"About one third of the Swiss landscape offers suitable wolf habitat".................... "Nonetheless, there is only a small fraction thereof where the wolf is tolerated by local communities"................ "Those regions – characterized by both favorable environmental conditions and a positive attitude towards the wolf – are identified as candidate regions for the successful short to medium-term wolf expansion, according to a study by U. of Zurich biologists".....................This is all well and good if we can tilt enough folks opinions positive about Wolf, Puma and Grizzly Bear reintroduction in the USA, ................But realistically, there would not be a wolf population of some size in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho had the Endangered Species Act not existed...........And the same in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, Oregon and Washington State if Wolves had not had some protections early on.........................There is always going to be opposition to large carnivore rewilding(e.g. New Mexico, Arizona with Mexican Wolves and North Carolina with Red Wolves) even though our judeo/christian philosophy pointedly has the Creator instructing Noah to keep every single species of animal alive, regardless of whether potentially harmful to us human animals..........................So, only introduce carnivores where folks say "OK"?????...........Since they called North America home long before any of us occupied this great land, I vote to bring em in where continuous open space, prey densities are sound and road densities are at a minimum.....................I go with the adage that our elite armed forces, sports and business teams have always played by----"ADAPT AND OVERCOME",,,,,,,We should all adapt and overcome our ignorance and fear of carnivores living amongst us and in the process we will become stronger, more alert and more in touch with our primal selves, relegating the machines and tech toys that forever occupy us to their best roles as tools rather than the essence of our being

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170217012752.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fplants_animals%2Fecology+%28Ecology+Research+News+--+ScienceDaily%29

Novel socio-ecological approach helps identifying suitable wolf habitats in human-dominated landscapes

The Gray Wolf

The wolf was eradicated in Switzerland and from large parts of continental Europe including France and Germany by the end of the 19th century. Following legal protection, the wolf population started naturally increasing and expanding, and in 1995 its presence was confirmed in Switzerland. Sightings have increased since. Despite 13'800 km2 of Switzerland are characterized by favourable conditions such as large forests with little human pressure and have thus been identified as suitable wolf habitat, wolf expansion in Switzerland has been substantially slower than in other parts of continental Europe. As the wolf is more and more subject to human-dominated landscapes, scientist at the University of Zurich developed a novel method that integrated both ecological and human components to identify regions with favourable environmental conditions and where the wolf was tolerated.

Mapping human acceptance of the wolf to identify suitable socio-ecological areas

About one third of 10,000 randomly selected residents in Switzerland participated in the survey. Combining the response from questionnaires with geographical information, Dominik Behr and his team created a nationwide map of human acceptance. Acceptance decreased with increasing altitude of residency and even more so where high numbers of sheep and goats were held. Acceptance increased with increasing distance from confirmed wolf presence and in densely populated areas. People who perceived the wolf as dangerous to humans and harmful to livestock and wildlife mainly opposed the wolf. Younger people, and people who believe that the wolf had a positive influence on the ecosystem had a more positive attitude towards the predator.

green indicates wolf acceptance,,,,yellow neutral toward wolf

and red is opposed to wolf introduction in Switzerland

"When we overlapped our human acceptance map with a habitat suitability map for the wolf, we realized that only about 6% of Switzerland was characterized by both a positive attitude and favourable environment conditions. This was in contrast to results from the habitat suitability map, which returned one third of the Swiss landscape as being suitable for the wolf" said Dominik Behr. "As wildlife biologists, we are good at understanding the ecological factors determining the suitability of a habitat for a wildlife species. Due to ever-increasing overlap between human and wildlife, however, we are obliged to take into consideration how human acceptance modifies our ecological description of habitat suitability. This study demonstrates one effective way to do this." stressed Arpat Ozgul, professor of population ecology at the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at the University of Zurich, and co-author of the study.

A novel framework to manage wolves and people

The socio-ecological map created by Dominik Behr and his co-authors appears to accurately represent the wolf situation in Switzerland of the past years, including identifications of areas of high, moderate or limited conflict. "By capturing areas characterized by both favourable environmental conditions and a positive acceptance towards the wolf, our approach is a valuable tool to identify overall socio-ecological suitable areas for the wolf. Under given conditions, those regions are good candidates for the successful short to medium-term expansion of the wolf. Additionally, this approach allows to identify key regions where proactive and targeted socio-ecological management plans and a constructive dialog among different stakeholders are needed" said Dr. Gabriele Cozzi, who coordinated the study.

