Description:

The true story of the Eastern Coyote acknowledges its western ancestor and recognizes too that this is a creature of our own making. The wolf we eradicated a century ago has returned in a more resilient form. It is smart, beneficial and by its presence, reWilds our landscape. However, this new Wild comes with a caveat: that livestock and pet owners steward creatures with greater care. Despite the ecological benefits the coyote brings, it is the most persecuted carnivore in North America. In spite of this, the coyote survives and thrives. This may be its tragic flaw.

Webinar replay:

Note: This video will be available for a limited time. Please contact Project Coyote if you would like Chris to give a presentation in your community.

Questions & Answers from Webinar:

Q: Are you saying that western coyotes do not live in family groups? 

A: No—I said the packs are more loosely formed. Also, since they are rodent and fruit eaters and scavengers in the West, the pack structure that supports hunting deer in the East generally does not occur out West.

Q: Is it possible that the non-stop killing of our coyotes in Maine (even at night) is causing the evolution process to actually accelerate?

A: Yes, this is the idea. Through the mechanism of responsive reproduction, if disturbance to the pack can effectuate more females breeding at an earlier age, more coyotes on the landscape are tantamount to coyotes in a ‘colonizing’ state, and simply put, more coyotes all carrying a diversity of genetic material will allow natural selection to sort out the ones who survive. This is the basic requirement for evolution to occur. So – eastern coyotes carrying varying amounts of wolf DNA. Where deer comprise a large energy package, those coyotes who can enhance their nutrition with deer are probably larger coyotes, to begin with. Those females may have larger litters with some pups maturing at a slightly larger size, which gives them an advantage in hunting deer. Then add in disruption to the pack (killing) which leaves more food available on the territory for the remaining members who, already large enough to take down deer, do so, thereby enhancing their own nutrition and possibly creating larger litters the following year.

Q: Where is Algonquin Park?

A: Algonquin Provincial Park is north, west, and south of Whitney, Ontario, in the southeastern part of the province. Driving time from Concord, NH, is about 11 hours (and worth every minute). It is west of Ottawa (4-5 hours) and north of Toronto.

Q: In northern Maine, the deer habitat has been decimated by heavy logging, resulting in lost critical deer yards to winter over in. Deer numbers are in major decline, they say, in northern Maine, due to habitat loss and heavy coyote predation. So there is a major focus to kill as many of our eastern Coyotes in northern Maine as possible in hopes to help the deer number recovery. Maine has severe winters “up North” where it not favorable to our whitetail deer. Is it “wrong-headed” to be focused on killing as many coyotes as possible in northern Maine to help the deer recovery?

A: Yes, I believe it is because killing coyotes in the belief that you’ll end up with fewer coyotes have never worked. It seems counter-intuitive that this would be the case, but the history of their range expansion really says it all, as does the experience of western ranchers who have tried this for 100+ years. The problem in Maine is the loss of habitat for deer. Without sufficient cover in the winter, which those 20-30-year-old fir and spruce offer, the deer suffer. This kind of habitat disturbance also favors coyotes! The more open the terrain, the more rodent populations are favored, and there is a concomitant increase in coyotes as a result.

Q: Don’t the eastern wolves prey on the coyotes? 

A: They are both territorial but when eastern coyotes wander into wolf pack territory, they will get chased and could get killed. We witnessed that one time up in Algonquin Park. A known wolf pack was feeding on a moose and a slightly smaller canid came into the area. What we thought was the dominant female wolf saw it and chased it around the field and then into the woods. Next, we heard a fight. The female wolf returned maybe 10 minutes later and continued to feed on the moose with her pack. Under different circumstances, if an eastern wolf leaves its pack (likely during breeding season from January to March) and comes across an eastern coyote in breeding condition, the two would mate and begin a new pack somewhere. So – it isn’t like Yellowstone, where the very large gray wolves will go after the much smaller western coyotes and kill them. Infrequently wolves will eat the coyotes, but mostly they don’t want coyotes scavenging their kills. The size difference between the two is the important point there. Eastern coyotes and eastern wolves are much closer in size.

Q: Given the mixing of genes between wolf and coyote, is there a prediction of how the eastern coyote will continue to evolve (size/behaviour, etc.) in the future?

A: Please see the answer above about coyotes in Maine and the evolution process.

Q: Are LGDs commonly utilized in the area?

A: Livestock guardian dogs are commonly used East to West in the U.S. However, llamas, mules and donkeys are great deterrents as well. Electra net fencing is a less expensive option as long as the animals are checked frequently, and shrubs and tall weeds are removed about 20’ from the fencing. Coyotes can easily jump a 3’- or 4’-fence but they usually approach with their head down, so the fence is effective as a deterrent – usually, one pop from it and they become educated!

