Seasonal Fur Primeness of the Coyote in the Western United States

Abstract

logical adaptability to changes brought about by agricultural development have led to serious conflicts with the livestock industry. Annual losses among range sheep have been estimated to be from 1 to 3 per cent of the herds (Bailey, 1931) and some reports indicate losses of 12 to 14 per cent. A recent comprehensive report on the food of the coyote (Sperry, 1941) showed that domestic livestock amounted to 13.5 per cent of the diet, but that rabbits (33%) and rodents (18%) constituted the greater portion. In the control work of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and cooperators against predators in national forests and on western stock ranges from 1915 to 1925, 186,172 coyote skins were obtained and sold (Adams, 1926). In the fiscal year 1941, 110,495 coyotes were taken in cooperative control financed by federal, state, and county agencies, and by livestock and agricultural association funds (Gabrielson, 1941). Many of the latter skins, however, were taken during the summer and not retained. Fur of the coyote is valuable and is sought by private trappers and predatory animal hunters alike during the season when prime. The skins are Used mainly for garment trimming and for scarfs. Those from the southwestern sections are poorest in quality, while pelts from the northern Rocky Mountain region are better furred, more durable, and of greater value. An incomplete survey of the 1941 fur catch indicates that more than 100,000 coyotes were trapped for fur in addition to those taken by predator control workers. During the same year more than 125,000 coyote pelts were offered for sale by three leading fur auction companies. The average value per pelt varied from $6.00 to $8.00 and select skins from the northern Rocky Mountains brought up to $18.50 in one sale. The meager information available indicates that the total annual value of raw coyote pelts produced in the United States approximates $1,000,000. This study deals with 5,621 pelts taken by Federal hunters in the eleven Western States from August 1940 to April 1941. To compare the length of s ason for prime fur in the several climatic zones within this large area, the data are listed by three geographic regions: Southwestern, Northwestern, and Rocky Mountain. Fur gradings of