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Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Zurich. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Dominik M. Behr, Arpat Ozgul, Gabriele Cozzi. Combining human acceptance and habitat suitability in a unified socio-ecological suitability model: a case study of the wolf in Switzerland. Journal of Applied Ecology, 2017; DOI:10.1111/1365-2664.12880

For me, the finest magazine that I have ever subscribed to is the quarterly, NORTHERN WOODLANDS...................While I have not lived in the northeast for the past 18 years, the wisdom, breath, scope and depth of this conservation/working woodlands publication is without peer.................I daresay without reservation that I literally curl up on the sofa and read this scribe cover to cover when it arrives at the house....................It's Chief Editor, Dave Mance, is a "New England Son", born and raised and now writing about his "homeland" with heart, soul and aplomb...................Today, he discusses our society and it's evolution from a humility oriented character to a more individualistic focused character and how these two very different outlooks and way of thinking are impacting how we as a society approach our land use decisions.................In Dave's own words----"The point is not that we’re wrong when we follow our inner voices; it’s just to remember that we’re not always right"................... "The sweet spot is when the old moral traditions and the new individualistic ones exist in creative tension and conversation".......................... "This conversation needs to happen in most realms of life, but especially where it comes to forest conservation"........................... "What those of us who care about the woods and rural culture are trying to do is get people to cultivate a land ethic – to consider the land and strengthen their relationship with it and commitment to it"..................... "To see their individual holding as part of a larger matrix".................... "To see how their management affects, and ideally might compliment, the forest as a whole"........................ "To see how complicated nature is – forestry is – and to have the mental flexibility that’s required for good stewardship"..................... "To be a grateful inheritor of rural traditions and wisdom; to understand that wisdom is not knowledge; that experience is a better teacher than pure reason"................................. "To have the awareness, as we’re managing on the scale of centuries, to know that no matter how smart we think we are, a lot of what we know is distorted and wrong"........................... "If we’re going to strengthen the land ethic and encourage the next generation to coexist productively with nature, we first need to get people to coexist with their own bifurcated human nature"............................ "If we want woods with character, we need its stewards to have character".................. "And, of course, if we’re going to encourage this in others, we must first encourage it in ourselves"

Read Full Article

Woods With Character

by Dave Mance III

Editor's Blog

February 17, 2017

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J
Johnny Unitas(top)--Joe Namath(bottom)

I just finished a fabulous book by David Brooks called The Road to Character, in which he explores our transition from a culture that valued humility and trusted institutions to an individualistic culture that encourages people to see themselves as the center of the universe. Brooks used the quarterbacks who faced off in Super Bowl III in 1969 as illustrations of the old school/new school divide; in that game Johnny Unitas (the crewcut-wearing son of a coal-delivery-truck driver who was never anything but self-effacing in public and played NFL quarterback with the pizazz of a plumber laying pipe) lost to Joe Namath, a flamboyant sixties swinger with fur coats and long hair whose autobiography is entitled “I can’t wait until tomorrow because I get better looking every day.” A more contemporary example would be the chasm between the first president Bush, who, if a speech writer put the word “I” in one of his speeches would instinctively cross it out, and our current president.

We can and should acknowledge that there was good that came out of this paradigm shift – there were problems with the old order, and becoming a more assertive and self-centered people has had benefits. Nevertheless, there’s plenty to be concerned about, as kids are being raised today to believe they have all of life’s answers inside themselves even while many of the adults in their lives bear the psychic scars of fitting themselves with that same self-absorbed yoke. (Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Eat, Pray, Love: “God dwells within you as you yourself, exactly the way you are.” That thought terrifies me.)

To the woods part.

I went for a walk the other day with some NRCS foresters to look at a prescribed burn site, and because I had a head full of this book I was seeing forest management as it’s practiced today in northern New England as very old school, as very Johnny U. The institutions through which we structure our management endeavors harken back to the middle part of the last century, with the landowner playing her role, and the forester playing his role, the state, the fed, the information distribution network of which Northern Woodlandsis a part, on and on throughout the whole web of management-related activity. This system worked well in a culture that had faith in institutions. It worked well in a humble culture, where the internet hadn’t yet made everyone a self-appointed expert. There’s still the assumption in northern New England that while forests may be individually owned, they’re part of a greater community. For example, our current use taxation systems are built in a way that ensures people continue to manage their forests for timber, so that the resource can be used by the public. This worked well in a society that valued cultivation and civilization and thrift.

