Post by FWS on Nov 15, 2009 9:38:36 GMT -6
Coyote vs. Man
Humans must find appropriate ways of restoring coyotes' natural fear of people
By MARC FOLCO
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
South Coast Today
November 15, 2009
To some, the coyote is a symbol of the wild — a solitary silhouetted animal howling at the moon with its distinctive cry. To others, it's a threat and destructive menace. To hunters, it's an elusive and challenging game animal, prized for its pelt.
The state's hunting season for coyotes opened Oct. 17 and will close on March 8. Joe Czapiga of Acushnet is an avid coyote hunter who enjoys the thrill and pursuit of these wily game animals. "They are very wary animals," he said. "I watch and study them all year in the woods next to my home and I still haven't figured them out. They can be around for a few days, then be gone for a week. They don't seem to have any set pattern."
This year's coyote season unfolds as human interaction with the predators is increasing in SouthCoast despite the animal's reputation for skittishness.
As the coyote population rises and the animal loses its inherent fear of humans, more confrontations could occur. One state wildlife expert interviewed for this story said it's important to restore in coyotes their natural fear of humans, especially in areas where hunting them is inappropriate. For instance, it is illegal to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling or building in use without permission of the occupant or owner, and discharge of a firearm on, across or within 150 feet of any state or hard-surfaced highway is also illegal.
But where it's appropriate and legal, hunting is one way of managing the population, wildlife officials said. There are no bounties on coyotes in Massachusetts, nor are there limits to the numbers hunters can legally take in season.
Czapiga says that there are several methods of hunting coyotes, such as baiting, calling or running them with dogs, but baiting is the most effective method by far. "There are a lot of hunters using calls, and once a coyote is called in but either spots the hunter and bolts or is shot at and missed, it won't come to a call again. They learn quickly."
Baiting allows the hunter to see coyotes more consistently than other methods as the animals are opportunistic feeders. Bait can be anything from a deer carcass taken during the hunting season to meat scraps.
Czapiga says that it's very rare to see a coyote during the day. "They are most active from dusk to dawn, which is why hunting at night is more effective than hunting during the day."
According to Mass. Fish and Game Laws, hunting hours for coyote begin a half-hour before sunrise and end at midnight. "Bright, moonlit nights, especially with snow cover, are very productive because of the increased visibility," Czapiga said. "But because artificial light is prohibited for hunting coyotes, I also use a Nightvision scope, which is legal and utilizes available light."
During daylight hours, high-power rifles may be used, but only shotguns, rifles chambered no larger than .22 long rifle caliber and handguns no larger than .38 caliber can be used from a half-hour after sunset to midnight for coyotes. Last year, regulations were changed to allow the use of larger shot sizes in shotguns, resulting in more effective killing power at ranges of 60 to 70 yards.
Czapiga concentrates on getting permission to hunt from farmers who have had a problem with coyotes. He sets up a bait, goes in around dusk and waits them out. "Scent is also a big factor with these animals," he said. "They're in the dog family, so they have a keen sense of smell. They like to circle a bait or a call before they come in, and if they get a whiff of human, they'll spook."
Frank Gwodz Jr., owner of Dream at Last Farm on Collins Corner Road in Dartmouth, agrees coyotes exhibit unpredictable behavior.
Gwodz, who has lost about $10,000 worth of livestock this year to coyotes — two adult cows, four calves, four baby goats, two sheep and two lambs — said the animals are tough to nail down.
"They're here for a few days and then we won't see them for a week — then they're back," he said. "They always come back. And they become bolder when they're together — they get that pack mentality. I don't have much time to purposely hunt for them, but I shoot them when they're after my animals. I was hit hard by them."
Other residents in the area also have had problems with menacing coyotes that have attacked full-grown, large-breed dogs and acted aggressively toward humans. Coyote attacks on humans in this state are rare with only three such documented attacks since the 1950s when the "dogs" or "yotes," as some hunters call them, first got a foothold within state lines.
It's estimated that the population in Massachusetts is around 10,000 animals, according to Marion Larson, information and education biologist for MassWildlife. And with the increased coyote/human conflict, it's apparent that they are losing their fear of humans.
Because of their lush fur, the size of coyotes is often over-estimated and they often are described as being as large as German Shepherd dogs. However, healthy adult male coyotes average about 50 pounds while females average 35 -40 pounds. Czapiga said he usually shoots about 10 coyotes during a season and the largest he's taken was a big male that weighed 57 pounds.
In Southern California, where coyotes also have become brazen around homes, there have been more than 100 coyote attacks on humans since the 1970s, with half the incidents involving children age 10 and younger. Recent California cases include a two-year old girl whose nanny had to pry her loose from the jaws of a coyote and another girl who was grabbed by the head and dragged from her front yard until her mother scared it away. Up until recently, the only recorded fatal mauling was in 1981 and involved a three-year-old girl.
A recent attack in Nova Scotia in October also proved fatal when a pair of coyotes attacked a 19-year old woman as she walked alone on a trail in Cape Breton National Park.
