frequently mistaken for the gray wolf which is very rare. However, the wolf is a much larger, heavier and more powerful animal, weighing from 80 to 100 or more pounds and is 5½ or more feet in length.

Terms: Male—dog; female—bitch; young—pups.

Where found: Throughout the park at practically all elevations. Most frequently seen in the open meadows in daytime or evening. Howls most often during the night. Often seen in the winter on the lower range lands, especially around or near the carcasses of animals which have died and become carrion.

GRAY WOLF Canis lupus

To many weary emigrants crouched beside their campfires along the rutted wagon trails which lead onward into the west and to many lonely homesteaders sitting in their cabins on a wintry night the eerie sound of the long deep howl of the Gray Wolf, drifting along on the night wind, gave a feeling of foreboding and a threat of the sinister. Actually the wolf’s howl is very much like that of a large dog and the wild setting is required to give the feeling that it imparts to the listeners.

This animal has been known under the various names of Gray Wolf; Timber Wolf; Lobo; Loafer and Buffalo Wolf.

Once widely distributed over most of the United States the several species of wolves have been exterminated over most of their range and are now restricted to a few of the more remote areas. The wolf is almost entirely carnivorous in food habits with a preference for the larger wild animals and domestic stock when available and so has been persistently hunted by man. Due to their larger size, appetites and different characteristics from those of the coyote the wolves were not able to adapt themselves to the inroads of civilization and so have been pushed continually farther back into the unsettled areas and may soon vanish entirely from the scene.

Wolves became rather numerous at different times in the earlier days of this park’s history. They were persistently hunted during the period of the Army administration and for a time after the National Park Service took over the administration, until the time that the policy of letting the predators carry on their own natural existence unmolested was established. During this first period the numbers of the wolves were so depleted that today they are very rare in the park area.

Park visitors frequently mistake one of the larger coyotes for a wolf and report it as such. But to a person familiar with both animals there is a decided difference. The average wolf is nearly twice as heavy as a coyote, larger and more powerful, with larger legs and feet and a broader head and muzzle. They are seldom seen from the highways except possibly in the winter and there have been no more than one or two authentic sight records of the animals or their tracks reported annually in recent years.

Wolves ordinarily utilize either a natural cave, a hollow log, a hole dug in the ground by themselves or one dug by other animals, for a nursery den. According to several authorities, the nest for the young is not lined with any material. The young, numbering from 3 to 13 but usually 6 to 8, are born in March or April. They are blind and nearly naked. Most evidence found in available literature indicates that the adults pair permanently and the male assists in securing food for the family.

General description: Much like a large dog, larger, heavier and more powerful than the coyote. There is no color difference between males and females and the individual varies little if any in color during the different seasons of the year. However, there is a great color variation between different individuals, the color ranging from gray, either light or dark, sprinkled with black or darkish on upper parts and yellowish white underparts to dark and almost black individuals. Males are largest, averaging from 75 to 100 pounds or more in weight and over five feet in length. Females from 60 to 80 pounds and slightly under five feet.

Term: Male—dog; female—bitch; young—pups.

Where found: Might be encountered in various sections of the park but most recent records are from the northeast part from Canyon north and east to Lamar River and Slough Creek drainages. Probably follow the elk herds in the winter.

GOLDEN-MANTLED MARMOT Marmota flaviventris nosophora

The Golden-mantled Marmot is one of the familiar animals of Yellowstone. Known to many people as a woodchuck or groundhog, the Yellowstone representatives never worry about whether they will see their shadow on the proverbial groundhog day. They remain snug in their beds for they know that they don’t want to come out for another six weeks or more anyhow.

In fact, they spend over half of their life sleeping, for they hibernate from about the first of September until early April. The summer months are then spent in accumulating a layer of fat to carry them through the next long sleep.