But these things can certainly chafe against our newer individualistic impulses – and don’t think I’m setting myself on a detached pedestal here because I can be as bad as anyone in this regard. I don’t have the inherent faith in institutions – which can be slow, and ponderous, and uncreative – that my father or grandfather did. My father belonged and belongs to a wide range of civic organizations, and at 41 I’ve yet to follow his lead. I’m inclined to feel like I know what’s best for the woods I know intimately and I’m happy to tell you all about it. I don’t agree with the landowner who wants to be in current use and not harvest timber because of guidance from their inner Lorax, or the unflinching animal lover who serves their inner God by campaigning to end hunting, or the libertarian whose brand of half-baked forestry is none of anyone’s damn business, or the conservationist who wants to lock up their 50 acres of unremarkable pasture pine on the edge of town and cause development to leap frog around it and spread to the countryside, big picture be damned; but I feel a kinship with their certainty, because it’s just a different manifestation of my own “I know best” impulses.

The point is not that we’re wrong when we follow our inner voices; it’s just to remember that we’re not always right. The sweet spot is when the old moral traditions and the new individualistic ones exist in creative tension and conversation. This conversation needs to happen in most realms of life, but especially where it comes to forest conservation. What those of us who care about the woods and rural culture are trying to do is get people to cultivate a land ethic – to consider the land and strengthen their relationship with it and commitment to it. To see their individual holding as part of a larger matrix. To see how their management affects, and ideally might compliment, the forest as a whole. To see how complicated nature is – forestry is – and to have the mental flexibility that’s required for good stewardship. To be a grateful inheritor of rural traditions and wisdom; to understand that wisdom is not knowledge; that experience is a better teacher than pure reason. To have the awareness, as we’re managing on the scale of centuries, to know that no matter how smart we think we are, a lot of what we know is distorted and wrong.

If we’re going to strengthen the land ethic and encourage the next generation to coexist productively with nature, we first need to get people to coexist with their own bifurcated human nature. If we want woods with character, we need its stewards to have character. And, of course, if we’re going to encourage this in others, we must first encourage it in ourselves

In a new peer reviewed article researched and wrtitten by Trent University(Canada) scientists John Benson, Karen Loveless, Linda Rutledge and Brent Patterson, it is revealed that "Eastern Coyotes and various admixes of the two kill less total ungulate(deer and moose combined and moose alone than do Eastern Wolves"................."Furthermore, canids in packs dominated by eastern coyote ancestry consumed significantly less ungulate biomass and more anthropogenic food than packs dominated by wolf ancestry"......................"Similar to gray wolves in previous studies, eastern wolves preyed on deer where they were available"............ "However, in areas where deer were scarce, eastern wolves killed moose at rates similar to those previously documented for gray wolves at comparable moose densities across North America".........."Therefore, (while) Eastern coyotes are effective deer predators, their dietary flexibility and low kill rates on moose suggest they have not replaced the ecological role of wolves in eastern North America"..................Restoration of Eastern Wolves and Pumas in Eastern North America is needed if we are in fact going to restore ecological integrity to our woodlands

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiO06a31pzSAhXLyVQKHWDfA0EQFggaMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonlinelibrary.wiley.com%2Fdoi%2F10.1002%2Feap.1499%2Fabstract&usg=AFQjCNHZPmzohEYbelkxVP_NkaTQZr5LYQ&bvm=bv.147448319,d.cGw

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiO06a31pzSAhXLyVQKHWDfA0EQFggjMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nrcresearchpress.com%2Fdoi%2Fstory%2F10.4141%2Fnews.2013.10.23.177&usg=AFQjCNFSNRhYGc8O-b8ZXW2znAWlZDCFFg&bvm=bv.147448319,d.cGw

Ungulate predation and ecological roles of wolves and coyotes in eastern North America

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• Accepted manuscript online: 8 January 2017Full publication history
• DOI: 10.1002/eap.1499View/save citation
• Cited by: 0 articles
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• This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/eap.1499

Abstract

Understanding the ecological roles of species that influence ecosystem processes is a central goal of ecology and conservation biology. Eastern coyotes (Canis latrans) have ascended to the role of apex predator across much of eastern North America since the extirpation of wolves (Canis spp.) and there has been considerable confusion regarding their ability to prey on ungulates and their ecological niche relative to wolves.

Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park

Ontario, Canada

Eastern Wolves historically ranged east of the Mississippi

across to the Atlantic,,,,,,,,,Texas to Florida on up the Appalacians

Eastern wolves (C. lycaon) are thought to have been the historical top predator in eastern deciduous forests and have previously been characterized as deer specialists that are inefficient predators of moose because of their smaller size relative to gray wolves (C. lupus). We investigated intrinsic and extrinsic influences on per capita kill rates of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and moose (Alces alces) during winter by sympatric packs of eastern coyotes, eastern wolves, and admixed canids in Ontario,Canada to clarify the predatory ability and ecological roles of the different canid top predators of eastern North America. 

Gray Wolves, larger than Eastern Wolves and Eastern Coyotes

historically found West of the Mississippi, Alaska down to Mexico

with hybridization with Eastern Wolves in the Algonquin Park

region of Canada down through the Northeastern USA

Eastern coyote ancestry within packs negatively influenced per capita total ungulate (deer and moose combined) and moose kill rates. Furthermore, canids in packs dominated by eastern coyote ancestry consumed significantly less ungulate biomass and more anthropogenic food than packs dominated by wolf ancestry.

Eastern Coyotes, a hybrid of Eastern Wolves and Western Coyotes

 Similar to gray wolves in previous studies, eastern wolves preyed on deer where they were available. However, in areas were deer were scarce, eastern wolves killed moose at rates similar to those previously documented for gray wolves at comparable moose densities across North America.

Western Coyote

Eastern coyotes are effective deer predators, but their dietary flexibility and low kill rates on moose suggest they have not replaced the ecological role of wolves in eastern North America.

As so many expert contributors to this blog have postulated in the past(Ecologist George Wuerthner, Biologist John Laundre, Brooks Fahy, Head of PREDATOR DEFENSE), there is no reason for us humans to target carnivores with hunting seasons in the same way that we do with hoofed browsers like deer and Elk.........Carnivores are self-limiting based on prey and space dynamics that have been at play in nature for millenia..............If we were to somehow fund State Game Commissions with a broader array of dollars other than those currently secured via hunting tags and get a wider swath of the adult population involved in wildlife management decision making, it is likely that the sport hunting of carnivores would be greatly curtailed.............And as a 2015 study let by Trent University's Dennis Murray revealed, "current harvest levels for the recently de-listed population of gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States have led to decreased survival and reproduction, smaller packs, social disruption and a reversal from population growth to decline"................. “A population’s growth rate is the sum of individual rates of survival and reproduction, and data show that current policies regulating wolf hunting have caused both to decline substantially"................"In addition, human harvest can dramatically alter the social fabric of wolf populations, as was previously observed among wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park(Ontario, Canada) studied by Prof. Murray and colleagues at Trent University and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry"......... "Combined, the demographic and social consequences of human harvest can be substantive and thereby challenge simple models of population sustainability"

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiI-uThxZXSAhUL8WMKHTZsDp0QFggvMAQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trentu.ca%2Fnewsevents%2FnewsDetail.php%3FnewsId%3D14327&usg=AFQjCNFxDY1JW71f9ydEFD_p1_mc9EXp2w

Trent Researcher Co-Authors Landmark Study on Wolf Conservation

Dr. Dennis Murray collaborates with leading experts to discover carnivore hunting policy does not always align with science

An international group of carnivore biologists, including Trent University’s own, Dr. Dennis Murray, a Canada Research Chair in Integrative Wildlife Conservation, have published a paper in the prestigious journal Science, revealing policies regulating the hunting of large carnivores do not always align with basic scientific data.

The team of researchers who wrote the paper, including scientists with decades of experience studying wolves, lions, African wild dogs, tigers, dingoes and sharks, found that current harvest levels for the recently de-listed population of gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States have led to decreased survival and reproduction, smaller packs, social disruption and a reversal from population growth to decline.
“A population’s growth rate is the sum of individual rates of survival and reproduction, and data show that current policies regulating wolf hunting have caused both to decline substantially,” explains Professor Murray, a study co-author.

Prof. Murray has extensive experience analyzing the demography of wolves. He worked with lead author, Dr. Scott Creel of Montana State University who explains, “Current policies state that half of a wolf population can be shot annually without causing the population to decline. On the basis of ecological theory, this suggestion is not likely to be correct for the wolf, or indeed for any large carnivore.”


