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urbpanWith apologies to the Crow, my favorite Urban Animal.
There are three species of wild dog in the genus Canis in New England. The red wolf (Canis rufus), of the American South teeters on the brink of extinction. The gray wolf (Canis lupus), the wolf of folklore, is found around the Arctic parts of the world, a ghost of the wilderness, only seen by few. The coyote (C. latrans), however is increasing in number and expanding its range.
The coyote is thought to be originally a creature of the grasslands, the great American prairie. One of the coyote's many names, "prairie wolf," is as apt as any nickname. But modern history is revealing that the coyote is not bound by landscape. It has spread from the Great Plains up and over the mountain ranges in the East and West, and into the cities. The first coyotes in New England were noticed in the 1930's. By the 1950's we had them in Massachusetts. From his grassland roots he has spread to claim the area from Los Angeles to Cape Cod.
What has changed? Why are there more coyotes, especially near cities? Coyotes, like most wild animals, don't like to come near people. As it turns out, however, coyotes prefer the company of humans to the company of wolves. Dogs are territorial animals, and the larger and more powerful C.lupus will not suffer the presence of the smaller C.latrans. There are, you will notice, no wolves in our cities.
The settling of North America included scouring the land of large predators. During the 19th century New England said goodbye forever, (and good riddance) to the mountain lion, the wolverine, the Canadian lynx and the gray wolf. As many subspecies of wolves were driven to extinction, and many others exiled to Canada and Alaska, the coyotes found new lands free from an ancient enemy.
These new territories were relatively poor ecosystems with few large prey animals (humans had nearly eliminated the beaver, the moose, white-tailed deer and the wild turkey). The wolf hunts in family groups, taking down large animals. The coyote prefers to hunt alone, collecting rabbits and mice and other small mammals. Plant material makes up a significant minority of their diet. The coyote has found that where humans settle and build, there is an abundance of small mammals like mice, and cats; there is copious waste food left in piles and bins, to scavenge.
Before the twentieth century, all the wild species of Canis were percecuted in North America. There were bounties to be had, lambs and calves to be protected, and furs to be collected and sold. Wild dogs were poisoned, shot, trapped and tortured; they were despised by all--even a child knows what animal is Big and Bad. But times, thank goodness, change, and wolves are now loved by many. They are a protected species (though wolf hunting persists in places where wolves persist) and even coyote killing has fallen out of vogue. The coyote suffers now from its image as a killer of pets, hated by those who somehow believe that cats have a greater right to the outside than a wild animal. The fear of a coyote attacking a child runs high in the suburbs where they occur, and they are haunted by the very real threat of rabies.
But the coyote is our own creation. Ironically, our hatred of the wolf has caused us to invite the coyote to town. How much wildness will we tolerate, and how close will we let it come? If we had tolerated wolves in our woods, we would not now have coyotes in our villages.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_latrans.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_lupus.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_rufus.html
There are three species of wild dog in the genus Canis in New England. The red wolf (Canis rufus), of the American South teeters on the brink of extinction. The gray wolf (Canis lupus), the wolf of folklore, is found around the Arctic parts of the world, a ghost of the wilderness, only seen by few. The coyote (C. latrans), however is increasing in number and expanding its range.
The coyote is thought to be originally a creature of the grasslands, the great American prairie. One of the coyote's many names, "prairie wolf," is as apt as any nickname. But modern history is revealing that the coyote is not bound by landscape. It has spread from the Great Plains up and over the mountain ranges in the East and West, and into the cities. The first coyotes in New England were noticed in the 1930's. By the 1950's we had them in Massachusetts. From his grassland roots he has spread to claim the area from Los Angeles to Cape Cod.
What has changed? Why are there more coyotes, especially near cities? Coyotes, like most wild animals, don't like to come near people. As it turns out, however, coyotes prefer the company of humans to the company of wolves. Dogs are territorial animals, and the larger and more powerful C.lupus will not suffer the presence of the smaller C.latrans. There are, you will notice, no wolves in our cities.
The settling of North America included scouring the land of large predators. During the 19th century New England said goodbye forever, (and good riddance) to the mountain lion, the wolverine, the Canadian lynx and the gray wolf. As many subspecies of wolves were driven to extinction, and many others exiled to Canada and Alaska, the coyotes found new lands free from an ancient enemy.
These new territories were relatively poor ecosystems with few large prey animals (humans had nearly eliminated the beaver, the moose, white-tailed deer and the wild turkey). The wolf hunts in family groups, taking down large animals. The coyote prefers to hunt alone, collecting rabbits and mice and other small mammals. Plant material makes up a significant minority of their diet. The coyote has found that where humans settle and build, there is an abundance of small mammals like mice, and cats; there is copious waste food left in piles and bins, to scavenge.
Before the twentieth century, all the wild species of Canis were percecuted in North America. There were bounties to be had, lambs and calves to be protected, and furs to be collected and sold. Wild dogs were poisoned, shot, trapped and tortured; they were despised by all--even a child knows what animal is Big and Bad. But times, thank goodness, change, and wolves are now loved by many. They are a protected species (though wolf hunting persists in places where wolves persist) and even coyote killing has fallen out of vogue. The coyote suffers now from its image as a killer of pets, hated by those who somehow believe that cats have a greater right to the outside than a wild animal. The fear of a coyote attacking a child runs high in the suburbs where they occur, and they are haunted by the very real threat of rabies.
But the coyote is our own creation. Ironically, our hatred of the wolf has caused us to invite the coyote to town. How much wildness will we tolerate, and how close will we let it come? If we had tolerated wolves in our woods, we would not now have coyotes in our villages.
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_latrans.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_lupus.html
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_rufus.html
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no subject
Date: 2004-06-22 10:36 am (UTC)did you know that in areas with coyotes in N.E., red foxes prefer to live by big bodies of water, as coyotes hate swimming and thus their terrritories rarely abut said bodies? i've always found that fascinating. friends with cabins up north near lakes say that there are tons of red foxes around . . .
no subject
Date: 2004-06-22 01:06 pm (UTC)When there is abundant large game the coyote will hunt in packs. However they prefer to hunt alone, collecting rabbits and mice and other small mammals.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-22 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-22 02:04 pm (UTC)The gray wolf... is found around the Arctic parts of the world
are they only found in the Arctic? I was under the impression they were living much more south, or perhaps it was a pack of red wolves whose tracks I was folling along a frozen river.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-23 05:39 am (UTC)I need to be more clear, I guess. Gray wolves are found in the Northern Hemisphere, in North America as far south as Montana, and in Europe quite a bit farther south (there's a relict population in Italy (!)).
no subject
Date: 2004-06-23 06:18 am (UTC)Did you follow that controversy about the bears in france?
no subject
Date: 2004-06-24 09:34 am (UTC)I don't know about it, let me do some research.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-22 02:27 pm (UTC)But modern history is revealing that the coyote is not bound by landscape.
It's interesting that the coyote seems to be exactly the proto-dog the coppingers talk about.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-23 05:42 am (UTC)It's interesting that the coyote seems to be exactly the proto-dog the coppingers talk about.
I thought that, too. It makes me wonder about the Asian subspecies of gray wolf (that domestic dogs derive from). Are they coyote-like? Is there no coyote-like species there? (Isn't there an Asian wild dog called a dhole? Is that south asia?)
Always more questions!
no subject
Date: 2004-06-23 08:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-06-23 08:31 am (UTC)they don't look especially like village dogs.