ENTS, Was the Coyotes introduced back into the east or did they migrate here? I have heard that both are true. Also I talked to one of the personnel of the WNC Nature Center concerning the Red Wolves. They are unsure of the Red Wolf being a pure breed or a Timber Wolf/Coyote hybrid. They favor a pure breed but still are unsure and they know Red Wolves do breed with coyotes and they obviously have not ruled out Timber Wolf breeding with them. But Timber Wolf has a strict pack order and I cannot see that happening much.
Concerning the Timber Wolf. Does anyone know the behavorial differences between them and the reds and why the public would disfavor the Timber more than the Red Wolf? Most people I talk to disfavor any kind of wild canid, except the fox. A friend of my dad encountered a pack of feral dogs in the woods in SC and was attacked by them. He shot two of them before they ran. Also, concerning another wild animal, the Mountain Lion. They are said to be a few left in the Appalachians. I have talked to people who have reported seeing them. On asking a Nature Center employee, she said they were very rare, nearing extinction in much of the Appalachians. Most of what you hear are tall tales, they say. What do you think? Then I read of an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times of some Canadian Lynx being sighted in the Shope Creek area of Pisgah National Forest. They are the bigger relative of the Bobcat. James Parton On Jan 3, 3:01 am, DON BERTOLETTE <[email protected]> wrote: > Christine- > We have similar thoughts on this subject...my only addition to your post > would be, "we gotta be careful what we wish for", should the coyotes pack up, > and successfully 'crash' the deer population, what would the subsequent > coyote explosion be like? > -Don > > Date: Fri, 2 Jan 2009 06:12:33 -0800 > From: [email protected] > Subject: [ENTS] coyotes > To: [email protected] > > The red wolf reintroduction was not the hoped-for success in the southeast > due most likely to the presence of coyotes, but not because coyotes have > filled the niche as suggested. Red wolves are the only wolves known to breed > with coyotes. The presence of a large established coyote population means > that any red wolf dispersing outward for a life of its own is more likely to > run into a coyote than into another red wolf. They breed and their offspring > of course dilute the red wolf population. In time and with enough > hybridizations, genetic swamping occurs and you end up with a red wolf/coyote > mix (a king of super coyote). It is probably also significant that after the > USFWS caught and eliminated all but the "purest" red wolves, they were only > able to release a few > individuals back into the wild. If the critical population had been larger > the red wolves might have had a better chance for a little longer, but the > coyote inevitability factor is a big card and not much can overcome that fact. > In every instance except one or two cases, whenever humans have tried to > eliminate a local population of coyotes we have failed. They breed > compensatorily (they breed younger and have larger litters) and before long > there are more than ever. Coyotes are a species that cannot be "managed" > except to leave them alone and let density dependent factors work. > Whether coyotes will control the deer population is a good question. Here in > the northeast we have some very large coyotes because of the wolf component > that characterizes them. They interbred with a southern Canadian wolf before > they dropped down into New England around 1930 or so. Since their arrival > they have become larger and larger and > they have learned to pack up and take deer. Deer only comprise a small part > of their diet, however (more fawns in the spring), with smaller prey and > vegetation still favored. However, I believe that in time, depending upon > environmental factors such as snow depth and disease transmission (heartworm, > Lyme's etc) deer will comprise more of their diet, particularly if they > continue to increase their body size. There is no reason why our coyotes > shouldn;t continue to get bigger because there is a niche to fill. > Down in the southeast I am not certain how large the coyotes are but > obviously a few interbreed with red wolves and so the same dynamic may be > taking place. The coyotes that emigrated from the west and occupied the > south east and eastern states did not breed with wolves along the way and so > have smaller overall body types. But with the red wolf component working > through that local population and as those wolf genes for size > are favored, you may see more deer impacted. It is fascinating to watch, > during my lifetime, the evolution of coyotes both physically and behaviorally > as they have 'learned' to pack up to take advantage of deer. > Having offered this, I have to say that even with our large coyotes which do > pack up and appear to be wolf wanna-bes, coyotes do not have any appreciable > impact on the deer population. They would still prefer easier smaller prey > and to refine the art of scavenging. So, if a deer eating coyote population > is on the way, I'm afraid it may still be a long way off. > > _________________________________________________________________ > It’s the same Hotmail®. 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