The killing of Wolves disrupts pack dynamics and can
drastically alter the ability of remaining pack members
to fulfill their ecosystem services as well as obtaining
enough food to survive(here, Wolves hunting Elk)

Professor Creel, Prof. Murray and other co-authors examined policies regulating hunting within the Northern Rocky Mountain population of wolves using government data on the size and demography of recovering wolf populations. By analyzing population counts, sources of mortality, and harvest rates, the authors report that current levels of harvest exceed potential population gains, and as a consequence have caused the wolf population within the original recovery area to decline.

“Current policies for wolf hunting in the Northern Rockies do not specify a target population size, a maximum number killed or a desired rate of population growth,” explained Dr. David Macdonald of Oxford University, a study author and longtime chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Canid Specialist Group. In addition, human harvest can dramatically alter the social fabric of wolf populations, as was previously observed among wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park studied by Prof. Murray and colleagues at Trent University and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Combined, the demographic and social consequences of human harvest can be substantive and thereby challenge simple models of population sustainability.

This study emphasizes that many large carnivore populations are managed sustainably, including through regulated hunting, but current harvest rates and related policies for western US wolves are not sustainable. The Science study calls for several revisions and clarifications to policies in the Northern Rocky Mountains, where the wolf population faces ecological and societal challenges that are likely to limit its recovery.

More broadly, this research casts light on recent efforts to control wolf populations in some Canadian provinces like British Columbia and Alberta, where removal efforts and harvest incentives have been established.

Prof. Murray adds, “The collective impacts associated with wolf culling in these programs may extend well beyond simple changes in abundance, and it is necessary for agencies to reliably understand the complex downstream impacts of such activities before they are implemented”. Ultimately, in terms of wolf population management and conservation policy, there is no simple substitute for sound data and reliable knowledge.
  

Posted on Thursday, December 17, 2015.

Yesterday, we reported on the "canis-soup" Wolf/coyote admix taking place in Newfoundland, Canada............Today, we take a look at the 2014 Eastern Wolf(algonquin wolf)research done by Trent University researchers John Benson, Kenneth Mills and Brent Patterson .................Found almost entirely within the Algonquin Provncial Park in Ontariio, Canada and thought to be the same Wolf species as the one that is hanging on for dear life on the barrier Islands of North Carolina, the Eastern Wolf is the wolf species that can and does mate with Western Coyotes(as well as the resutlting offspring of that mating-----the Eastern Coyote)................This Eastern Wolf/Coyote hybridization is largely the result of the Eastern Wolf population being so badly decimated since European colonization began in AD 1500..............Eastern Wolves often find it hard to find available mates of their own kind and will choose Coyotes as bed "partners" if the choice is not to mate at all during the one annual heat/gestation period that occurs in Jan-feb of each year.................Eastern Wolves and Western Coyotes are both thought to share an ancient Coyote-like animal as their origen species and this is why researchers feel that the two modern day species can choose to hybridize under duress....................Conversely, Gray Wolves whose ancient wolf ancestor was American in origen, migrated to Europe and Eruasia and subsequently came back to North America as the Gray Wolf...........It wants nothing to do with Coyotes and will in fact kill and limit coyote populations(e.g in Yellowstone Park) where the two species are sympatric...............Interesting to learn from our Trent Research friends that the Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Park has the most success raising young and keeping them alive if in fact a sizeable Beaver population is present in their territory................Easier to hunt than the Moose found in the Park, Beavers provide ample protein for least effort as the 4 to 12 Wolf pups come onto the planet in April/May of each season...............The Wolf/Coyote/Moose studies coming out of the Trent Research Lab are some of the most insightful to be found..............Click onto the link below to read this entire article at your leisure

http://people.trentu.ca/~brentpatterson/index_files/Benson%20et%20al.%202015%20WolfDenRVResourceSelection.pdf

Resource selection by wolves at dens and rendezvous sites in Algonquin park, Canada

September 25, 2014

John F. Benson a,⇑ , Kenneth J. Mills a , Brent R. Patterson a,b a Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada bOntario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8, Canada

abstract

Eastern wolves (Canis lycaon) are a species of special concern in Canada and their geographic range appears to be restricted mainly to Algonquin Provincial Park (APP) in Ontario, Canada.


Algonquin Provincial Park(upper left in green)

Eastern Wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park

 Previous work showed pup survival was relatively low throughout portions of APP which may limit the extent to which this protected area can act as a source of dispersing individuals to adjacent areas. We modeled resource selection by wolves at dens and rendezvous sites to identify environmental variables that were selected and avoided in APP during pup-rearing. 