Q: What suggestions might you have for the best method to educate a community other than the local paper and Nextdoor.com? Just today there was posting with absolutely absurd misinformation on a small local three-pack. I presented accurate information in response and referred residents to Project Coyote.

A: I agree that education is key but so is countering misinformation when it occurs. If you live in New England, either John Maguranis or I would be willing to come to your community and give a presentation.

Q: I found the skill to self-regulate fascinating. Can you tell us more about this? Is it possible to see this happening to other species?

A: Self-regulation is fascinating and occurs throughout nature, everywhere you look. But here’s the thing: Self-regulation is just an expression of natural selection forces exerted on every living creature. To get nerdy here – The 1^st Law of Thermodynamics (the Law of Conservation of Energy) says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be transferred from one form to another. So – how this relates to your question: In any ecosystem, there is only enough energy available to support “x” number of mice, “x” number of weasels, “x” number of coyotes – so the mice set the table for weasels and coyotes and the weasels do the same for coyotes, hawks, etc. Energy is transferred from grasses and berries to mice, and through them to the others. Too many rodents get trimmed down by hawks and coyotes; the diminished availability of those mice also limits the number of coyotes. A meadow ecosystem is in balance (self-regulates) when predator and prey interact. Remove the predators, and things go out of balance. We look at the self-regulating mechanisms of coyotes and see it as a beautiful example of the importance of not interfering in natural systems.

Q: Could you repeat the name of the mouse (“mini mice?”) videos?

A: Yes, Modest Mouse! Go to YouTube and search for them: Modest Mouse Coyote on a Train.

Q: Is there any record a large coyote pack would threaten smaller wolf packs?

A: Not that I’ve ever heard.

Q: Has any good research been done on the deleterious effects of killing contests?

A: Research has been done on the impacts of random and heavy killing, particularly out West. I believe there are references to these studies on the Project Coyote website. [Ed. note: Please see resources here.]

Q: How do you tell a coyote from a wolf when you see one?

A: When we’re up in Algonquin Park, particularly on the western side where we know there are eastern coyotes, what we look for is the overall size (which can be hard because eastern wolves are 60-80 pounds – so the size of a small wolf) and the tail. eastern coyotes tend to have longer tails than eastern wolves. Ears can be an important giveaway too. Coyotes have larger, more pointed ears than eastern wolves. Their color can be identical and larger coyotes can have heads that look wolfy.

Q: I heard from a wildlife biologist that coydogs only survive for one generation as it is something like a recessive gene that will not be included in the next generation if that coydog breeds with a coyote. Are coydogs sterile?

A: Strangely, not under certain circumstances, however – there won’t be a coydog population out there because coydogs’ breeding cycles vary from coyotes and wolves. Someone gave me a coydog once and she came into heat and would have been bred but without another coydog with whom to breed, she would have been bred by a dog, most commonly, and from there, the coydog offspring would become more and more doggy. I suppose genes that control reproduction and onset of heats which preclude further mating of a coydog with a coyote is what the biologist was referring to. Because most coydogs are raised only by the female and she often leaves the den to feed herself, most pups die. But even if one survived, it would be functionally sterile because it wouldn’t find another coydog with which to mate.

Q: Do you have a notion of coyote population nationwide?

A: No, I don’t. Wildlife agencies rarely devote money to censusing the coyote population. They just know there are thousands of them on the landscape. Stan Gehrt’s research in Chicago tells us that there are 2-3,000 coyotes living within its metropolitan area, along with over 9 million people! He collared 180 coyotes and found that 7 of them had been termed “nuisance” for a variety of reasons. Imagine how that many coyotes could live among such a dense human population and hardly ever even by noticed! In the countryside, nearly all of us live within the territory of a pack of coyotes and yet rarely see them. Here in New Hampshire and Vermont, the coyote population is estimated to be about 6,000 and in Maine about 15,000, but no one is really sure.

Q: How do we stop the Killing Contests in all states?

A: We support the efforts of Project Coyote and its allies who are working hard to stop these awful things. Recently a woman in Wisconsin leased a billboard with a picture of coyote pups and a sign that said STOP WILDLIFE KILLING CONTESTS. As a result of this one person’s action, many people are becoming aware of this scourge on our wildlife. If many people raise collective voices, change can happen. [Ed. note: More information here about how you can help ~ and please sign our Petition to End Wildlife Killing Contests on Federal Public Lands!]

For the wild,

Chris Schadler, MS, MA
New Hampshire & Vermont Representative & Wild Canid Ecologist