In many places where wolves and coyotes could be poisoned readily in early days the method is not a success at present as the animals have learned by experience to avoid the poisoned food. Strychnine is usually employed and this very bitter drug has a way of spreading through the bait, so that the wolf can sometimes detect it as soon as the bait touches the tongue. In such cases, the drug is never swallowed, but may be dropped on the spot or as is more often the case, it may be carried a considerable distance away before it is dropped. Again if the animal swallows the poisoned bait, it may be some time before it dissolves in the wolfs stomach and the poison begins to act, and if the wolf begins to feel the effects of the drug, it may start off on a run. In either case it is not likely to be found even if there is snow on the ground as the wind will soon obliterate the tracks.
In the government pamphlet before mentioned, Mr. Bailey has the following to say about poisoning:
"Many wolves are killed by poisoning, and more would be so killed if the methods followed were less crude. Strychnine is generally used with nothing to disguise its intense bitterness, the powder being either inserted in bits of meat or fat or merely spread on a fresh carcass. In most cases the wolf gets a taste of the bitter drug and rejects it, and if the dose is swallowed it may be too small to be fatal or so large as to act as an emetic. An old and experienced wolf will rarely touch bait poisoned in the ordinary way, but sometimes a whole family of young may be killed at a carcass. Usually when wolves are poisoned, they go so far before they die that if found at all it is not until their skins are spoiled. To encourage poisoning, it must be possible to secure the skins in good condition, or at least, to find the animals after they are killed, so that the ranchman may have the satisfaction of knowing that he has accomplished something toward the protection of his stock."
"In the use of poison it is of first importance to determine the amount that will kill with certainty in the shortest possible time. According to German and French authorities on toxicology, the smallest dose of strychnine that will kill a 25 pound dog is approximately one-fourth of a grain. Quadruple this for a 100 pound wolf and we have 2 grains. Mr. B. R. Ross, of the Hudson's Bay Company, found that this quantity would kill a wolf quickly. Experiments by Prof. David E. Lantz, of the Biological Survey, would indicate the best results from a still larger dose. One grain killed a 21 pound dog in seventy-five minutes, while 2 grains killed a 40 pound dog in twenty-seven minutes, without acting as an emetic. For a wolf, therefore, 4 grains of pure sulphate of strychnine would seem to be a proper dose."
"Tests on 40 pound dogs with 1 and 2 grains of cyanide of potassium in capsules caused the dogs to vomit in about fourteen minutes, after which they fully recovered. Other more deadly poisons can not be safely handled, and strychnine is the only practicable poison that can be recommended."
"For wolves, place 4 grains of pulverized sulphate of strychnine in a 3 grain gelatin capsule, cap securely, and wipe off every trace of the bitter drug. The capsules should be inserted in a piece of beef suet the size of a walnut, and the cavity securely closed to keep out moisture. The juice of fresh meat will dissolve the gelatin capsule, hence only fat should be used. The necessary number of these poisoned baits may be prepared and carried in a tin can or pail, but they should not be touched with naked hands. Old gloves or forceps should be used to handle them. The baits may be dropped from horseback along a scented drag line made by dragging an old bone or piece of hide, or may be placed on, around, or partly under any carcass on which the wolves are feeding, or along trails followed by the wolves. Partial concealment of the bait usually lessens the wolfs suspicion, while some kind of scent near by or along the trail insures its attention."
"The gelatin capsule will dissolve in about a minute in the juices of the mouth or stomach. When the strychnine is taken on an empty stomach it will sometimes kill in a very few minutes after the first symptoms of poison, and dies five or six minutes later."
Although this is the method recommended by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, it is our opinion that it would not be successful, for it takes too long for the gelatin capsule to dissolve in the animal's stomach, anyway that is the verdict of those who have tried the method. Those who have followed poisoning of foxes and wolves, prefer to place the poison in a small ball of tallow by making the tallow cup-shaped when cold, putting the strychnine inside and closing the opening by pressing the edges over it. None of the poison must be allowed to touch the outside of the bait.
The most common method of using the poison is to have out a large bait (the carcass of some animal that the wolves have killed is to be preferred), and after the animals are visiting it the poisoned baits are thrown about nearby. Any indications of the presence of man will make the animals suspicious and they will hesitate to approach the large bait but are very apt to pick up and swallow the small ones. We believe that this is the most successful method of using poison, but there are other methods recommended by woodsmen. Some place the poison in the large bait but we think this is entirely wrong as the wolf will taste the poison before it gets enough of the drug to cause its death. One party in speaking of the conditions in Northern Ontario, says:
"I think the wolf-poisoning business is being overdone. How would your readers like to find poisoned wolf bait within one hundred yards of their door, and some all round their houses within a radius of 300 yards? This bait consists in many cases of, say, half a deer. I think it is very wrong to allow strong, able-bodied men to pollute the country, now in the spring of the year, with large pieces, or in many cases, whole carcasses of deer. The wolf poisoner never stops to think what the result will be to his neighbor's dogs or poultry and cattle from their leaving large pieces of meat in an exposed position when the snow goes off. In fact, the thing is being carried in this part so far that neither fur-bearing animals nor fish will be procurable at any cost in a short time."