2018 Field Updates & News

30 December 2018. Montana Senator Mike Phillips (former wolf biologist in Yellowstone) drafts legislation to ban hunting contests. More good news to make wildlife management more ethical. But Marc Bekoff argues that is not enough and explains that is not alright to simply kill coyotes because they are common.

22 December 2018. The secret lives of wolves in Voyageurs National Park: They fish and eat berries. This is a very interesting article with a great video clip of wolves fishing.

16 December 2018. Death of Ethics: Is hunting destroying itself? From killing baboon families to staging predator-killing contests, hunters stand accused of violating the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. Now they’re being called out by their own. This is a long and in-depth article about how corrupted carnivore management has become.

3 December 2018. Very sad news coming from Yellowstone. A famous wolf “Spitfire” (wolf 926F) is killed just outside the park. Article: “A Famous Alpha Wolf’s Daughter, Spitfire, Is Killed by a Hunter: The shooting of another Lamar Canyon pack member has renewed calls for a buffer between Yellowstone and nearby lands, to protect roaming wolves.”

3 December 2018. Idaho getting even more aggressive with wolf control. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse for wolves, this happens. I’m always amazed how these conservative states and people want public help with their private livestock. It seems a violation of the public trust for them to be in charge of wolf/predator management.

3 December 2018. Interesting article coming from Wisconsin about how predator killing promotes diseases (specifically, Chronic Wasting Disease and Lyme) among deer and other prey.

10 November 2018. Court victory for red wolves! In a not so surprising victory, the government (USFWS) was found in neglect for effectively abandoning the red wolf recovery project which has over 99% public support. Let’s hope that they are forced to and do recover this unique canid.

4 September 2018. ‘Can Angelenos and Coyotes Coexist? Whether you see them as nuisances or neighbors, coyotes aren’t going anywhere.’

August 31, 2018. Better off alive: Why it’s time to end senseless wildlife killing contests. This is a nice article appearing in All Animals magazine (HSUS). I am quoted in the article.

August 26, 2018. Federal agency blames the victim for Pocatello ‘cyanide bomb’ poisoning. This is stunning that Wildlife Services would blame a person (or animal) for their illegal actions. It is almost like this is a satire article (like the link below this), but it is not.

August 18, 2018. Satire article on what happened to me: “Bizarre nine-year conspiracy to sabotage an esteemed coyote scientist by Massachusetts wildlife director”. To be clear, this is intended to poke fun to a serious event. Not sure if the Facebook link to this story will be readable here.

July 26, 2018. A male and female coyote are spotted on Long Island (NY), their final frontier for colonization. Exciting stuff!

July 25, 2018. Red Wolf Recovery Webinar. This is a great hour long PowerPoint presentation by Joey Hinton who has a Ph.D. related to this program. Wolves once numbered 150 individuals and now sadly are down to ~25 individuals due to USFWS bowing down to a small minority of landowners who do not want them around. A really sad turn of events.

July 7, 2018. A detailed story in the NY Times Magazine about research obstruction of a carnivore researcher in WA state: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf Scientist? Rob Wielgus was one of America’s pre-eminent experts on large carnivores. Then he ran afoul of the enemies of the wolf.

5 July 2018. Great video on the Atlantic Coyote Project from PBS’s “Ecosense For Living” series. It is at 18 min on the 26 min film, after a good, longer segment on black bears in Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

25 June 2018. Wildlife “Services” is under scrutiny in Idaho… This is great news and even judges in conservative regions are seeing how out of touch this agency is compared to current science and societal beliefs.

5 June 2018. Blue-eyed coyote could be one in a million. I’m not 100% sure from that picture that the animal’s eyes were blue. Could be a reflection from the normal yellow/greenish color. But very interesting nonetheless.

4 June 2018. (Vermont) Fish and Wildlife’s credibility at stake. This is a great article about the need for science-based information to manage wildlife, especially predators like eastern coyotes.

23 May 2018. In some fantastic news, Vermont becomes the 2nd state (behind CA) to ban coyote killing contests. Let’s hope Vermont does even more by shortening seasons, creating bag limits, and eliminating unpopular hunting methods like the use of dogs and baiting.

22 May 2018. Coyote Carnage: The Gruesome Truth about Wildlife Killing Contests, by Ted Williams. Coyote killing competitions, where contestants vie to shoot the most animals, are held throughout the U.S. But some hunting groups are denouncing these events as unethical, and states from New Mexico to New York are considering bans on these and other wildlife killing contests.

21 May 2018. Hound hunting coyotes. Be aware that these are graphic scenes but well worth showing as most states (including all the ones in the Northeast that I am aware of) allow this, unbelievably.

10 May 2018. ‘Using Coyotes to Protect Livestock. Wait. What?’ This is a great article, written by Randy Comeleo, which accurately describes coyote behavior and why leaving coyotes alone (i.e., not hunting them) so they can live in territorial packs  can actually reduce problems from occurring with coyotes. Now if state wildlife agencies and Wildlife Services would only heed this advise.

6 May 2018. The attack on the bias of hunting endemic to state wildlife depts is relentless. Here are 2 new articles by well known authors. Patricia Randolph’s Madravenspeak: The North American wildlife model is a crime against nature. This article directly attacks the ideology of the North American model and its inadequate construct, and is supported by peer-reviewed studies. David Mattson, well known grizzly bear research who is retired so can actually speak up and not be fired: The Cult of Hunting and Its Timely Demise. This article specifically attacks the delisting and subsequent hunting of grizzlies around Yellowstone National Park and the fact that state wildlife agencies rarely adhere to science in their decision-making. The article also articulates very clearly how the interest in hunting is waning yet the despotic institutions are doubling-down to support those minority interests.

4 May 2018. Undercover video takes viewers into the grisly world of wildlife killing contests. The title says enough and these videos of these “hunters” are from New Jersey and New York. This slaughter mentality is present nationwide. So sad, yet fully supported by our state wildlife agencies.

6 April 2018. Protect Denali Wolves. This is a national tragedy, allowing a man with a semi-automatic weapon to gun down a pack outside of a world famous national park. This link (above) provides an opportunity to sign a petition to better protect the wolves.

29 March 2018. Family dog’s cyanide death highlights obscure government tool. This is a great, long expose story on why banning M-44s is important. It is amazing that these are even allowed in the first place. Thanks to Predator Defense and U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio for helping to bring this bill about.

24 March 2018. Is MassWildlife a special interest group? Please read the recently attached memo. The vast majority of what is discussed is about increasing hunting; nothing to mention of the 1000’s of people that contribute to MA’s economy by watching wildlife. It is all about killing more animals (deer, bear, and geese in this instance). They are also trying to establish a rule that all dogs need to be leashed in Wildlife Management Areas; unless of course the dogs are actively involved in chasing (and potentially torturing) wildlife during “hunting activities”.

19 March 2018. Animal cruelty in rural areas should not be tolerated. This is a great, concise LTE that summarizes why I standby advocating humane and ethical treatment to all animals especially eastern coyotes/coywolves.

12 March 2018. Man in NY shot by coyote hunter. Thank goodness the state of NY allows “coyote” hunting at night and just before females give birth; how ethical (sarcasm intended). Man that was shot intends to sue the hunter.

9 March 2018. A very important scientific paper just came out: Wildlife conservation in North America may not be science-based after all. To many that follow my research, this will not be a surprise but it is good to have a peer reviewed paper indicating such. Here is a copy of the actual scientific paper too (article above is a story based on the paper).

2 March 2018. While Cape Cod bleeds, San Francisco leads. This is a wonderful Op-Ed that I just became aware of where it explains how San Fran is learning to coexist with coyotes while Cape Cod participates in organized slaughter.

February 27, 2018. What science backs coyote killing contests? This is my response to the Vermont Division of Fish and Wildlife for allowing these barbaric contests. BTW – in the article it says 65%. It should say 65% coyote.

February 23, 2018. Third dog attacked by coyotes in Natick (MA). I am always amazed that there aren’t more attacks but it is important for people to remember to leash dogs and have them near you. It can make the difference in an encounter with a pack/family of coyotes, and is critical in keeping them safe in close encounters.

February 22, 2018. In some good news: Vermont approves coyote contest ban… But the end of the article says it all: Vermonters can still hunt coyotes all year. And of course the Wildlife Commissioner had to make sure that his hunting constituents knew that he didn’t seek the ban.

February 19, 2018. Follow 3 states’ lead to ban hunting contests. This is a great editorial based on Cape Cod!