Beavers provide relatively easy protein for Wolf Packs looking to feed pups of the year

We also quantified differences in resource selection between den and rendezvous sites and investigated links between home-site selection and pup survival. Wolves selected dens closer to wetlands and water, farther from secondary roads, and on steeper slopes relative to rendezvous sites. When we modeled den and rendezvous sites separately, wolves selected wetlands, water, conifer forests and tertiary roads at dens, whereas they selected wetlands and conifer forests at rendezvous sites.

While Eastern Wolves in Algonquin Park

can and do kill Moose, the effort to do so and

the probability of success is much lower than

that associated with killing Beavers

 Packs that lost pups to starvation and intraspecific strife avoided water and selected wetlands and mixed forests at home-sites more than packs that did not lose pups to these mortality agents. 

Previous research showed that pup starvation occurred for packs in APP with lower beaver density in their territories, and our results indicate that these packs selected habitats at dens and rendezvous sites associated with alternative prey (moose). 

Eastern Wolf Pack in Algonquin Provincial Park

Moose are likely more difficult prey than beavers to kill during summer which may contribute to the higher nutrition-related mortality of pups in packs with decreased access to beavers.

 Our results inform eastern wolf conservation efforts and should be considered during forest management and park planning activities in APP. More broadly, our research provides novel insight into temporal differences in home-site selection across the pup-rearing season and the relationship between resource selection and pup mortality. 

There is evidence of 4 Gray Wolves having made their way to the island of Newfoundland, Canada since 2008..............Eastern Coyotes have been on the island since the 1980's................With so few Wolves afoot and Eastern Coyotes aplenty, there have been 11 confirmed Wolf/Coyote offspring born on the island since 2013................Eastern Coyotes have 10-25% Eastern(Algonquin) Wolf genes and as they continue to mate with Gray Wolves, their offspring will exhibit greater degrees of wolf heritage.............. "While they all fall into the 60-pound range, they don’t all look the same"......... “As with hybridization, it doesn’t come out as one feature".......... "So you can have one animal that will take on more of a facial appearance of a wolf than a coyote and another animal could take on a different morphology characteristic"............. "Maybe it’ll have larger paws than an Eastern coyote would, but smaller than a wolf".........."Other features, such as coloration, can come out in different ways".......As in the Great Lakes region, Newfoundland experiencing Gray Wolves, Eastern Coyotes and Eastern(Algonquin Wolves) "shaken and stirred"................ A "canid soup" experiment playing out at lightning speed in front of our eyes----One of the most fascinating wildlife stories of our time!

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.thetelegram.com/news/2017/2/13/eleven-wolf-coyote-hybrids-confirmed-in-newfoundland-since-2013.html&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTcxMjMyNTY0MDMzMTc5MjM2NDYyGjI5OGRhMGI0Mzc5N2FiZmI6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNFBEmRYFpHbQybV_axi8g0Xpi4Vgg

Eleven wolf/coyote hybrids confirmed in Newfoundland since 2013

Louis Power; Feb 13, 2017

The Telegram

A Labrador wolf (grey wolf) is larger than an Eastern Coyote. There have been four confirmed grey wolves caught on the island of Newfoundland since 2008.

©John Pisapio, NL Wildlife Division

Wolves and coyotes have been mating on the island of Newfoundland, DNA testing keeps showing, and the province’s director of wildlife is monitoring the situation with great interest.

The one that was most recently in the news — a hybrid trapped in the fall near Lewis Lake by Botwood resident Kevin Strowbridge — was one of 11 that have been confirmed here since 2013, John Blake told The Telegram.

The 11 were harvested over a large portion of the island, from the Baie Verte Peninsula to the Bonavista Peninsula, and a bit inland. Only one — which was caught at Gaff Topsails in 2016 — had crossed over the highway.

“These 11 are certainly pointing to hybridization with grey wolves, which we know we’ve had at least four here on the island since 2008,” said Blake. “It’s just adding to the genetic mix that’s already very hybrid. The eastern Coyote came here in the 1980s. That already had Algonquin wolf as part of its genetic makeup, but very, very small percentages of it would have been wolf.

“What these 11 are showing us is that yes, there has been introgression of the more pure grey wolf — the Labrador grey wolf — into our Eastern coyote genetic mix here on the island.”


