Update April 25, 2008. Jaws is recaptured and has gained 2 lbs; Pictures of Nathan; Field update; Letter of disappointment Jaws Recaptured!              Let’s start with the good news first. I recaptured Jaws this morning in a trap in my backyard (but in the woods). He had gained 2 pounds from when we released him after we literally took the front of his mouth off (see story on that here). He was 33 lbs. The collar was a little loose but I didn't bother tightening it as it allows for growth. He was shedding quite a bit which is expected for this time of year.             Dr. Kevin Smith, in conjunction with Dr. Larry Venezia, at the Hyannis Animal Hospital, inspected him and gave him 6 more stitches where the 20% of the original surgery didn’t hold (meaty tissue prevented healing).             We gave Jaws Frontline for the ticks and an injection of penicillin for the wound (an antibiotic) then released him in the afternoon. Good luck buddy!             Here are some pictures of Jaws (below):  Jaws sedated and waking up slowly  Jaws' capture location   Pictures of Nathan             A field update wouldn’t be complete without a few pictures of my son, Nathan “Nate-Dogg” Way. He is 6 weeks old tomorrow:     Field Update               Not too much to report from the field. Coyotes are denning (give or take April 1) and even the males are localized including Jaws and Sill. However, of note, Mup in Marstons Mills might not have localized, at least up until this point. However, about a week ago I saw a lactating female and believe it is Mup’s mother. That means that Mup is either giving birth later or is a 2 year old that still remains on her natal territory but has not given birth. I do know that the new male of the pack of 4 (I believe) is not related to Mup or her mom as I first spotted him last year after Mystic (Mup’s father) was shot by a hunter. An interesting soap opera indeed.             My students and I are going to spend the majority of May trying to trap and collar some new coyotes, hopefully including some lactating females. Wish us luck.             I should also note here that I am not going to give specifics about locations until the state and/or town of Barnstable doesn’t allow coyote hunting in the town (it should be obvious why I won’t give specific details) – however, none of the status quo clones refuse to grant this simple request. With all the hoopla about wolves getting delisted (from Endangered Species Act) out west and planned protests and boycotts from those states, eastern coyotes can be shoot and slaughtered by people for much of the year. What a shame.             How cool would that be if I could provide real time locations of our collared coyotes to the interested public living in the mid-Cape area. I would be glad to do that if someone higher up simply made hunting them illegal in one small area of that state. That would ensure that the information that I/we provide would not be mis-used by the mis-informed. Letter of Disappointment             And speaking of hunting... The people that freely authorize an unlimited 5-month slaughter in my home state, Massachusetts, have officially refused to give me a permit to study 2-3 of these beautiful creatures. I recently received a letter from the head of Mass Wildlife (see attached letter here) and he states virtually the same thing as in the first letter (see field update on this debacle here). To me, a scientist/biologist, it is insulting how difficult my state (and likely most states) makes it to study these animals. As many of you know, my dream is to build an Eastern Coyote Discovery Center and I have a feeling that these folks will try and make that goal impossible.  Unfortunately I don't have a major organization (for instance, environmental group, humane group, or university) that is backing me on these endeavors, which will no doubt make my dreams more daunting to achieve.             It is equally pathetic how they (state fish and game departments) freely allow the destruction (in unlimited numbers) of these same creatures for a measly $30 hunting license. I would be glad to pay $300 for research permits in order to not deal with this BS!  (I apologize to some readers who are tired of me repeating these statements; however, until state fish and game agencies stop catering to hunters I need to keep repeating it. Wildlife watching makes so much more money in most states, especially urban ones, and our state wildlife departments in the east provide no refuge/sanctuary locations to watch and observe the creatures that others choose to shoot. I often make the analogy that the way that hunters make all the decisions about wildlife would be akin to the Surgeon's General Warning Advisory Board consisting entirely of smokers. If that was the case do you think there would be any regulations on smoking like we now have? Probably not.) I believe there needs to be a major change and overhaul of the composition of these departments to represent more diverse viewpoints.