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National Geographic : 1974 Aug
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DAVIDHISER(ABOVE)ANDHOPERYDEN Hunched in suspicion at the deadly smell of man, a young coyote (left) sniffs at the stom ach pouch of an elk discarded by poachers in Yellowstone Park. Magpies scavenge reck lessly on the blood-stained snow, but the hungry coyote fears the offal; human scent means poison bait, traps, and guns to a species conditioned to danger by years of guerrilla warfare with ranchers. Despite the protests of sheep men, who blame coyotes for ex tensive slaughter, poisoning on public land was recently halted by the Federal Government because it was nonselective. Besides killing coyotes, the cya nide, strychnine, and "1080" poisons were also destroying many other animals, some on the endangered-species list. Se lective trapping and shooting of coyotes that are suspected lamb predators has been effec tive in Kansas, Missouri, and South Dakota. But sheepmen generally feel that only resumed poisoning in high-predation areas will save them from economic disaster. An ironic bumper sticker seen in the West says: "Eat More Lamb-20,000 Coyotes Can't Be Wrong." 285
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