Hammond 1 Coyote Presence At IslandWood Natural History Investigation Fall 2011 Winter 2012 By Stacey Hammond
Hammond 2 Stacey Hammond Stan Rullman and Greg Schayes Natural History 12 February 2012 ABSTRACT INVESTIGATION QUESTION/INTRO TOPIC The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of coyote presence at IslandWood through documentation of coyote sightings, tracks, and scat. The study was conducted by tracking coyotes, photographing coyotes with camera traps, and collecting observations and data from IslandWood staff and graduate students who found coyote scat, tracks, and sightings. The results show that there is a significant presence of coyotes at IslandWood in the winter. BACKGROUND RESEARCH The Name: The name coyote comes form coyotl, an Aztec word. The Latin name is Canis Latrans, which means barking dog ("Animals Creature Features ). Appearance: Adult coyotes can be 23 25 inches high and 3.5 4.3 feet long. Adults can weigh between 20 50 pounds, which is equivalent to the weight of a medium size dog ("Animals Creature Features ). Coyotes have a grayish brown to yellowish gray coat on the upper part with a white or buff colored throat and belly. They also have reddish brown markings on the legs, sides of head, paws, and muzzle. The tail has a black tip with a scent gland located on the dorsal base. Coyotes shed at the beginning of May, which lasts until July (Wikipedia Contributors). Mating/Young: Coyotes choose a mate when they are two years old. Female coyotes give birth to 1 12 pups each spring. Both the male and female coyotes care for their young. The
Hammond 3 young feed off food that has been chewed, swallowed, and thrown up by their parents ("Animals Creature Features ). Communication: Coyotes have 11 different communication sounds ("Animals Creature Features ). Coyote calls are high pitched and described like a howl, yip, yelp, and bark. They can be long rising with a falling note or howl, followed by a series of short yips. Coyotes are most often heard at dusk or night and are most common during the mating season spring and in the fall when pups leave their home to find new territories. Coyotes call their pack with a one high note howl and when the pack joins, they howl at a higher pitch followed by yips and yelps (Wikipedia Contributors). Social Organization: Though coyotes have been observed to travel in large groups, they primarily hunt in pairs. Typical packs consist of six, closely related adults, yearlings and young (Wikipedia Contributors). Coyotes social organizations vary. Coyotes live alone if sick, disabled, or when dispersing to new areas as a juvenile. They can be recruited as new mates or pack members. The basic unit is the mated pair. Mating coyotes sometimes live together for life, using the same den each year. Coyotes that live in packs usually live with 3 7 members including a mated pair and offspring. They travel in the pack with a well defined territory of 8 square miles, marked by boundaries of their urine and feces. Most packs are seen in the winter when there are more deer or elk available (Stokes 268 269). Migration: Coyotes have adapted and expanded their geographic and ecological range despite individual and government efforts to eradicate them through hunting, poisoning, and trapping programs. Coyotes are often viewed as pests and a threat to livestock and pets. The government has supported programs to take care of the coyote problem. Coyotes at one time lived primarily in the plains of the southwest and west. Now, they inhabit urban,
Hammond 4 suburban, and rural landscapes throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. In areas where wolf populations have declined, coyotes have moved in as the main predator, while developing ecological niches to survive in urban and suburban habitats (Lavine 1). Coyotes came to the Puget Sound soon after it was colonized. Their population increased as the grey wolf populations shrank. Coyotes are found all across Washington even on Whidbey and Bainbridge Islands. Their population on Bainbridge Island is not known but island residents see them crossing roads and rummaging through garbage (Durkin 2 3). Habitats: Coyotes are only native to North America ("Animals Creature Features ). There are two different types of coyote populations. Transient coyotes do not stay in one territory or breed and they usually travel alone. Their home range is larger than territorial coyotes, who remain in one place. Transient coyotes ranges overlap with other transients and they make up a significant part of the coyote population (Larrucea, Brussard, Jaeger, and Barrett 1682). Coyotes are nocturnal but can be spotted during the daytime. They were once diurnal but have adapted due to pressure from humans. Coyotes