County.Number
of coyotes.		County.Number
of coyotes.		County.Number
of coyotes.
Allen73Harper44Phillips400
Anderson129Harvey99Pottawatomie329
Atchison48Hodgeman74Pratt242
Barber633Jackson86Rawlins223
Barton109Jefferson94Reno184
Bourbon157Jewell106Republic52
Brown70Johnson62Rice90
Butler186Kingman257Riley206
Chase343Kiowa477Rooks280
Chautauqua451Labette137Rush144
Cheyenne585Lane164Russell258
Clark460Leavenworth56Saline186
Clay104Lincoln105Scott193
Cloud42Linn175Sedgwick223
Coffey159Logan329Shawnee69
Cowley325Lyon197Sheridan306
Crawford51Marion166Sherman291
Decatur240Marshall304Smith133
Dickinson145McPherson210Stafford142
Douglas99Meade224Stanton188
Edwards290Miami96Sumner401
Elk212Mitchell100Thomas185
Ellis248Montgomery148Trego430
Ellsworth193Morris176Wabaunsee170
Ford500Nemaha58Wallace259
Franklin152Neosho98Washington200
Geary102Ness273Wichita307
Gove355Norton227Wilson210
Graham293Osage173Woodson115
Greeley[C]117Osborne248
Greenwood336Ottawa61Total19,152
Hamilton275Pawnee230

[C] six months.

The experience in Kansas is not exceptional. It may be duplicated in a dozen other Western States and in some of the British provinces. It is probable that the united efforts of the people are keeping the coyotes in check, and that, were these efforts relaxed, the animals would be far more abundant; but the coyotes are still so menacing to certain interests that the subject requires careful investigation to determine what more may be done to improve present conditions.

[GENERAL HABITS OF COYOTES.]

The various forms of the coyote seem each to conform to particular faunal areas. They inhabit all the life zones, from the Lower Boreal, through the Transition, the Upper and Lower Sonoran, and the semi-arid parts of the Tropical. In the northern part of its range C. latrans has a migratory movement southward in winter and north ward in the spring, probably caused by the limited food supply of the northern wilds, and varying in degree with the severity of the seasons. A similar movement of other species in the western part of the United States from the higher mountain areas to the valleys has been noticed. In summer the mountain species range above timber line.

The coyotes are noted for their peculiar prolonged howling. A single animal is capable of a performance which impresses the uninformed hearer as the concert of a dozen, and when several join in the medley the resulting noise is indescribable. They are silent during the day, but may be heard at any time between sunset and sunrise.

Coyotes breed but once a year. The mating season is late in January or early in February. The period of gestation is probably that of the whole genus Canis, which is given by Owen as about sixty-three days. The young are produced in dens, and number from four to eight or even more. The dens are usually enlarged from those made by badgers or smaller animals and are often among rocks or in washed-out places along banks of streams. Probably at times they are made entirely by the coyotes. They are rarely far below the surface, but sometimes of considerable extent and with two or more openings. Little attempt is made to provide nests for the young. In the Central West these are born early in April and usually may be heard in the dens during May. In June they come out to play around the mouths of the burrows, which are finally deserted during July. By August 1, the young are left by the parents to shift for themselves.

In the earlier descriptions, the prairie wolves were usually said to hunt in packs. Lewis and Clark, Say. Richardson, and others so reported, but the Prince of Wied met them only singly. It is probable that they hunt in numbers only when the quarry is large, as in the ease of deer and antelope; but as many as three have been known to pursue a single jack rabbit.

[FOOD HABITS OF COYOTES.]

The food of coyotes has been a subject of investigation by the field naturalists of the Biological Survey, whenever opportunity offered. A number of stomach examinations have been made in the field: but trapped animals are often found with empty stomachs. In the case of a number of the species nothing definite is known of the food.