[JRinKY]

Theo, the first Coyotes I ever heard of in this area were in the mid-1970's. A trapper I knew then caught one in a steel trap about 1975; didn't know what it was and released it thinking he had caught someones "little dog." This is about the time the all knowing Ky Fish and Game Dept released the Red Wolves in LBL management area. They still won't own up to releasing the coyotes. I killed my first one about 1985 and they were rare then.

They were harmless little varmits back then but, as the population exploded they began to "pack up" and exhibit more aggressive wolf like behavior. I started having livestock predation problems 3 or 4 years ago; 2 summers ago they began running my catle throught the electric fences. I thought it was Deer, until my son caught them in the act one night. We declared War on them last year and my son and I killed 19 within a mile radius of my house. A total of 37 were killed in this same small area by several shooters; many of their photos appeared on this Varmits Den last winter.

The livestock predation has about stopped in my area, but I have killed 8 this winter so far. Someone wanted to see photos as to coat color; I don't have the photos saved as I had a Komputer Krash but most were darker than the ones I see on her from the West. George in Ky shot a Black one last year and there is a totally White one running around in my area but I have not personally seen it. (probably Albinio).

 

[JRinKY]

Here is a photo of

the last one I shot I think.

 

[StevenD]

That appears to have a lot more red in it than what we have in western CO

Thanks

 

[Theo]

It all sounds very familiar. I was talking to my father on the phone over the weekend asking him if he remembers when those red wolves were released. I remember him reading it to me from the newspaper during that time in the 70's. He had forgotten about it, but I remember it very well. The farmers were up in arms about it for good reason. We didn't have any troubles on our place, but many farmers reported cattle being run through fences at night.

I used to deer hunt over in Spencer County before Taylorsville Lake was made and there were coyotes there then. That was in the late 70's. I also hunted in Owen County in the mid and late 80's. There were lots of coyotes there, but the only time people were able to shoot them was from deer stands early in the morning. Calling them didn't seem to work at all and most hunters gave up on that.

I read more recently about a group of captive red wolves in a large enclosure in western North Carolina. There was a big storm and trees fell on the fences and of course the wolves left. I did lots of hunting around central Kentucky and killed a few coyotes, but I usually killed them in the Spring when the young groundhogs were first coming out. That's when you'll see coyotes out in the daytime. Just a brief period when they are taking advantage of easy pickens on dumb little groundhogs. That period only lasts a few weeks though. I've seen both red foxes and coyotes carrying baby groundhogs in their mouths during that time.

I'm convinced that what we have in the east in most places is a mixture of coyotes that moved in from the west to take advantage of increasing deer numbers, a few red wolves that got away from pens or were intentially released, and maybe a small percentage of domestic dogs that bred successfully with wild canids when they were first getting established. I've also hunted coyotes in Maine extenstively and can tell you that is a different animal both in size and behavior patterns to coyotes in the west.

 

[Theo]

Somebody posted a photo of a coyote they'd shot with their wife holding it's head up using a big pair of gloves. This was right before the board switched over to the new format. Don't know if that was JRinKY or Bill in KY. Anyway, that one appeared to have more wolfish features from what I remember. It had a wider face, less pointed muzzle, and thicker, heavier looking legs and feet. I think that's evidence of the red wolf influence in their genetic makeup even though they are not pure red wolves.

 

[StevenD]

Red Wolves in NC

Gentlemen:

I apologize for interjecting here, but I discovered another reference to the subject of red wolves in NC that you may find interesting. There is quite a discussion on the interbreeding with the red wolf and the attempt to keep the red wolf line "coyote free". But I can't tell if it is re-hash of existing references or new DNA research data.

Neither does it explain the coyotes elsewhere in the northeast, as far as Newfoundland that appear to be a hybrid.

http://www.fws.gov/alligatorriver/rwnews/rwnews2-1.pdf

But this next article is discussing re-introduction of the grey wolf into the Adirondacks, which seems to be more "fuzzy logic" to me. By their own admission, the grey wolf feeds heavily on larger mammals, and unless I am mistaken, the number of caribou and moose left in the Adirondacks is a little low. That leaves only deer... and red wolves, I guess, since they would like to remove the coyote from the equation altogether. So, if they were introduced directly, it was a mistake. However, I do believe that animal is extremely capable of spreading on it's own. It has been listed as the latest predator to make the scene in Florida, I think just in the last decade.

http://www.apnmag.com/natural selections/spring03/reintroduction of wolves.htm

 

[Jim Corbett]

Interesting thread to someone who's seen the coyote explosion in LBL over the last 20 years. A friend who worked in forestry there swore they never "purposely" released red wolves there - but an "outsider" may have let some loose. In any event, I will swear that the reddish canine I saw on 2 occasions some years ago (15 or more) in area 10 was considerably larger than any coyote I've ever seen. This, of course, doesn't rule out the possibility of it (and other "sightings") being a coy-dog. I'm told by those in the county that there are a number of these now and they seem more aggressive than your typical coyote.