Those coyotes were so vicious that they were still attacking the woman when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrived on the scene after a nearby hiker called 911 after hearing the victim's screams. She was rushed to the hospital but died of her wounds. According to the Canadian Press, one of the coyotes was shot by the police and experts have since determined that it was healthy and apparently neither hungry nor diseased. The hunt continues for the second coyote.
Rabies is not common in coyotes. According to figures from the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, 16 coyotes were tested for rabies in 2008, but none tested positive. In sharp contrast, 30 foxes were tested the same year with eight being positive for a 27 percent infection rate. Also in 2008, 62 out of 359 raccoons tested were positive and 44 out of 255 skunks tested positive for the disease, resulting in a 17 percent infection rate of both species that were brought in for testing.
In a 10-year study by the same agency, from 1992 — 2002, six coyotes out of 65 tested turned up rabid. In that same period, 2,136 raccoons tested positive for rabies out of 5,107 animals and 1,195 skunks were positive out of 3,223 tested.
Larson, the biologist, said coyotes need to have their instinctive fear of humans restored in order to lower the incidence of conflict with humans. "Hunted coyotes are much more wary of humans than non-hunted coyotes," she said. "Coyotes that go un-hunted lose their fear as they become adapted to living in proximity of humans that do not pose a threat."
Hunting is one way to help manage the numbers because it results in taking some animals out of the population, but there is no single magic silver bullet, Larson said. Other than hunting, their behavior must be modified to keep them wily and wary.
One method to keep coyotes fearful is to harass them when they are seen in neighborhoods. "We need to send the coyote a message — even in areas they can't be hunted — humans are a threat," Larson said. "But it has to be a concerted effort from everyone in a neighborhood where there are coyote problems. People also need to keep trash contained, small pets and pet food indoors and bird feeder areas clean. And anyone who lets a small pet run loose in an area exposes that pet to the risk of being killed by coyotes ..."
In many residential areas hunting is neither appropriate nor an option. The most effective way to deal with those animals is trapping, Larson said. The Softcatch foothold trap does not injure the animal. Old-fashioned steel-jaw leghold traps were outlawed in 1996. The Softcatch trap is the trap that was used to trap, relocate and restore the gray wolf population in areas of the U.S. because the animals were caught and released unharmed.
"The only legal trap now is the box trap or cage trap, but it's very ineffective on older smarter coyotes," Larson said. "It may take a few weeks to trap a coyote in a box trap as opposed to only a few days with a foothold trap. They are intelligent animals. Even the eradication programs used out West to eradicate the coyote were unsuccessful. Here, it's a valuable wildlife species and we need to manage it effectively. The coyote is here to stay."
Humans must find appropriate ways of restoring coyotes' natural fear of people
By MARC FOLCO
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
South Coast Today
November 15, 2009
To some, the coyote is a symbol of the wild — a solitary silhouetted animal howling at the moon with its distinctive cry. To others, it's a threat and destructive menace. To hunters, it's an elusive and challenging game animal, prized for its pelt.
The state's hunting season for coyotes opened Oct. 17 and will close on March 8. Joe Czapiga of Acushnet is an avid coyote hunter who enjoys the thrill and pursuit of these wily game animals. "They are very wary animals," he said. "I watch and study them all year in the woods next to my home and I still haven't figured them out. They can be around for a few days, then be gone for a week. They don't seem to have any set pattern."
This year's coyote season unfolds as human interaction with the predators is increasing in SouthCoast despite the animal's reputation for skittishness.
As the coyote population rises and the animal loses its inherent fear of humans, more confrontations could occur. One state wildlife expert interviewed for this story said it's important to restore in coyotes their natural fear of humans, especially in areas where hunting them is inappropriate. For instance, it is illegal to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling or building in use without permission of the occupant or owner, and discharge of a firearm on, across or within 150 feet of any state or hard-surfaced highway is also illegal.
But where it's appropriate and legal, hunting is one way of managing the population, wildlife officials said. There are no bounties on coyotes in Massachusetts, nor are there limits to the numbers hunters can legally take in season.
Czapiga says that there are several methods of hunting coyotes, such as baiting, calling or running them with dogs, but baiting is the most effective method by far. "There are a lot of hunters using calls, and once a coyote is called in but either spots the hunter and bolts or is shot at and missed, it won't come to a call again. They learn quickly."
Baiting allows the hunter to see coyotes more consistently than other methods as the animals are opportunistic feeders. Bait can be anything from a deer carcass taken during the hunting season to meat scraps.
Czapiga says that it's very rare to see a coyote during the day. "They are most active from dusk to dawn, which is why hunting at night is more effective than hunting during the day."
According to Mass. Fish and Game Laws, hunting hours for coyote begin a half-hour before sunrise and end at midnight. "Bright, moonlit nights, especially with snow cover, are very productive because of the increased visibility," Czapiga said. "But because artificial light is prohibited for hunting coyotes, I also use a Nightvision scope, which is legal and utilizes available light."
