New Neighbors
Coyote sightings in the eastern United States have been increasing exponentially over the last few decades. In the South, these sightings are even more novel; after all, these states haven't seen a wild canine since the extirpation of the red wolf. The header image above is from a camera trap I have set up in the woods behind my university, which is in central-eastern North Carolina. Meet Togo, an eastern coyote. When I show people this footage, more often than not, they're surprised. "We have coyotes here?!" "They're big!" Many people don't know anything about eastern coyotes or how to live with them safely, so I thought I would write this article to shed some light onto our new neighbors.
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What is an Eastern Coyote?
Eastern coyotes obviously live in the eastern United States. They live very roughly east of the Mississippi River. Their scientific name is the same as the western coyote - Canis latrans- although that's currently being debated, just like wolf subspecies are being debated.
Eastern coyotes are genetically mixed with western coyotes, eastern wolves (Canis lyacon) and western gray wolves (Canis lupus). The mixture probably started happening as coyotes expanded up into the Great Lakes at the extirpation of the eastern wolves there. The mixture also happened when coyotes expanded south, through Oklahoma and Texas from the few remaining red wolf populations. Usually, wolves do not get along with coyotes; in fact, Yellowstone wolves have been documented to suppress the coyote population by 50%. However, as fewer and fewer wolves remained, chances of interbreeding increased as wolves were more likely to mate with encountered coyotes than kill them. A note: those of us living in North Carolina tend to associate the state with the south. However, as far as our eastern coyotes go, ours are generally from the northern expansion. This means they are more likely mixed with eastern gray wolves than red wolves, but since we are on the cusp, it could go either way. Coyotes in North Carolina are usually bigger than ones farther south. As you'd expect, eastern coyotes aren't as big as wolves but are bigger than western coyotes. They have longer legs than their western cousins, a more "wolf" trait. Sometimes, eastern coyotes are called coywolves. A study in 2014 of northeastern coyotes showed that their genetic mix contained 62% western coyote, 14% gray wolf, 13% eastern wolf, and 11% domestic dog. Admixtures vary across eastern coyote range. Eastern coyotes also behave somewhere in between wolf and coyote. They tend to have bigger territories than western coyotes, and are more likely to gather in packs. Eastern coyotes reach sexual maturity at about 2 years old, which is more similar to gray wolves; western coyotes are sexually mature at 1 year. Like most social canines, eastern coyotes form pair bonds. This is a shared trait of eastern coyotes, western coyotes, and wolves. Mating usually occurs in late January- February, but a pair bond can be formed months beforehand. Togo, my eastern coyote from my camera trap, has a boyfriend: Prosperity, who is much bigger than her as is typical in sexual dimorphism (physical differences between sexes in animals) of wild canines. Pairs will stick together until one of them dies. How to Identify an Eastern CoyoteHere's a good rule of thumb: if you're east of the Mississippi River and you see a wild canine, it's almost certainly an eastern coyote. If you live in the upper peninsula of Michigan, there's a chance you have wolves, but you'll only find them in very rural areas. If you live in about 5-6 counties of Eastern North Carolina, there's a teensy chance you're seeing a red wolf or a coyote-red wolf hybrid (there's a chance Prosperity is a hybrid, actually), but chances are slim. If you're in the suburbs anywhere, it's 99% an eastern coyote.
Eastern coyotes stand about 24-28 inches at the shoulder, so about German shepherd sized. They weigh 30-60 pounds. They range in color from brown-gray to brown-tan to tan-gray to, rarely, black. Their ears are erect, and they have long muzzles that usually have white around the nose. Eye color is brown to amber and to me, has a very "piercing" quality about it. They have long bushy tails that usually have a darker tip. Do they Howl?YES. Eastern coyotes do howl. Their howls are different from wolf howls; they're shorter and generally are mixed with yaps and barks. They're also usually higher in pitch. Coyotes are pretty vocal, especially in rural areas, but many eastern coyotes are still shy of people and are much quieter than western coyotes (example: I've heard Prosperity and Togo MAYBE once or twice). Often, multiple coyotes will howl and vocalize at once, and their symphonic characteristics make a couple animals seem like a pack of about ten. This tends to frighten people who don't know better.
