|
After
three years of leading the Narragansett Bay
Coyote study I can definitely say there are
two kinds of coyotes:
good ones and bad ones.
The good ones eat mice, rabbits,
woodchucks, geese, deer fawns, and other
naturally occurring foods.
The bad ones eat Kibbles and Bits,
cats, small dogs, and do not run away –
and may even approach -when they see you.
A good thing about good coyotes is
that, if they are established or live in a
pack, they defend their territory and keep
out other coyotes.
This is important when they are
keeping out bad coyotes.
If you have good coyotes you want to
keep them.
Bad coyotes almost always end up
being destroyed but not before they visit
schoolyards during the day or eat several
small pets.
We are not the first folks to realize
that good coyotes are worth keeping around.
A hunter friend of mine in
Pennsylvania
asked a farmer if he could hunt coyotes on
his property.
“Not my coyotes,” said the
farmer, “I got good coyotes.
If you shoot ‘em I might get bad
coyotes.” His good coyotes apparently knew
the rules:
don’t eat his sheep.
Since The Conservation Agency began
the NBCS we’ve followed 10 packs of
coyotes, some good some bad. Our
GPS
tracking collars reveal where each one goes
every hour of every day.
We have figured out how good coyotes
turn bad and back again:
they learn, just like dogs.
If coyotes are coming up on porches in
your neighborhood or staring back at you, as
opposed to fleeing when you approach, NBCS
research shows they are probably getting
food where you live.
Bad coyotes become, literally,
trained by successful food forays into
residential areas to expect food from
humans.
If your neighborhood has high profile
coyotes ask the following questions:
- What
about my neighborhood is creating the
attraction?
- Could
anyone be leaving pet food on porches or
feeding pets outside?
Coyotes eat the food but they
also eat the pets.
- Are
pets (cats or small dogs) outside
unsupervised?
They are irresistible targets for
hungry coyotes that would otherwise pass
through the neighborhood.
- Is
anyone leaving garbage unsecured?
Compost?
Fish racks, clams, or deer
remains?
Coyotes eat everything we do and
more.
It doesn’t have to be fresh.
- Does
anyone in the neighborhood feed wildlife
such as raccoons or skunks?
Does anyone feed wild cats?
If so they are also attracting
and feeding coyotes.
- Could
anyone in my neighborhood be feeding
coyotes intentionally?
Believe it or not the answer is
often yes.
NBCS has found that for every
person that dislikes coyotes there is a
counterpart that is wild about them.
When
the feeding stops in your neighborhood the
coyotes will go elsewhere.
When human subsidies stop across the
islands we expect the coyotes will lower
their own numbers. Unlike
deer coyotes adjust their own population
numbers based on food availability.
More food results in more puppies per
female; less food means fewer.
NBCS believes that if human food
subsidies to coyotes are removed the coyotes
will adjust their population to a size
sustainable by natural resources (mice,
woodchucks, geese, etc.).
Stopping coyote feeding in your neighborhood
is the first step.
Next, municipalities and the State
need to work together to control the many
other food subsidies NBCS has identified
that are beyond the control of residents.
The bigger picture involves
implementing a 10-Step Coyote Management and
Coexistence Plan that the NBCS and the
Potter League are submitting to all island
municipalities.
After three years of study the NBCS
and the Potter League believe we can
passively manage and coexist with our island
coyotes if we aggressively manage ourselves.
Got coyote questions?
Sightings?
Observations?
You can call the Coyote Info Line at
(401) 924 – HOWL (4695). The
line is checked twice daily and a NBCS staff
member will return your call. |