Newfoundland and Labrador form the most easterly province of Canada. On Newfoundland island, the Norse archaeological site L'Anse aux Meadows is the reputed settlement of Viking explorer Leif Erikson.

He said he has seen some of the hybrids up close and others in pictures, and while they all fall into the 60-pound range, they don’t all look the same.

“As with hybridization, it doesn’t come out as one feature. So you can have one animal that will take on more of a facial appearance of a wolf than a coyote, and another animal could take on a different morphology characteristic. Maybe it’ll have larger paws than an Eastern coyote would, but smaller than a wolf.” He said other features, such as coloration, can come out in different ways.

“The thing to remember, too, is there’s actually domestic dog in the genetic makeup of the animals that we’re talking about, so at some point — whether it was through the eastern coyotes that emigrated to Newfoundland, or more recently in breeding with dogs — there is domestic dog genetic material in some of these animals. It’s a really dog’s breakfast — pardon the pun. A genetic soup.”

While this may be news in Newfoundland, it’s by no means abnormal. Blake said the same scenario is playing out in Quebec and Ontario, with hybridization of several species occurring.

“As climate changes, as habitat changes, as we manipulate and change landscapes, these things are going to happen. Species that were once separated — maybe geographically, maybe from a reproductive capacity perspective — if they become a little bit more aligned through whatever reason, whether it’s climate change or habitat change or what have you, well, there’s a chance at hybridization that occurs, and that’s certainly what we saw with Eastern coyotes and wolves in North America,” he said.

“This is not unique to Newfoundland, by no means. It’s new, and therefore interesting, and how it plays out is going to be interesting and it may in fact have an impact on how we manage wildlife in the future.”

Eastern Coyotes took up residence in Newfoundland in the

1980's

”

DNA testing has confirmed that at least four grey wolves have been caught on the island since 2008, but Blake said he doesn’t think it’s fair at this point to say there’s an established population of them in Newfoundland; it’s just as likely the hybrids were the result of incidental immigrations from Labrador over the years. The department strongly suspects the wolves would have migrated via marine ice, the way polar bears sometimes do.

“Wolves don’t generally do that. They’re very well known in coastal Labrador areas, but usually within sight of land. But any kind of occurrence could have caused that to change — certainly the depletion of their primary food supply in Labrador, ie. Caribou, may have caused them to venture further than they usually would,” Blake said.

Established population or no, the fact that wolves are showing up in Newfoundland is not insignificant. Wolves have gone unreported on the island since the Newfoundland wolf — also known as the canis lupus beothucus — was extirpated in the 1930s.

“1934, I think, is when the last recorded known animal that was shot. So we haven’t had wolves on the island since then — not that we know of — until 2008. I emphasize not that we know of because there could have been instances of immigration from Labrador during that period and we wouldn’t have known about it,” said Blake.

Coyotes settled in

Coyotes, although not technically native to Newfoundland, found their way to the west coast in the mid-1980s, spreading east across the island until they were established all the way to the eastern Avalon Peninsula. Because they became established so naturally, they are considered a native species.

Sightings of the canines are reported fairly regularly, but Blake said there’s no indication the population is rising; public awareness could simply be increasing.

“It’s a difficult thing to quantify. All I can say is that it seems like our Eastern coyote harvest — that’s how we measure trends — is fairly stable, about 1,000, 1,100 animals a year. And that really hasn’t changed,” he said.

“The reality of this is that Newfoundland and Labrador is a very rural province, and we do live in the heart of a lot of wildlife habitat —whether that’s for moose or black bears in central or western Newfoundland, or Eastern coyotes. So it’s not uncommon to have wildlife interact with humans n that kind of a level, on that kind of a scale.”

Tracking hybrids

The Department of Environment and Wildlife is asking hunters and trappers who come across large coyotes — those weighing more than the average 16 or 17 kg — to get in touch so testing can be done on the carcass.

“It is our desire to continue to monitor the existence of any hybrids and/or any wolf — pure wolf — that might be present in order to get an idea of the scale and range expansion, if any, of these animals,” said Blake.

In the meantime, he’s interested to see what ecological implications the hybrids could bring to the island.

“This is a new predator — if, in fact, it becomes established — and there’s a fairly logical assumption that could be made that hybrids will be larger than the Eastern coyote, but smaller than the wolf. How that morphology, how their behaviour, how their diet is all going to impact on our ecology is right now unknown.”