Transcriber's Note Text emphasis displayed as _Italic Text_. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BIOLOGICAL SURVEY--BULLETIN No. 20 C. HART MERRIAM, Chief COYOTES IN THEIR ECONOMIC RELATIONS BY DAVID E. LANTZ Assistant, Biological Survey [Illustration] WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1905 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL U. S. Department of Agriculture, Biological Survey, _Washington, D. C., March 23, 1905._ Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith for publication as Bulletin No. 20 of the Biological Survey a report on Coyotes in their Economic Relations, prepared by David E. Lantz, assistant. The subject is of immediate importance to the sheep industry of the West, where the wasteful method of sheep herding prevails. If in the range country sheep can be fenced with coyote-proof fencing at moderate cost, as seems probable, herding may be done away with and the sustaining capacity of the lands thereby greatly increased. Respectfully, C. Hart Merriam, _Chief, Biological Survey,_ Hon. James Wilson, _Secretary of Agriculture._ CONTENTS. Page. Introduction 7 Abundance of coyotes 8 Coyotes in Kansas 9 General habits of coyotes 10 Food habits of coyotes 11 Beneficial habits 12 Injurious habits 13 Game destroyed by coyotes 14 Depredations on farm animals 14 The coyote's relation to the sheep industry 16 Means of destruction 18 Poisoning 18 Trapping 19 Hunting 20 Bounties 22 Protection against coyotes 23 Investigations concerning coyote-proof fencing 24 COYOTES IN THEIR ECONOMIC RELATIONS INTRODUCTION. The small prairie wolves of the western and southwestern parts of North America are generally known by the Spanish name 'coyote.' This serves to distinguish them from the larger gray or dusky wolves that occur in many portions of the same range.