The Animal World, A Book of Natural History: Young Folks' Treasury (Volume V)Wood, Theodore
General
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History: Young Folks' Treasury (Volume V)
Wood, Theodore
Animals -- Juvenile literature
When wolves are running they generally utter a series of dismal howls,
which are so loud that they can be heard by any one miles away. And even
a single wolf can make such an outcry that more than once a traveler,
hearing one howl, has imagined that a large pack were in pursuit of him,
and has climbed into a tree and spent the whole night among the branches
before discovering his mistake.
Wolves usually make their lairs among rocks, or in the trunk of a hollow
tree, or among thick bushes. But sometimes they live in holes in the
ground, which they seem to dig out for themselves. There are generally
from six to ten cubs in a litter, which are born in the spring, and do
not leave their parents for at least eight or nine months. Strange to
say, the father often seems much fonder of them than the mother, for he
will take care of them, and hunt for them, and teach them how to hunt
for themselves for weeks after she has left them altogether.
WOLVES IN INDIA
The common wolf is by no means confined to Europe, but is also found in
many parts of Asia, and throughout almost the whole of North
America. In India, however, there is another kind of wolf which is
rather smaller, and has very much shorter fur. It is seldom seen in
large packs, and hardly ever howls as the common wolf does. It is not in
the habit, as a rule, of attacking human beings. But now and then two or
three of these animals will band together to attack a man, while
sometimes they will prowl round the outskirts of a native village, in
the hope of being able to carry off some of the smaller children.
These animals have a very clever way, too, of killing deer. Three or
four of them will creep quietly up and hide themselves near the spot
where the deer are feeding. Then another will come dashing up from the
opposite direction, the result, of course, being that when the
frightened animals run away they pass close to the very place where
their enemies are lying concealed.
COYOTES
On the great plains of North America lives a very handsome wolf called
the coyote, or prairie-wolf. It is a good deal smaller than the common
wolf, but has much thicker and longer fur, so that it looks bigger than
it really is. And a very odd thing about it is that it is differently
colored at different seasons of the year, being reddish yellowish brown
in summer, and grayish, or even quite gray, in winter. The back is
generally darker than the rest of the body, and the tail is rather long
and very bushy.
The coyote takes the place of the hyena as a scavenger, but has some of
the habits of the fox. It catches birds and jackrabbits, and feeds on
insects, as well as small rodents like prairie-dogs and mice. Its
melancholy howls make night hideous to prairie-dwellers. It is the
steady foe of young creatures, such as the fawns of deer. The skin of
this animal is thick and makes good fur wraps.
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