Update February 24, 2008. Lots of happenings: Capture of 2 more coyotes (1 on Cape Cod, “Jaws”; 1 in north Boston, “Hood”), Walnut in Hingham, Coak update, Raider is missing, again. Update on Feb. 25: Pictures of Hood added!
Update March 1: Still no Raider, but Coak is consistently in Raider's range! Also, coyote Jaws has successful surgery and then we release him on Feb. 28 (additional pictures included).
This week was my February vacation from Barnstable High School and I stayed more than busy. Actually as the week ends, I am exhausted. Between checking traps twice a day, radio-tracking night and day, and driving everywhere in creation, I am pooped.
To start with, after the events of Raider chasing Cake (see previous update ), I now can’t find Raider. I did not look for her on February 21 and 22 due to other activities (like giving a talk at Tufts on the 21st). However, I drove over 100 miles both on the 23rd and 24th and can’t get a signal. I am 99% sure that her new collar died which is incredibly frustrating given that her old collar died (see update on this ) & (a newer update from December) and that we recently re-collared her (see this update ). We spend $300 on new collars and $200 on refurbished collars (from Telonics, Inc.) so you can imagine the frustration and disappointment if a collar malfunctions since we can no longer track a coyote (and would have to visual see them after that point). There is a small chance that she left the study area but given her behavior earlier in the week (chasing Cake) I highly doubt that. There is also a chance that she got hit by a car (or shot) and someone took her dead body off the study area but I think that is a slim chance as well.
To make the situation weirder, I recently located Coak (see her capture update ) in the middle of Raider’s range, in Hyannisport. Coak is traveling with another coyote and I highly suspect (but can’t prove) that it is one of Raider’s male offspring. They are mostly hanging out in the periphery of Raider’s range but have ventured into her territory including spending a day (on the 22nd) very close to where “A Battle in the Suburbs ” happened last week.
Update March 1: Still no Raider, but Coak is consistently in Raider's range! I have had absolutely no luck in finding Raider anywhere in the town of Barnstable and beyond. Until this week I would've bet for sure that her collar died. However, it is very interesting that Coak is now traveling throughout Raider's old range. I haven't had a chance to do that much night tracking but I did hear Coak and others do a group howl and I did see her with a second coyote so it seems like she is joining the pack. Thus, there is a chance that Raider's collar does work and that she left her range similar to what happened with Casper leaving her Cummaquid territory back in 2005. It will be very interesting to figure out what happened to Raider (i.e., dead collar or she left the area) and to see if Coak becomes the (small) breeding female of Hyannisport. The fun never ends...
In other news, we have 2 new coyote captures. On February 19 we captured a coyote both on Cape Cod (town of Barnstable) and up in north Boston (specifically, in Melrose). The Melrose coyote, captured by Revere High School science teacher David Eatough (my colleague) was typical and uneventful. He was a beautiful 33 pound young male captured on the Mt. Hood Golf Course in Melrose, MA. He was radio-collared and given the name “Hood” (# BN0801) due to his capture location. He was released by Dave Eatough and company later that evening. We are currently tracking his movements, like all our other coyotes.
Update on Feb. 25: Pictures of Hood added! Courtesy of Terry Hawthorne. Thanks Terry!
Before I get to the Cape Cod coyote capture, I will briefly interlude with coyote Walnut. On our (myself and 2 people taking a field studies course with me) way home from radio-collaring Hood at the Saugus Animal Hospital, we stopped in Hingham and sure enough located Walnut again. He was in World’s End Reservation again, which is a beautiful place. We actually managed to see him and his collar as well as his mate. Yes, his mate! However and why he got to Hingham is anyone’s guess (see previous update ) but he is clearly with a companion. We watched Walnut at dusk as he trotted over a ridge and out of sight of us. His companion, however, was face down in grass (literally had her snout buried in the grass as she sniffed around), likely looking for meadow voles or other rodents. She seemed to get so distracted by her head burying forays (last about 10 minutes) that she lost track of Walnut. The minute she realized that he was not there she let out to loud lone howls. The second one draw him close by at dark (judging from his signal). On our way out of this reservation we could see the skyline of Boston and marveled how this Cape Cod-born coyote (i.e., Walnut) is now having a nightly view of Boston about 10 miles to the northwest. And so is a deer, as we also spotted a very healthy deer very close to where we see Walnut and his new mate. What a neat area with lots of open savannah-like habitats of open fields and old, tall trees.