February 11, 2018. Animal rights activists and hunters face off in Hyannis over coyote hunting contest. I am glad to see that the writer correctly identifies many of the hunters in their audience as “part of an anti-government extremist movement”. Yes that occurs even here on Cape Cod. Gee, I wonder what their political views are!

February 10, 2018. N.C. hunter wins S.C. lifetime hunting license for killing tagged coyote: Rockingham, N.C. hunter killed prize coyote in Marlboro County, S.C. This is beyond atrocious and truly shows who “manages” our wildlife.

February 7, 2018. Group plans protest of coyote-hunting contest. In some good news, many people have spoken out and are planning on vocalizing their displeasure to coyote hunting contests.

February 3, 2018. This coyote was stealing newspapers, so here’s what the delivery man did. This is a very cool and feel good article… Despite the draconian things that our state wildlife agencies allow – like hunting contests – there are still many more people who care for these animals like the person featured in this story.

February 2, 2018. Cape-based coyote hunt spurs debate. The comments by MassWildlife are beyond telling. I think they live in a bubble and believe these things are acceptable and normal. These contests are done by a super-minority of people. The time is now to call them out and reform these agencies…

February 1, 2018. Urban foxes and coyotes learn to set aside their differences and coexist. This is a very interesting study but it does appear that in many parts of their study area that foxes did avoid coyotes but in some areas they didn’t. Very interesting…

January 31, 2018. Owner and dog attacked near Boston. This is a frightening and highly unusual situation where a pack surrounded a dog and its owner. It appears the man did everything right in fighting this pack off.

January 25, 2018. To protect our social licence, we have to stop killing animals we don’t eat. This is a wonderful and timely article!

January 25, 2018. After yesterday’s very troublesome news (see link immediately below) there is some great news that slipped my news-real back in December: “Dingell, Fortenberry Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Enhance Funding for Fish and Wildlife”. This is great news as the $1.3 Billion annual source of funding comes from non-hunters and will be used to support wildlife conservation. This is very important for all who care about wildlife. And here is a petition by National Wildlife Federation where you can sign on to support the cause.

January 24, 2018: Here is the first coyote hunting contest that I am aware of in MA, and here on Cape Cod, MA. This is outrageous. Spread the word about who really gets to “manage” our wildlife. Of course, MA Wildlife and local town laws do nothing to prevent this “tragedy of the commons”. https://www.facebook.com/PowderhornOutfitters/

January 21, 2018. Kill those coyotes, at your possible peril. This is a great article, coming from Vermont, and written by a deer hunter who appreciates “coyotes” on the landscape as a fellow predator. The author, Dennis Jensen, does a good job too of describing Vermont Fish and Game who declares to not support the contests but does nothing to change the laws to make them illegal or to establish a closed season on these animals, showing their special interest dominated focus of being pro-hunting. It’s time to call out wildlife depts for their hypocrisity of extending hunting seasons but rarely ever going out of their way to protect wildlife, especially predators. The ending of the article is perfect, saying “I believe we should celebrate the fact that we have a big, intelligent, elusive predator in our midst.”

January 20, 2018. Animal rights activists want state officials to leave coyote roaming near Laguardia alone. Leave it to a state wildlife authority to try and kill coyotes for doing nothing wrong… And that pack was the first pack to begin breeding on Long Island. Essentially they just killed off individuals that would’ve colonized Long Island one of the last places in the lower 48 for them to reach. Please sign this petition to get them to cancel the plan, as usually at tax-payers expense. I appreciate the people in the video speaking up for the coyote dubbed “Dumbo”.

January 20, 2018. Coyotes: Beyond the Howl. This is a unique photo-exhibit which is going up next week at the Sausalito Library in the San Francisco area (from 1/28 to 3/10/18). Janet Kessler a.k.a, “the Coyote Lady” in San Francisco, has been called a, “pioneer in the photo-documentation of the lives of urban coyotes, capturing their intimate lives”. If you are in the area, please try to attend and support this cool venture!

January 16, 2018. ‘Coywolf’ Sightings Grip a Rural New York Community. An article in the New York Times that is mostly positive about eastern coyotes/coywolves yet does not give much biological info and instead focuses on the name (coyote vs. coywolf) which is unfortunate as the main interest, in my opinion, should be how this animal behaves in the wild.

Comments are closed.