toe or talon will significantly lower the eagle's ability to tackle prey. Only a minor injury to the sinew of a foot may leave the eagle incapable of further hunting. As a wolf is capable of resisting even the best-trained bird, the falconer always keeps near, ready at the first opportunity to help the eagle. This is done carefully, as the wolf, sensing human presence, fights desperately to tear loose from the bird's talons, and the eagle can be severely injured. Because of the violent nature of their work, eagles trained to hunt wolves have shorter life spans. Luring In 19th century Russia and Scandinavia, pigs were used as decoys and were transported in strong canvas sacks on horse-drawn sleighs. The pigs, kept in the canvas bags, were made to squeal in order to attract the wolves. Hunters would wait at a distance to shoot the wolves when they came out after the pig. Once the wolves arrived, the hunters would either shoot them or retrieve the pig and canvas bag. In the latter case, they took off down the road, luring the wolves behind. The wolves would be led to a palisade, where they would be trapped and shot. Poisoning Historically, poisoning was very successful in reducing wolf populations, particularly in the American West and Imperial Japan. Strychnine was the most frequently used compound. The poison would be typically mixed in lard or tallow, and spread on bits of meat, or placed within incisions on the bait. Though effective, the method had the disadvantage of greatly loosening the fur of the dead wolf, causing it to shed easily. Wolves killed by strychnine were typically skinned immediately after death, in order to avoid the fur absorbing too much of the poison. Strychnine is a poisonous ingredient included in a variety of pesticides and is used as a grain baits most of the time. The strychnine was used to kill wolves and became one of the most effective methods for protecting livestock and also eradicating pests that threaten the environment. Pesticides containing strychnine are lethal to everything that consumes them. But since this sort of poison caused pain and brutal death for the animals who swallowed it strychnine baits, capable of killing wolves, were banned in 1972 by the US government and in 2006 by the European Union. Back in 2019, a Montana resident illegally used strychnine bait by placing the