Field update for Boston and Cape Cod: Boston, Cape Cod, captive, miscellaneous...

Boston update

In more positive news, we recently (8/26/04) captured one of Jet and Maeve's pups in a baited box trap - named Jem (see pictures below). Jet and Maeve are doing well and regularly use their small (~ 1 sq. mile) territory encompassing mostly 4 cemeteries in the urban north Boston area. We have seen four pups with them, one of which we now get to track. Jem was a 22 lb less than 5 month old female and we gave her an adult sized collar with foam attached to allow her to grow into it. As usual, we handled her with help from Bob Binder and his staff at the Saugus Animal Hospital. Tracking the three of them in their urbanized home range will give remarkable insights into their ecology and group cohesion. For example, we recently observed Maeve with a rabbit and a squirrel in her mouth on separate occassions. In addition, we continue to intermittently see a third coyote, grayish in color within their range. Because we assume that both Jet and Maeve are first time breeders based on age and history of coyotes in that area we have no idea who that coyote could be. Possibly a sibling of Jet or Maeve? Definitive answers would provide interesting information previously not known in coyote ecology (i.e., a coyote group/pack is throught to be a mated pair and their pups).

Additionally, we continue to unsuccessfully netlaunch in new areas. In one area, we watched a beautiful adult coyote from 1 - 3:30 AM. It repeatedly traveled around the area (never noticing us in a car) but would not approach and stay at the bait like Jet did. Frustraing indeed...However, getting to see a coyote that close is certainly an amazing and privledging experience especially within the urban route 128 belt around Boston.

Of course, by the fall we hope to add to our capture total in north Boston. In other news, we still have not located Fog and do not know her whereabouts but assume she is west of Boston somewhere.

Dave and former Revere High student Janelle with Jem.

Cape Cod update

We continue to track Sill, Casper, Cake, and Carm in their usual territories. However, Cake and Carm's collars are starting to die and probably will be too weak to track by this fall. We hope to catch and track more coyotes this fall or winter. In the meantime, however, these coyotes have given us wonderful data especially Casper and Sill who have both been around for a while (8-9 and 5 years).

Unfortunately, other obligations like my PhD work and the north Boston study have consumed a lot of my free time making it difficult to collect boat-loads of data on these coyotes. But frequent sights of these coyotes indicate that they are healthy and doing well (Sill's leg seems to be fine now) - always a good sign!

Zoo update

Lupe, Cane and Caon are still doing well at the Stone Zoo. Lupe is an impressive male, weighing 55 lb today with Cane (43-44 lb this month), and Caon (36) being quite healthy females. I continue to interact with them regularly.

Miscellaneous

I will be conducting the education part of my PhD this fall whereby I will be introducing curriculum to a few high school classrooms and will be assessing the outcomes of those interventions. Therefore, my updates will be sporadic and shorter (for example, little to no pictures) during the fall and probably winter. However, I will try to keep our research updated at least periodically as Jem matures and Jet and Maeve continue to be tracked in Boston. Also, I am writing a book and once I get some time freed up from my dissertation work I hope to find a publisher to print the book. Basically the book is about our research. I give stories associated with our work and also explain what we have found (e.g., territoriality, movement patterns). I attempt to give a positive spin to a much maligned animal and hope that our great pictures make the book a seller so as many people as possible can learn about coyotes. Educating people on coyote biology is one of the best ways, in my opinion, to teach people on how to learn to live with coyotes.