What do Eastern Coyotes eat?Coyotes are very advantageous, as well as adaptive. They'll eat almost anything they can happen upon and successfully kill. Eastern coyotes, especially when working together, have been documented to hunting full grown white tailed deer, but they generally prefer fawns or juveniles. Most often, they eat rodents - ranging from chipmunks to beavers- and are excellent natural pest controllers. They will also take birds, rabbits, opossums, raccoons, nutria (on the coast), and yes, the occasional domestic cat or dog. Coyotes will also sometimes eat plant and fruit matter, so technically, they are omnivorous. Gray wolves are generally more carnivorous.
Are they Dangerous?Before I continue: eastern coyotes are wild animals. Thus, they have the capacity of being dangerous. As humans urbanize more, we will be pushed even closer with them and other wild animals, and more conflict is likely to occur.
In general, however, eastern coyotes are not dangerous to people, especially adults. The most coyote attacks occur in the west, particularly in suburban California, and almost all are against young, unsupervised children. Eastern coyotes are bigger, but also shier, but yes, they can be dangerous to your young kids, especially if you're not watching them. But for the most part, eastern coyotes don't want much to do with you any more than you want to do with them. Read below for safety tips. Coyotes, more so than wolves, are known to prey on the occasional cat and dog. Cats are more prone to predation. Signs of Coyotes in your areaDo you have some wild canine neighbors? Here's how you can identify if you do, so you can take precautionary steps in coexisting with them.
Living with Eastern CoyotesLike them or hate them, coyotes are here to stay. Americans kill more than 500,000 coyotes a year, and they've still managed to expand to every state in the continental United States. There are many ways you can coexist peacefully with coyotes. Here's some tips:
Know Coyote biology/ behaviorCoyotes mate in late winter (January- February). They'll be most vocal and mobile then. Puppies are born in the spring. That's when coyotes will be the most territorial and likely to attack "without reason". Knowing things like this will help you coexist with any animal.
Safety: Your PetsCoyotes and pets do not always get along- often, they don't. Small pets, especially cats, can be tempting meals for a coyote. Larger dogs can be considered threats to territory, food supply, and/or puppies; in fact, most human adults attacked by a coyote are walking their dog. Very rarely, coyotes and domestic dogs will mate. Here's some safety tips for your pets living with coyotes.
Safety: Your ChildrenWhile in general not dangerous, attacks on humans by coyotes are almost always on small children younger than 8, usually unsupervised. Here's how to protect your kids and coexist with coyotes:
Identifying a sick coyoteRABIES
Coyotes don't often get rabies, but they have before. A family in Huntersville, North Carolina, was approached by a rabid coyote when they were in their car. Rabies attacks the brain, and once symptoms are shown, it's fatal. If you see overt signs like these in coyotes (or any animal), call 911 immediately. Here's signs of rabies in coyotes:
Mange is a skin disease caused by a mite that burrows in the skin. Humans rarely can get mange from coyotes, because you have to come in direct contact with the skin of the animal. Mange can be treated. It's most characterized by hairlessness- the legendary chupacabra comes from mange-inflicted coyotes and wolves. If not treated, mange can sometimes kill, not from the disease itself, but from exposure; especially in winter when coyotes don't have a warm coat to insulate them. If you see a coyote with mange, you have two options: call an animal rehabilitation clinic. Since mange is treatable, this is a good place for it. Your other option? Leave it alone. Mange can heal on its own. Don't feed the mange-ridden coyote. First, that leads to other behavioral problems. Second, as sad as it is, natural selection includes disease prevention and recovery. Let nature do its thing, and know that a coyote with mange can't hurt you. EDUCATE!A huge part of carnivore conservation and coexistence is cooperation. Tell your neighbors about eastern coyotes, including the essentials like not feeding, supervising kids and pets, and what to do to prevent coyote attacks. Also remind your neighbors the importance coyotes play in the ecosystem: pest control, deer overpopulation control, increased plant biodiversity as a result of lower deer populations which then increases songbird populations, which thus increases raptor/ bird of prey populations. Humans have built upon so much wilderness- in the United States, it's estimated that 98% of the wilderness has been humanized, whether by roads, pollution, etc.
Try to encourage your friends and neighbors not to shoot coyotes. Tell them about social dispersal and pair bonds. Coyote killing contests are rampant in the south, and destructive. Americans kill 500,000 coyotes a year, ranging from gunshot to traps to "coyote whacking", a truly horrific manner of killing that includes clubbing the animal to death or chasing it with a snowmobile until exhaustion and then either clubbing it or running over it multiple times. Most important, if anyone freaks out or wants to call animal control on a healthy, not aggressive coyote, remember: before you complain about the coyote in your backyard being a pest, remember in whose backyard your house was built. |
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