During daylight hours, high-power rifles may be used, but only shotguns, rifles chambered no larger than .22 long rifle caliber and handguns no larger than .38 caliber can be used from a half-hour after sunset to midnight for coyotes. Last year, regulations were changed to allow the use of larger shot sizes in shotguns, resulting in more effective killing power at ranges of 60 to 70 yards.
Czapiga concentrates on getting permission to hunt from farmers who have had a problem with coyotes. He sets up a bait, goes in around dusk and waits them out. "Scent is also a big factor with these animals," he said. "They're in the dog family, so they have a keen sense of smell. They like to circle a bait or a call before they come in, and if they get a whiff of human, they'll spook."
Frank Gwodz Jr., owner of Dream at Last Farm on Collins Corner Road in Dartmouth, agrees coyotes exhibit unpredictable behavior.
Gwodz, who has lost about $10,000 worth of livestock this year to coyotes — two adult cows, four calves, four baby goats, two sheep and two lambs — said the animals are tough to nail down.
"They're here for a few days and then we won't see them for a week — then they're back," he said. "They always come back. And they become bolder when they're together — they get that pack mentality. I don't have much time to purposely hunt for them, but I shoot them when they're after my animals. I was hit hard by them."
Other residents in the area also have had problems with menacing coyotes that have attacked full-grown, large-breed dogs and acted aggressively toward humans. Coyote attacks on humans in this state are rare with only three such documented attacks since the 1950s when the "dogs" or "yotes," as some hunters call them, first got a foothold within state lines.
It's estimated that the population in Massachusetts is around 10,000 animals, according to Marion Larson, information and education biologist for MassWildlife. And with the increased coyote/human conflict, it's apparent that they are losing their fear of humans.
Because of their lush fur, the size of coyotes is often over-estimated and they often are described as being as large as German Shepherd dogs. However, healthy adult male coyotes average about 50 pounds while females average 35 -40 pounds. Czapiga said he usually shoots about 10 coyotes during a season and the largest he's taken was a big male that weighed 57 pounds.
In Southern California, where coyotes also have become brazen around homes, there have been more than 100 coyote attacks on humans since the 1970s, with half the incidents involving children age 10 and younger. Recent California cases include a two-year old girl whose nanny had to pry her loose from the jaws of a coyote and another girl who was grabbed by the head and dragged from her front yard until her mother scared it away. Up until recently, the only recorded fatal mauling was in 1981 and involved a three-year-old girl.
A recent attack in Nova Scotia in October also proved fatal when a pair of coyotes attacked a 19-year old woman as she walked alone on a trail in Cape Breton National Park.
Those coyotes were so vicious that they were still attacking the woman when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrived on the scene after a nearby hiker called 911 after hearing the victim's screams. She was rushed to the hospital but died of her wounds. According to the Canadian Press, one of the coyotes was shot by the police and experts have since determined that it was healthy and apparently neither hungry nor diseased. The hunt continues for the second coyote.
Rabies is not common in coyotes. According to figures from the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, 16 coyotes were tested for rabies in 2008, but none tested positive. In sharp contrast, 30 foxes were tested the same year with eight being positive for a 27 percent infection rate. Also in 2008, 62 out of 359 raccoons tested were positive and 44 out of 255 skunks tested positive for the disease, resulting in a 17 percent infection rate of both species that were brought in for testing.
In a 10-year study by the same agency, from 1992 — 2002, six coyotes out of 65 tested turned up rabid. In that same period, 2,136 raccoons tested positive for rabies out of 5,107 animals and 1,195 skunks were positive out of 3,223 tested.
Larson, the biologist, said coyotes need to have their instinctive fear of humans restored in order to lower the incidence of conflict with humans. "Hunted coyotes are much more wary of humans than non-hunted coyotes," she said. "Coyotes that go un-hunted lose their fear as they become adapted to living in proximity of humans that do not pose a threat."
Hunting is one way to help manage the numbers because it results in taking some animals out of the population, but there is no single magic silver bullet, Larson said. Other than hunting, their behavior must be modified to keep them wily and wary.
One method to keep coyotes fearful is to harass them when they are seen in neighborhoods. "We need to send the coyote a message — even in areas they can't be hunted — humans are a threat," Larson said. "But it has to be a concerted effort from everyone in a neighborhood where there are coyote problems. People also need to keep trash contained, small pets and pet food indoors and bird feeder areas clean. And anyone who lets a small pet run loose in an area exposes that pet to the risk of being killed by coyotes ..."
In many residential areas hunting is neither appropriate nor an option. The most effective way to deal with those animals is trapping, Larson said. The Softcatch foothold trap does not injure the animal. Old-fashioned steel-jaw leghold traps were outlawed in 1996. The Softcatch trap is the trap that was used to trap, relocate and restore the gray wolf population in areas of the U.S. because the animals were caught and released unharmed.
"The only legal trap now is the box trap or cage trap, but it's very ineffective on older smarter coyotes," Larson said. "It may take a few weeks to trap a coyote in a box trap as opposed to only a few days with a foothold trap. They are intelligent animals. Even the eradication programs used out West to eradicate the coyote were unsuccessful. Here, it's a valuable wildlife species and we need to manage it effectively. The coyote is here to stay."