"Lethal control disrupts the social hierarchy of coyote packs, causing pack members to disperse and allowing more females to breed"...... "Females in exploited populations tend to have larger litters because competition for food is reduced and more unoccupied habitat is available"..... "So in areas where one family group ruled, now two or three families may exist"....."Saskatchewan issued a coyote bounty over the winter of 2009-2010 aimed at thinning out the coyote population"..... "Despite 18,000 coyotes being killed in just a few weeks, many of those familiar with the resilient animals — from trappers to conservationists — say the population is as strong as ever today"............ "Saskatchewan trappers reported killing double the number of animals in less time this winter than before the bounty"....."As argued by conservation biologists, current knowledge about the natural processes that maintain biodiversity suggests a crucial and irreplaceable role of top predators". ....."The absence of top predators appears to lead inexorably to ecosystem simplification accompanied by a rush of extinctions".............."As an increasing number of farmers recognize that coyotes are beneficial predators, offering free rodent control among other ecosystem services"............ "They understand that a combination of predator deterrents and animal husbandry techniques can "teach" resident coyotes to leave livestock alone"...... "These residents will also keep transient juvenile coyotes out who may be more prone to seek novel prey — like domestic animals"------Camilla Fox; Director of PROJECT COYOTE..

Coyote bounties are futile

A coyote in the backyard of a home in the Beach neighborhood. (Dec. 31, 2008)

Silvio Santos/CANADIAN PRESS

BY:Camilla Fox and AnnaMaria Valastro
thestar.com

Coyotes are a big subject at this time of year. If we are to have a coyote encounter, it will likely be now because it is their mating time and they are on the move. Many people mistakenly interpret this behaviour as brazen on the part of the coyote and calls for coyote bounties reach a fever pitch. But the more coyotes are killed, the more they are likely to prosper.

Attempts to reduce coyote populations have failed because coyote populations exhibit strong compensatory responses to lethal control. While lethal control may result in short-term reductions in the number of coyotes in a specific area, the vacuum is soon filled by coyotes emigrating from surrounding areas and by shifts in neighbouring packs.

But most importantly, lethal control disrupts the social hierarchy of coyote packs, causing pack members to disperse and allowing more females to breed. Females in exploited populations tend to have larger litters because competition for food is reduced and more unoccupied habitat is available. So in areas where one family group ruled, now two or three families may exist.

Lethal control also selects for coyotes that are more successful, wary, nocturnal, and resilient — what some biologists call a "super coyote." This "compensatory response" to lethal control applies to many wildlife species viewed as "nuisance," such as white-tailed deer.

Saskatchewan issued a coyote bounty over the winter of 2009-2010 aimed at thinning out the coyote population. Despite 18,000 coyotes being killed in just a few weeks, many of those familiar with the resilient animals — from trappers to conservationists — say the population is as strong as ever today. Saskatchewan trappers reported killing double the number of animals in less time this winter than before the bounty.

Coyotes are primarily killed to protect livestock, second for sport and for profit (fur). While a century of sustained lethal predator control has done little to mitigate conflicts between livestock producers and native carnivores, the ecological effects of removing large carnivores from the landscape may have long-term consequences that scientists are only just starting to fully comprehend. By studying the effects of their removal on ecosystems, biologists have found that many large native carnivores are "keystone species" that play a pivotal role in maintaining ecological integrity and preserving species diversity. The disappearance of a keystone species can trigger the loss of other resident species, and the intricate connections among the remaining residents begin to unravel, dramatically changing the habitat.

In a "domino effect," species losses cascade through the ecosystem, as the disappearance of one species prompts the loss of still others. As argued by conservation biologists, current knowledge about the natural processes that maintain biodiversity suggests a crucial and irreplaceable role of top predators. The absence of top predators appears to lead inexorably to ecosystem simplification accompanied by a rush of extinctions.

Remarkably, though not surprisingly, wildlife control agencies have never attempted to comprehensively assess the overall costs of their predator control programs on species diversity and ecological integrity.

As an increasing number of farmers recognize that coyotes are beneficial predators, offering free rodent control among other ecosystem services. They understand that a combination of predator deterrents and animal husbandry techniques can "teach" resident coyotes to leave livestock alone. These residents will also keep transient juvenile coyotes out who may be more prone to seek novel prey — like domestic animals.

By learning how to coexist with coyotes — instead of ineffective killing programs — we all benefit, while keeping ecosystems healthy.

Camilla Fox is executive director of Project Coyote. AnnaMaria Valastro is executive director of the Peaceful Parks Coalition.