Red Fox--Vulpes alascensis (Merriam).

Fox is a staple product on the trap line but shows wide fl we=
tuations in numbers that probably are directly involved with the
rabbit cycle Mr Julius Quanstrom told me that at Puntchesakut
Lake during a year of rabbit scarcity he found a fox den in which
the cubs were dead. Marten Shafer took between 10 and 20 in each
year from 1918 to 1929, and in 1930, a peak year, he trapped 38;
following this came a decline and subsequent increase. It is
reported that in the Bulkley River region there are more silver
and cross foxes than red foxes. Here they frequent the river
during the salmon run and feed upon the spent fish.

Coyote--Canis latrans (Say).

The presence of coyotes in varying degrees of abundance was
detected in all localities visited. Trappers in the Baker Creek ,
Valley expressed the opinion that an epidemic of mange had re-
duced the numbers of the local population. The skeleton and hair
of one that had been eaten, perhaps by other coyotes, during the
previous winter may have been a victim of this disease--the bones
showed no sign of mechanical injury from bullet or shot wounds.
The exact nature of the disease and to what extent it may be
fatal is not known to me. However, whether or not the numbers
were reduced in the Baker Creek Valley, the total of animals
heard, particularly on moonlit nights, the numerous tracks seen
and the number of scats found on lakeshore and on forest trails,
indicated the presence of a relatively large population.

An attempt to locate a den in thick woods near Dragon Lake
was not successful but I did find a sunning place used by a
female and family of large pups. This was a mound of sand under
an arch formed by the upturned roots of a fallen Douglas fir.

In central British Columbia, as elsewhere, the population
fluctuates in numbers and there is reason to believe the fluctua-
tions are cyclic. (See Table VI.) Martin Shafer told me that
coyotes are less common on the Salmon and Muskeg Rivers than in
regions to the south. He reported finding evidence of one being
killed and eaten by wolves and expressed the opinion that where
wolves invade a district which is occupied by coyotes the latter
are driven out.

Direct observation of the coyote's feeding habits seldom was
possible. One animal seen in a wet meadow on the outskirts of
Quesnel was obviously hunting mices another, observed in an open
stretch of territory between a fringe of aspen woods and a sedge

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