I cannot imagine coyotes ever becoming so dangerously efficient and so heavily reliant on deer that they would "crash" the deer population. There is one location in the White Mountains were the deer density was low to being with and in winters with deep snow, the coyotes hammered the deer. But on a regional or landscape scale, nothing even close to that has happened. Having said that, I totally agree that we all have to be careful what we wish for. I recall some folks wishing for a more open canopy through the Whites to allow for a little bit more diversity. Then we got the ice storm!
________________________________ From: DON BERTOLETTE <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, January 3, 2009 3:01:40 AM Subject: [ENTS] Re: coyotes 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®. If by “same” you mean up to 70% faster. Get your account now. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org You are subscribed to the Google Groups "ENTSTrees" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