Back to the Cape Cod capture. Before we headed north (off Cape) to collar Hood we first had to deal with a coyote captured on Cape Cod in the Marstons Mills/Osterville area. At first it seemed like a routine capture (see first picture below) where we would bring him to the Hyannis Animal Hospital, radio-collar him and take measurements, then release him. However, upon sedating him we brought him (a young adult 30.1 pound male) inside and realized that his jaw was broken. I was frantic at this point as his upper jaw (maxilla bone) was like a hinge just in front (anterior to) of his upper canines. It was clear that the injury was fairly old (a couple/few weeks) and that he was, amazingly, surviving with a broken jaw (one reason why it only took me 2 weeks to capture a coyote after I put that trap out; usually it takes a few months to condition a coyote to going in the trap). He likely either got bit by another animal/canid or was hit in the face by a car. He had a big scar on his upper snout. X-Rays taken also indicated that someone shot him with a pellet gun as one was lodged in his skull by his left ear. Needless to say, he was a mess! He could barely breathe and was wheezing through his nose because the broken bone obstructed his nasal cavity.
To summarize a bunch of phone calls this is what happened: in consultation with Judy Ellal at the Cape Wildlife Center in Cummaquid (run by the Humane Society of the United States) we would house Jaws (named for Jaw surgery) under their care and give him a heavy dose of antibiotics. Then, in consultation with Kevin Smith at the Hyannis Animal Hospital, Jaws would have surgery. On the 21st of February (2 days after his capture) Kevin did operate on Jaws. He removed the entire front 2 inches of his maxilla bone including all 6 of his upper incisors (see pictures below). He then (this is amazing) sutured the remainder of his snout to the tissue immediately in front of his canines (upper).
The surgery went remarkably well and to Kevin’s credit, I think that Jaws is going to make it. He is currently recovering and we hope to release him at the end of the week. I felt terrible for any animal to have to go through that experience but just about everyone told me that if it wasn’t for me capturing him he probably eventually would’ve died from an infection and/or starvation. So, if all goes well, we will check his sutures at the end of the week, then radio-collar and release him only one and a half weeks after his capture. Not bad for a broken jaw. Please note that we did not take removing all of his upper incisors lightly. They were badly broken, and almost impossible to repair. We believe that he will learn how to use the teeth he still has left and think that his chances (especially with the antibiotics) are much greater for him to survive now than before his capture and subsequent surgery.
I am repeatedly amazed by the incredible toughness and hardships that these animals deal with. They make the toughest humans look like wimps. Imagine surviving in the wild with a broken jaw? I will add an update to this page upon his release. Good luck Jaws and fatten up while in captivity for this week (for those of you who don’t know, animals at a rehab animal hospital are fed while they are there; however, most of them, including Jaws, hate the experience and can not wait to be released and get away from humans).
Update March 1: We sedated Jaws and radio-collared him on Feb. 28. Kevin Smith, at Hyannis Animal Hospital, examined Jaws and noticed that 80% of the mouth was healing. Part of the suture had broken in the other 20%. Considering that he might be a territorial holder around the Marstons Mills dump area we decided to wait no longer, and let him go on the 28th, 9 days after his capture.
He weighed 31 lb and looked depressed being held in captivity. However, it allowed his mouth to heal (at least 80% of it). He has already moved a couple miles from his release site and future tracking will reveal much about his behavior post-surgery and post-release. Good luck Jaws!
Here are some pictures of Jaws surgery, from pre to post:
It looked like a normal capture: Coyote in trap; but notice the hinge-like joint between his upper incisors and upper canines (that is broken bone).
Notice the picture on the right; his upper incisors are gone. Then see the incisors below. My wife and daughter love the fact that I have Jaws incisors in our house!
Kevin Smith is suturing his snout back to his jaw. After the surgery he could breathe, something he had trouble doing with his broken jaw.
Post surgery. Kevin did an amazing job reconstructing Jaws' snout. As he said, "this is a surgery that is not in the book (i.e., there are no guidelines for this)." Maybe Jaws success will change that.
Update March 1: additional pictures; from Jaws collaring on February 28:
Jaws has a noticeable scar on his nose.
Myself (Jon Way) and Jaws prior to putting him into his transport cage to wake up (and recover) from the sedation.
Veterinarian Kevin Smith examining Jaws' mouth. Kevin said that 80% of the sutures held, which was good enough for us to radio-collar and release him.
Barnstable High School student Rebecca Cabral recording data on Jaws
Random sighitng this morning (Feb. 28) of 5 wild turkeys within Cake's home range, one of which was on someone's deck:
