CHAPTER X.
SCENTS AND BAITS.
Scents for attracting animals to traps have been employed for many years, but trappers differ greatly in their views regarding its value. Some use scent only, to attract the animals, and make good catches; others use bait alone and condemn anything in the line of scent. Some use neither scent nor bait but depend entirely on "blind sets".
The value of scent for trapping wolves and coyotes depends on the kind that is used and the method employed, the time of year, the sex of the animal, whether trapping is prosecuted extensively, etc. We have no doubt that if the right scent is employed and used in the proper way that it will be productive of good results. In all probability those who are so ready to condemn scents have never used the right kind, or having tried the proper kind, have not used it in the right way.
If one will stop to consider just what scent is, and the object in using it, he must readily perceive its value, if the right kind is used. Scents are of various kinds and are expected to appeal to the animal in different ways. When one uses bait, it is the odor of same that attracts the animal from a distance, — why then will not a scent which suggests their favorite food also prove attractive? All animals of the dog family are very susceptible to food odors and the same scents will attract both the wolf and coyote. Then there are other scents which appeal to the animal's passions. These will be described in the following pages. They are especially attractive to the wolf during the mating season, but are also good at other times, and should be used without bait.
The habit of depositing urine on the same spot used by another for that purpose is characteristic of all animals of the dog family. This is sometimes taken advantage of by the trapper, and the wolf urine is used in that way.
In some parts of the country it is probable that one would be more successful by using bait alone; in other places blind sets would be better. For many localities it is best to use a good scent, and especially so at certain seasons. For trapping grey wolves in summer, it is especially valuable as at that time meat baits soon become tainted and are not attractive to the animals.
The United States Biological Survey have made exhaustive tests with scents and the result is given in the following:
"Success in trapping depends mainly on the use of scents that will attract the wolves to the neighborhood of a trap and keep them tramping and pawing until caught. Meat bait alone is of little use, for as a rule the wolves kill an ample supply for themselves. Many tests of scents, both prepared baits and various animal musks, have been made with wolves in the field and in the National Zoological Park. While some have given a fair degree of success, others have proved worthless, and no one odor has proved entirely satisfactory. Experiments are being continued, however, and new odors tried."
"Beaver musk (castoreum) and the commercial perfumery sold as musk have proved effective in many cases by causing the wolf to turn aside to follow the scented cross line and so walk into the trap. Siberian musk (from the Siberian musk deer ) is very attractive to wolves in the Zoo. Oil of anise and oil of rhodium seem to have no attraction for wild wolves, and are scarcely noticed by those in confinement. Assafoetida is mildly attractive to wolves and coyotes at the Zoo, but used alone is very slightly, if at all, attractive to those on the range."
"Wolf urine taken from the bladder is used by some trappers, and is said to be very successful. It is bottled and kept until rancid and then sprinkled over the trap. The sexual organs of the female wolf immersed in the urine are said to add efficacy to this bait. The urine of the female in the rutting season is said to be especially attractive to males; it should be used in January or February."