Firstly Bill Green has been a mainstay in Maine news most of my life. An interesting handful of facts on the Eastern Coyote. At the Maine State museum you can see the old pelts and stuffed timberwolf that used to live here. http://www.wcsh6.com/entertainment/.../new-wolf-hybrid-takes-old-in-maine/430178289 MORRILL, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — "Maine used to be inhabited by wolves which stalked deer and other animals under the canopy of trees. As Europeans moved in and cleared farmland, the wolves were extirpated. They were a threat to livestock and they did not thrive in the open spaces that were created by farms. The Western coyote moved in. This 30-pound canid thrived in the newly opened space. Historically, the coyote was the wolf's prey. However, by 1919, the wolf viewed the smaller canid differently and the two began to mate. This happened in Canada and around the Great Lakes. The result was hybridization. The crossing of these animals produced the coyote that we see in Maine today. Originally thought to be the Western coyote, this new hybrid is perfectly adapted to Maine. "It's a bigger animal," said Dr. Paula T. Work of the Maine State Museum. "It has a bushy tail, it's a taller animal and it's about twice the weight of the Western coyote." Like its wolf predecessors, it thrives in the forested North. Like its coyote predecessors, it thrives around Maine's more populated areas where the land is more open." © 2017 WCSH-TV
I watched a great Nova special about the Coywolf. It mentions a lot of the same points. Here in East Tennessee I've seen some pretty big coyotes. It's an interesting look into how animals adapt and take advantage of opportunities.
A guy named Dan Flores has a book about coyotes and their history that is supposed to be good. He was recently on Joe Rogan's podcast and has been on Rinella's. I've learned a lot about them, and other animals, listening to his interviews.
I live in NWNJ and I've never been fortunate enough to see a coyote. Black bear, deer, skunks, opossum, rabbits, ground squirrel and raccoons, but no coyotes. Wish I would.
A trapper friend of mine says he traps 60 + lb coyotes fairly often. Around here they are plentiful and I see them behind the barn or on walks with the dogs a couple times a month. You can hear them early in the mornings. Many of the places around here have sheep and goats so that is what attracts them. They are very capable of adapting to the environment unlike the quail and grouse I like to hunt.
^ Neither are most people. Which is why I ditched it. Sorry. Just a night off for me (which are rare now). Back to coyotes ... I know they're around here. Some tenants in my building report occasionally seeing them, even one walking through the parking lot. I want to learn the scat better to gauge population size.
Sooo... I live near a state correctional institution and can hear the noon whistle. Of course I'm not usually home at noon. However I happened to be one day last week for a delivery. Whistle blows at noon... a few seconds later I hear the coyotes yelping. First time I've ever heard coyotes during the day. It was warm and sunny too.... odd. So I'm home again today at noon... whistle blows and again a few seconds later I hear the coyotes. Same thing... bright and sunny afternoon. So now I'm wondering if they do that everyday in response to the noon whistle... really seems odd.
Not odd at all. Sometimes we'll use a siren to get them to howl and give away their location. I usually do this at night but as you just realized, it works in the day too.
That's really a pretty fascinating and useful bit of info there. Useful for those who wish to locate coyotes, whether to move away from them or closer. Fascinating for me as a biologist/ecologist/evolution person. Why do they do that? If a vicious band of humans or humanoids that hunted meat heard a siren, they'd be quiet, trying to remain undetected. Hypothesis 1: the coyotes respond to the siren as if it were another pack, and they're putting down auditory territory boundaries. Hypothesis 2: they're just looking for an excuse to practice for a full moon when they want to attract girls. They use the siren pitch to tune their voices to tenor, etc.
All the neighborhood dogs howl when the fire trucks are leaving the station with their sirens blasting.
