They were much more likely to gnaw off the lariat
with which the horse was tied, than to try to molest the steed himself.
They preferred to prey on young animals, or on the weak and disabled.
They rarely molested a full-grown cow or steer, still less a full-grown
buffalo, and, if they did attack such an animal, it was only when
emboldened by numbers. In the plains of the upper Missouri and
Saskatchewan the wolf was, and is, more dangerous, while in the northern
Rockies his courage and ferocity attain their highest pitch. Near my own
ranch the wolves have sometimes committed great depredations on cattle,
but they seem to have queer freaks of slaughter. Usually they prey
only upon calves and sickly animals; but in midwinter I have known one
single-handed to attack and kill a well-grown steer or cow disabling its
quarry by rapid snaps at the hams or flanks. Only rarely have I known it
to seize by the throat. Colts are likewise a favorite prey, but with us
wolves rarely attack full-grown horses.
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