A quick "primer-reminder of the habits of Eastern Coyotes...................NY State has a good 20-30,000 Coyotes at the height of Summer(including surviving pups of the year)............................As the saying goes, "IF YOU CAN MAKE IT IN NY, YOU CAN MAKE IT ANYWHERE" and the Eastern Coyote has become a true"top dog" mid-trophic carnivore across forest, field, mountain, suburbs and urban locales(including NYC),,,,,,,,,,With up to 25% Eastern Wolf genes, adults range from 35 to 45 pounds, with larger males exceeding 50 pounds"............... "Some may get bigger, but that is uncommon".,,,,,,,,They easily co-exist with NY's other dominant carnivore, the Black Bear.........Without Eastern Wolves and Pumas in the state, Coyotes fill every niche and cranny, wherever a sliver of cover exists, they exploit it to the fullest..............As with all Coyotes, one litter annually arrives in April with 4 to 6 pups(up to 12 where Coyotes are hunted and persecuted)................."In the wilds of the Adirondack and Catskill Mountains,average territory for a family unit(not a pack) might be 15 to 20 square miles"................"In agricultural areas, the range is about 10 square miles, and in suburban/urban communities it is even smaller — generally 2 to 3 square miles".....................While coyotes have learned to be nocturnal so as to best coexist around us human animals, they can be active all during the daytime and often are especially during pup raising season in the Spring....................."Pups generally disperse from September to March but tend to stay with parents longer if there is a need to hunt deer"...................... "A dominant pair will occasionally allow a female pup from the previous year to help raise their next litter".................. "Dispersed juveniles often band together, which offers some security when crossing territories established by other coyotes".......................Dogs are competitors and as we know, Coyotes will look to kill those smaller than themselves................Domestic cats that wander can and do become a meal......................However, the opportunistic and generalist diet of the Coyotes most often revolves around rodents, small mammals, birds, eggs, newborn deer fawns, ..................In the Summer, Coyotes love to dine on berries, insects,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Hard Winters that kill off deer and our auto collision killed deer are scavenged by Coyotes as well..................Like us human animals, they are a survivor, with multiple culinary tastes, able to live anywhere, resistant to persecution, smart as a whip.....................Any seasoned hunter/outdoorsman has the ultmate respect for our most adapatable mammal--both the Western and Eastern Coyote

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Woods & Waters: Coyotes are plentiful, but wary wildlife seldom seen

By JOHN ADAMSKI
WOODS & WATERS

PUBLISHED: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2017

A week ago Sunday, as I was working at the computer just after dark, I heard what sounded like a siren at first coming up the hill on the road where I live. It puzzled me because I live on an unpopulated gravel back road, and the stretch below my place is seasonal and not maintained during the winter. Then my dog, which had been curled up nearby, went bonkers — running from window to window barking up a storm.


NY Coyotes in various habitat including Queens, NYC

That’s when I realized that it wasn’t a siren at all. It was a pack of coyotes. And they were close. Very close.

My dog was anxiously barking and whimpering at the door so I let her out onto the gated deck where she continued to voice her displeasure with the howling wild canines. Her reprimand worked. It silenced the coyotes, and they slipped away in the darkness.

But she kept on barking for another half hour just to let them know whose territory this really was. Tracks in the snow showed that there were three of them and that they had come within 50 feet of the house.

The next morning, when I walked out to my roadside newspaper tube, I noticed that the woods were permeated with the skunk-like aroma of coyote urine. That’s when it occurred to me that February is coyote mating season. What we heard the night before was most likely a rivalry over a romantic interlude.

State’s top predator

Today the Eastern Coyote, or Canis latrans, is the Empire State’s top predator. If that’s not surprising, consider that coyotes didn’t exist in New York prior to the 1930s.

Most biologists believe that in the early 1900s, after timber wolves disappeared from eastern forests, western coyotes began an eastward migration to fill the void, which brought them around the wild Canadian shorelines of the Great Lakes. Along the way, they are thought to have interbred with Canadian wolves, creating a distinct subspecies that could explain why the Eastern Coyote is larger than its western cousin.

Lacking competition, the coyote gradually established itself at the top of New York’s predatory food chain.

Eastern Coyote characteristics

The Eastern Coyote resembles a medium-sized German Shepherd dog, but with a pointier snout and a long, thick, grayish-tan to reddish-blond coat, often streaked with black. Its trademark bushy tail, which it carries pointed downward, is what coined its nickname of “brush wolf.” Adults range from 35 to 45 pounds, with larger males exceeding 50 pounds. Some may get bigger, but that is uncommon.

When breeding takes place in February, territories are marked with the skunk-like aroma of coyote urine. Four to six pups — sometimes more — are born in early April. Dens are usually remodeled fox or woodchuck burrows. Bones and feathers scattered in front of a large tunnel are sure indications that it is a coyote den.

According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, a conservative statewide summertime coyote population estimate — including pups — ranges between 20,000 and 30,000 animals.

A coyote’s range depends on its habitat. An average territory in the Adirondacks might be 15 to 20 square miles. In agricultural areas, the range is about 10 square miles, and in suburban communities it is even smaller — generally 2 to 3 square miles.

Established coyote pairs are territorial. They do not form a true pack like wolves, but they will hunt in family groups. Pups generally disperse from September to March but tend to stay with parents longer if there is a need to hunt deer. A dominant pair will occasionally allow a female pup from the previous year to help raise their next litter. Dispersed juveniles often band together, which offers some security when crossing territories established by other coyotes.

Coyotes are opportunists and will eat whatever is easiest to find or catch, and their diets may change depending on the season. In the spring, they might eat small mammals or fledgling birds. Ground nesters like turkeys, pheasants and ruffed grouse are particularly vulnerable. So are newborn fawns. During the summer, coyotes feed on berries, insects and rodents. They rely on grasshoppers and small mammals in the fall. As winter becomes harder and small mammal populations decline, coyotes may even turn to whitetail deer. Road-killed deer are also an important food source.

Heard, not seen

If coyotes are so plentiful, how come we seldom see them?

Coyotes are among the wariest of all wild animals and have the ability to simply melt into the landscape. In addition, they are primarily crepuscular — active at dawn and dusk — although they will hunt all day and night when feeding pups. The more coyotes are pursued, the more nocturnal they become.

For most people, a coyote experience doesn’t involve seeing them at all — it’s hearing them — usually on frosty mornings, clear moonlit evenings or whenever the local fire whistle goes off.

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John Adamski of Dansville has been a professional nature photographer and outdoors writer for almost 40 years. His work has appeared in Life in the Finger Lakes magazine and Adirondack Life, among others. His earlier careers included fish and wildlife management in the Adirondacks and residential design/build. He has also been involved in the development of the Finger Lakes Museum and Aquarium in Keuka Park. His “Woods & Waters” column appears twice a month in The Livingston County News. Contact him at (585) 746-6247 or email at john@jbadamsgallery.com.