Do Coywolves(Eastern Coyotes) fulfill the ecological function of the the Eastern Wolf(C.lycaon)?

Is our 30-45 pound Eastern Coyote(coywolf) fulfilling the historical ecological function that its near cousin, the Eastern wolf(c.lycaon) historically fulfilled at the time of European contact.........that of preying on moose, deer, elk, caribou and beaver?

Both pre-blog and now into the new era of coyotes-wolves-cougars.blogspot.com postings, we have asked this question and examined evidence from various researchers both pro and con. Going back to the mid 1990's, Brent Patterson, Lawrence Benjamin and Fracois Messier conducted coyote food habit studies up in Nova Scotia which revealed that snowshoe hare and white tail deer were the primary food items on the coyote menu year round. Other small animals, reptiles, domestic cats/dogs and fruits were also important dietary components over the course of any given year.

Elastic in their food choices(as a previous Jon Way article revealed about coyote consumption of 17 year cicadas), coyotes are considered food generalists with little need to distinguish between prey items. However, Patterson and team concluded that when easily available(fawns in early Summer and adult deer during severe winters with high snowfall totals), coyotes prefer to seek out deer even when snowshoe hare are available in high densities. Seems that nutritionally, deer meat contains more fat than hare meat and represents a more "profitable" catch for the effort expended.

While temperatures may be rising, the amount of moisture in the air across the Northeast is also rising resulting in heavier than normal rain and snowfalls during the the past 15 years. With Eastern Coyotes tendency to "pack up" and hunt in family groups, the taking of adult deer may accelerate in the years ahead during periods of high snowfall. Combined with fawn removal in Summer, our Eastern Coyote might provide some curtailment of white tail populations. That said, there is little evidence that Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire,  Massachusetts Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania's deer herds are decreasing. 

With Moose making a strong comeback as far South as New York and Beaver on the rebound, it still seems to this reporter that the need for the 90-100 pound Eastern Wolf(c.lycaon) to return to the East is critical if we are to keep optimum plant and animal diversity in our Forests. Bring on the Wolves...............Perhaps there will be further wolf/coyote hybridization.................perhaps the wolves will cull the coyote population as has been the case with our larger Gray Wolves(C.lupus)  West of the Mississippi.

I am for taking the chance on bringing both canids into the system and let nature determine the outcome................Too many herbivores without the tooth and claw of the full predator-suite dims the vibrancy of our woodlands......................Bring back the Elk and Caribou as well making sure that in that process the Wolf and the Cougar join the predator matrix along with the Coyotes so that optimum health returns to our Eastern Woodland Forest!

click here to read Prey Switching and feeding habits of Eastern Coyotes