Genetic research shows that the domestic dog evolved from ancient wolves some 27,000 to 40,000 years ago. But evolution isn’t some long-ago phenomenon. Compelling recent studies have found that the Eastern coyote, significantly larger than its Western cousin, resulted from the crossing of gray wolves and coyotes in Southeastern Canada.
That research and more is explained in a new book written to satisfy the interests of hunters, photographers and wildlife watchers who want to know more about the mysterious predator.
“When Eastern wolves were being hunted to extinction, they crossbred with coyotes,” said Pennsylvania coyote hunting guide and outdoors writer Michael Huff. “People don’t think about it, but that just happened 100, 150 years ago. The Eastern coyote didn’t exist when Europeans first came here. Nature is ever-evolving and changing.”
The coyote is perhaps the most adaptable animal in North and Central America. Of 19 subspecies, the Eastern coyote is prolific throughout the northern Appalachian region including every county in Pennsylvania. Though seldom seen, coyotes are everywhere.
“And yet there are more myths about coyotes — more bad information — than most other animals,” said Huff.
“Understanding Coyotes” (CreateSpace, 2015) is an easy-to-read compilation of existing data gathered through years of research, interviews with scientists and personal accounts from Huff’s guiding experiences. An advanced coyote hunter and owner of a store for predator hunting gear, what he found occasionally surprised him.
“One of the most surprising things was that I thought coyotes had excellent visual acuity — 20
20 like we have,” he said. “Actually, like other canines, coyotes couldn’t get a driver’s license because of their eyes.”
Despite having excellent low-light vision and long-distance motion detection, coyotes are essentially nearsighted. Recent research on the wave frequencies conducted by retinal cones suggest that coyotes and humans probably see blues about the same, but the higher red wavelengths are seen by coyotes in darker shades or not at all. Night hunters, he said, should stick to infrared lights that are harder for predators to see. Hunters and photographers who use decoys should use a color that contrasts with the background, and find a way to make the decoy move.
It’s no surprise that the coyote’s dominant sense is smell. But in his book, Huff explains in laymans’ language the details of coyote olfactory perception and ways that humans can reduce the chance of being winded.
Coyotes live in family units of two to five — not as commonly believed in larger packs — and breed in January and February. Curiously, the males are fertile only during that period. Coyotes are primarily monogamous, and only the alpha males and dominant females mate.
Locating a coyote at a specific time, distance and location relative to the wind is extremely difficult. Territory dimensions vary according to food availability, but Huff writes that 80 percent of a coyote’s time is spent in a “core territory.” Find that area, he said, and coyotes will be there.
Huff said rural myths about government coyote stockings are “ridiculous,” but the predator’s impact on deer populations can be significant. From March to May, he said, coyotes can “wreak havoc” on defenseless newborn fawns. Adult deer that are old, sick, injured or stuck in deep snow could fall prey to coyotes, but deer hairs found in coyote stomachs during the rest of the year were probably ingested from scavenged road kills.
He’s far more concerned about the coyote’s impact on red foxes, which are almost certain to be killed or displaced when coyotes arrive. Extremely liberal Pennsylvania hunting regulations practically encourage hunters to shoot coyotes on sight, but Huff said that with a regulation change trappers could greatly reduce the coyote population.
“Open the cable restraint season Sept. 1,” he said. “More [trappers] would go out in the better weather, foxes could be released unharmed from cable restraints and coyote pelts are going for about $30. The market goes up and down, but this is a good coyote year.”
John Hayes: jhayes@post-gazette.com and Twitter @PG_JohnHayes.
First Published: January 24, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
