September 15, 2007. Bitter sweet news. Following the news of the state allowing more coyotes to be shot (solely for recreation purposes so hunters can shoot them at their leisure) I have amazing news from Marstons Mills. Sill, an 8+ year old male, was observed playing with his pups. Plus Sill and his family brought their pups to the Marstons Mills Rendezvous Site. That makes 11 years running!!! Hopefully they won't now be shot.
To start with, Sill's pack brought his pups to the famous (at least in our study) Marstons Mills Rendezvous Site, a large open area consisting of 2 bogs. For most of June and into mid-July they were about a half mile (1 km) N of the site at another cranberry bog complex. The group consists of 4 adults in midsummer and possibly only 3 (1 yearling might have dispersed) adults by late summer. Sill and his uncollared mate Mange-back, whom I have observed for a minimum of the past 3 breeding seasons (but likely for at least 5 years), had 5 pups. However, one got hit by a car in mid-July, the week they moved to the Rendezvous site (click here to view scientific article describing this site ). It was a small about 8 lb pup - tiny for mid-July.
I observed this group, like I have for the past 11 years, at the rendezvous site including extensive observations of them playing, resting, and interacting. This is the only place that I know of on the east coast where reliable observations can be made of a wild coyote pack. The group is amazingly traditional in their use of the site and it is clearly a mid-summer magnet for the pack. Best of all, human use (e.g., walking) around these 2 bogs is much lower than in other areas immediately surrounding the location including other bogs.
I led my first field study class to this site, among others, and my student had wonderful viewing for the 2 days that she was there.
I have written a scientific paper which is now under review in the peer-review scientific journal "". I hope (with eventual publication) that the paper will have important implications for coyote management. It amazes me that 42 of 49 states (Hawaii excluded) allow unlimited 365 hunting of these social, family oriented dogs where one can be killed for any (or no good) reason, yet Michael Vick is going to jail for murdering 8 domestic dogs. What an injustice to our amazing wildlife heritage.
Below, I have included a draft of the abstract of the article. Stay tuned for (hopefully) future publication of this article:
Play and Amiable Behavior in a Wild, Old Adult Male Eastern Coyote, Canis latrans
Jonathan G. Way
Science Department, Barnstable High School, 744 West Main Street, Hyannis MA
02601; jon@easternCoyoteresearch.com.
Way, Jonathan G. 2007. Play and amiable behavior in a wild, old adult male Eastern Coyote, Canis latrans. Canadian Field-Naturalist xxx:xxx-xxx.
I had close and consistent observations of a wild Eastern Coyote pack (Canis latrans) from January 2000 – August 2007. During this time, I obtained 3,156 radio-locations on a specific radio-collared breeding male (“Sill”) and observed him and/or members of his pack on 375 occasions at intervals > 4 hours apart. The average Coyote group size during the 375 sightings was 3.0 ± 2.3 (SD) Coyotes with 1.9 ± 1.2 being adults and 1.1 ± 1.9 being pups. Maximal group size observed during an observation at their two summertime rendezvous sites involved 12 Coyotes (9 pups, 3 adults), while two sightings involved 10 Coyotes (3 adults and 7 pups) and eight sightings involved 9 Coyotes (ranging from 2-7 adults and 2-7 pups). Coyotes most often behaved in a friendly manner toward each other as indicated by 80 of my observations involving play between pups, and 15 involving play among adult Coyotes. Agonistic interactions were rare and either involved pups or yearlings, with the exception of 4 times when the breeding female pinned a subordinate (probable female) yearling. The breeding male was never observed getting challenged by other Coyotes and was agonistic only to other Coyotes when he snarled to rebuff requests for regurgitation (i.e., licking his mouth) from his pups. On the evening of 6 July 2007 I observed the breeding male (>8 yr old), his >5 yr old mate, one of their full-sized probable yearlings, and five pups playing intensely for 33 minutes. Future management of Coyotes (and other social species) needs to take into account their social, family-oriented nature when designating (or precluding) hunting programs, especially in an era of the increasing incidence of residential stakeholders insisting on participation in wildlife management.
Key Words: amiable/affiliative interactions, Canis latrans, Eastern Coyote, play behavior