are most active at sunset and early morning (Stokes 268 269). Coyotes prefer using already established burrows made by groundhogs or badgers (Wikipedia Contributors). Coyotes can live up to 10 years in the wild and 18 years if living in captivity (Wikipedia Contributors). Food: Coyotes eat a variety of food including small mammals like mice and squirrels in addition to song birds, snakes, lizards, fish, and insects. They eat fruit, berries, and garbage. They also eat deer and elk carcasses. If they have a food surplus, they bury it in the ground to save. Coyotes work together to hunt. They bite the neck of their prey. Coyotes also eat domestic animals and livestock (Stokes 271). Emily Durkin, an IslandWood EEC Graduate from the class of 2011, conducted a study on what IslandWood coyotes eat. Through her
Hammond 5 research and her study, she found that, Coyotes are opportunistic feeders, what they consume is directly related to prey availability. [ ]The most common prey specimen found in the coyote scat frequenting the IslandWood property was deer (Durkin 7). Hunting is not common on Bainbridge Island, but coyotes are able to scavenge on deer killed in auto accidents. A study conducted by the US Department of Agriculture found that, Although deer are common in the diet throughout the year, they are most common in winter (60 percent of the diet) and June through July (70 percent of the diet) (Knowlton and Stoddart). Coyotes are considered important players in predator pray relationships in urban areas. They are known to feed on geese and rodents (Lavine 2). In Emily Durkin s study she also found that coyotes at IslandWood, in addition to deer, consumed rodent species. Western coyotes are known to be smaller than those found in the Eastern United States. Being smaller in size, they need less energy and can survive on smaller mammals when it is difficult to find larger prey. This helps coyotes endure during the winter months and survive (Durkin 8). Coyote history on Bainbridge Island and IslandWood: There is little research on the coyote population at IslandWood and on Bainbridge Island. Through multiple Internet searches, most references to coyotes in the area came up in the news in relation to pet control in park areas. TRACKING RESEARCH Tracking is not as simple as some might presume; Tracking means following footprints though any terrain, including across a linoleum or wood floor, or on a road, or over exposed bedrock (Brown ix). The author continues, The art of tracking is not merely the following of footprints in the ground, it is the all encompassing ability to be aware and to understand why
Hammond 6 the landscape is the way it is (Brown ix). According to Donald and Lillian Stokes, Searching for tracks is one of the most exciting things to do in all of nature, for tracks are a direct link to an animal s presence, and you never know beforehand whose track you may discover (Stokes 11). The best surfaces for finding tracks are in snow, mud, dust, and sand (Stokes 11). Track Finding: There are several important tracking terms to note. A track is a single foot impression. A track pattern is a series or sequence of tracks. A trail shows an animal s movement and behavior through a long line of tracks. A stride is the distance between two tracks or the width of a track pattern (Stokes 12 13). Coyote tracks are oval shaped with 4 toes. In front of the triangular heel pad you can usually see claws. Their front tracks are 2 ¼ 2 3/4 inches long. Their tracks are similar to foxes and small dogs. Coyotes have a stride of 14 16 inches and most small dogs will only have a stride of 10 12 inches (Stokes 20). One important thing a tracker needs to do is identify if the 4 toed track is a dog or cat. Cat tracks are round without claws. Dog tracks are more oval and tend to have claw marks showing at the end of the toes. Another important thing to distinguish is coyote tracks from domestic dogs. Dogs do not have a perfect step; they usually have their hind feet land to the side or behind the tracks of their forefeet. They also drag their hind feet. Dogs often meander, which coyotes do not in an effort to conserve energy. The difference between fox and coyote tracks is also important to understand because the tracks and strides of foxes and coyotes are similar. The fox has a narrower stride of 3 4 inches and also has a shallower impression. Coyotes have a straddle of 4 6 inches and have deeper impressions (Stokes 36 39). Scat: Scat is also important to examine when understanding the presence of coyotes; Although identifying scats is not an exact science, scat is an important clue to the presence of an animal, and you should look carefully for them as you walk through woods and fields or
