Show bag ag many wild wila animals ft in JUL west government inspectors kill coyotes wolves lynxes and mountain lions HUNTERS ELIMINATE PESTS PEST S stockmen Stoc kmen are delighted with reductions made in wild animal plague in the last three years cause of heavy losses washington D C wild predatory animals in the west have had a hard time tills this summer Govern government me nt hunters reporting to the bureau of biological survey tell of great slaughter of the animals and some incidents where it almost was the other way round uncle sams bag of coyotes wolves mountain lions and lynxes cannot be counted yet but enough data has come to hand to show that it will be a bi big g one one of the most interesting narratives of this exciting business comes from E F P pope an inspector of the service stationed in new mexico to give encouragement and assistance to the hunters located on ranches ranch e s w where here their work Is most needed 1 sir U r pope lias has traveled two thousand miles in that state stockmen Stoc kmen are pleased almost mo t everywhere he writes 1 I found stockmen stoc kmen delighted with reductions made in the wild animal plague in the last three years they say that from an economic standpoint it is one of the most far reaching and sensible undertakings the government has yet attempted among the stockmen stoc kmen are the fullerton brothers who have extensive ranges on the st augustine plains west of magdalena ever since they started they have suffered heavy animal losses from depredations fla tiong of coyotes and wildcats especially during duping the lambing season last winter one of our hunters was assigned signed oR to these ranges ran e s lie ile was handicapped by heavy snows and tad bad weather but lie got so many of the brutes that he virtually eliminated the pests from this section A new hunter was al assigned gnel to the infested ranch of edward otero not far away while waiting for him I 1 set a line of twelve traps and distributed two hundred poison baits sly my catch was five alve old coyotl s one of which was killed with a rifle at long range A few days after his arrival the new hunter got two more coyotes and a ardee bra ce of wildcats in the vicinity for some time before that from three to six lambs had been lost every night in ten days vie hunter could find no more of the animals and moved to a neighboring ranch old ones are wary there are many instances where tile younger and less shy coyotes and eats cats have been taken during the winter er by 7 fur hunters leaving the older and more wary animals alive these do the killing and keep the ranches paying toll to their kind I 1 have notes in my field diary describing the work of the old coyote which I 1 have mentioned a as having been killed with the rifle mile this fellow bore evidence of having been previously louly caught in a trap from which he got away thinking to escape again he made the effort resulting in his death it often requires more time and effort to destroy this sort of coyote than it takes to get the yon younger ilger ones but the value of the results obtained Is very much greater mr air pope says settlers find it hard to build up large herds or flocks under the constant onslaughts of beasts beast of prey the elimination of the pests Is giving them encouragement and increasing their sheep and cattle gam animals with the passing of their enemies also alio are getting more numerous ii mer we have records says mr pope of antelope being constantly seen in timbered sections from which wolves lions and cats have been e eradicated r a d the lie deer no doubt having become aware that their dr dread C ad foes no longer are there to spring upon them from cover it Is my own observation that wild game in some sections of the state is increasing under protective measures now being taken |