Page 378 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

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OUR VANISHING WILD LIFE
to withstand the guns on that basis. Alberta should be wiser than the states below the international boundary that are annihiiating their remnants of birds as fast as they can be found.
British Columbia.—We note with much satisfaction that the Provincial Game Warden, Mr. A. Bryan Williams, has beer allowed $37,000 for the pay of game wardens, and $28,000 for the destruction of wolves,coyotes,pumasandothergame-destroyinganimals. Duringthe past two years the following game-destroyers were killea, and bounties were paid upon them:
Wolves Coyotes Cougars Horned Owls Golden Eagles
1909-10 1910-11 655 518
1,454 3,653 3S2 277 854 2,285
29 73 3,374 6,806
"Now," says Warden Williams in his excellent annual report for 1911, "in these two years a total of 2,896 wolves ani cougars and 5,141 coyotes were destroyed, as well as a number of others poisoned and not recovered :::or the bounty. Allowing fifty head for each wolf and cougar and ten for each coyote, by their bounties alone 196,210 head of game and domes-
ticanimalsweresaved. Isitanywonderthatieerareincreasingalmost
' everywhere ?
The great horned owl has been and still is a great scourge to the upland game birds, partly because when game is abundant "they become fastidious,andeatonlythebrainsoftheirprey." Thedestructionof 3,139 of them on the Lower Mainland during the last two years has made these owls sing very small, and says the warden, "Is it any wonder that grouse are again increasing?"
I have discussed with the Provincial Game Warden the advisability of putting a limit of one on the grizzly bear, but Mr. Williams advances good reasons for the opinion that it would be impracticable to do so at present. I am quite sure, however, that the time has already arrived when a limit of one is necessary. During the present year three of my friends who went hunting in British Columbia, each killed j grizzly bears! Hereafter I will "locate " no more bear hunters in that country until thebaglimitisreducedtoonegrizzlyperyear. Since1905thetrapping of bears south of the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway has been stopped; andanexcellentmovetoo. ARockyMountainwithoutagrizzly bear is like a tissue-paper rose.
The bag limit on the big game of British Columbia is at least twice too liberal,—five deer, two elk, two moose (one in Kootenay County), three caribou and three goats. There is no necessity for such wasteful liberality. FewsportsmengotoBritishColumbiaforthesakeofalarge lotofanimals. Iknowmanymenwhohavebeentheretohunt,andthe great majority cared more for the scenery and the wild romance of camp- ing out in ground mountains than for blood and trophies.