Show MANY BEASTS OF PREY KILLED fORESTERS BY Predatory Animals Offer Serious Problem on Western Ranges During the past fiscal year year- 1686 pr predatory atory animals were killed by federal federal federal fed fed- eral officers rs on the national forests according to an actual count of ot car car- casses casses An indeterminate number of animals whose bodies were were not not found are are presumed to have died from poi pol son The rangers ranger's bag of beasts boasts of or prey this year as shown by forest service figures was made up of bears coyotes mountain lions 62 lynx wild cats 64 wolves and 97 wolf pups The figures indicate that the national forests forests- are becoming cleared of wild animals that pr prey y upon upon up on domestic livestock and game for forthe forthe forthe the forest ranger fills in odd moments between other Jobs lobs by thinning out undesirable citizens of the animal world Wolves are tire said to cause greater losses josses to western stockmen than any other of of the predatory animals s. s It is estimated that a a. family of or wolves will destroy about worth of or stock per annum and that one bodied able led Individual costs the grazing industry a n seasOn season The wolves are of two classes the classes the smaller prairie wolves or or coyotes s and the larger grey black or timber wolves called lobos These latter are arc the great stock stack destroyers against which he campaign of or the rangers has been waged The m methods of or hunting wolves Inthe in to inthe the west vary On the plains wolves are sometimes hunted with dogs and horses but this way is considered expensive expensive ex ex- ex I pensive and often dangerous This sport is described by Roosevelt in his earlier hunting books On national forests the rangers either set out poison poison poi pol son or or baited steel traps or by watching watchIng watching watch watch- ing trails and hiding n near ar a wolfs wolf's den denare are able to shoot one or both of the theold theold theold old wolves when they return fr from m foraging In no other way according to the forest service can the number of wolves be kept down so well as by br finding Ing their dens and del destroying the young young The Th skins I of the Jk th predatory animals ll k l by 11 the rangers are either kept P Ht souvenirs or sold for a price or for forI bounty Wolf skins kl s in the west are I said to bring from 4 1 to 6 for robes and rugs a mountain lion skin 10 to 20 and a bear skin anywhere from 20 to according Jo Q size and species In addition to this thi there are bounties bO on bear lions and wolves In In most of the western stock I states Wyoming in ten years ha has paid out It Is is said over in bounties on wolves on-wolves alone and more on coyotes and mountain lions Through tills this activity against these thes I pests the forest ranger it is said ha has as saved the stockmen many thousands o of J I dollars during the year while the pro pro- n to game animals such as deer elk and antelope Is of almost equal i importance |