Hammond 7 along streams and lakes (Stokes 52). Coyote scat is similar to fox scat. They are often left along the sides of trails or at other important areas. They tend to be 2 5 inches long and ¾ inches wide. Scat less than 7/16 inches wide are probably from a fox (Stokes 64). Signs: Another thing one can identify when tracking is signs, which are changes to an environment due to presence of an animal. Holes in the ground can be attributed to coyote presence in addition to animals like shrews, voles, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, fox among others. Size is the first thing to consider (Stokes 84). If the hole is 1 2 feet in diameter, it could be attributed to a coyote. Stokes writes, Except for the size of the hole, there are not many other clues to a coyote den partly because so few of them have been studied. Some report the entrances to be higher than wide, with roughly oval dimensions of 10 by 20 inches (Stokes 90). It is important to note that coyotes may dig their own burrows or use burrows made by badgers, foxes, skunks, and other animals (Stokes 90). Cameras: The BioOne study utilized remote photography. They acknowledge the many uses for cameras: They are useful for studying behaviors that are too costly or difficult to observe using traditional methods [ ], are less invasive [ ], less labor intensive [ ], and provide permanent documentation of photo captured animals [ ] (Larrucea, Brussard, Jaeger, and Barrett 1682). The study also acknowledges that cameras, gather data during inclement weather, at night, and can reduce observer bias. Additionally, camera units can be left in the field with minimal human attention, potentially providing information on more natural behaviors (Larrucea, Brussard, Jaeger, and Barrett 1682). Cameras, although effective in collecting research, can also present problems; Many studies state concerns that human activity, scent, and presence of equipment could alter animal behavior (Larrucea, Brussard, Jaeger, and Barrett 1682). BioOne s study found that, researchers using camera traps
Hammond 8 encounter many choices about where and when to place equipment in the field. We demonstrated that these choices can influence the sampling process and potentially lead to biased results (Larrucea, Brussard, Jaeger, and Barrett 1686). After completing a study on coyote populations using camera data, they found that cameras should be allowed to run 24 hours/day, and samples should be taken during every season of the year. [ ] Camera locations should cover an expansive area, either all at once or with a smaller number of cameras over a longer period of time. Most studies that use cameras do not have information on home range or territory boundary locations. It is therefore important to sample a large enough area to incorporate multiple individuals and any habitat and home range boundary effects (Larrucea, Brussard, Jaeger, and Barrett 1688). METHODOLOGY Cameras: In this study, I went through the film collected from the camera traps placed around IslandWood by Stan Rullman. Stan Rullman strategically placed each camera, primarily hanging from trees near popular trails. Over a period 5 months, several images were recorded illustrating the abundant wildlife that exists at IslandWood. Tracking: I went tracking on 4 different occasions looking for scat, tracks, and potential dens. I took pictures and recorded my observations at the North Spine Trail, Mist Net Trails, Marsh Loop Trail, Pond Trail, Mac s Dam Trail, Mac s Pond, South Spine Trail, and the Lower Loop. Activity Log: I collected information from fellow graduate students and staff of coyote sightings, tracks, and scat found at IslandWood throughout the winter. I logged the date and
Hammond 9 time of the sighting, the type of activity (scat, tracks, habitat, etc), and other details about the observations. IslandWood staff and graduate students are on the trails for 8 hours a day each week and it was through this method that I was able to collect the most data given the amount of time each person spends in the field and the territory I could cover. RESULTS/RELEVANT FINDINGS Coyote Sigh1ngs 26% 6% 29% 16% 23% Coyote Tracks Coyote Scat Camera Trap Coyote Sigh1ngs Coyote Sounds In this study, I recorded 5 coyote sightings, 7 sets of coyote tracks, 9 specimens of coyote scat, 8 camera trap images of coyotes, and 2 coyote calls. The pie chart above illustrates the percentage of each type of activity. The chart illustrates that coyote scat was the most common sign of coyote activity, with the least being coyote sounds. In identifying the effectiveness of each technique to determine coyote activity, I looked at the number of recordings under each type of method. Cameras: Through the camera traps I collected images of 8 coyotes. The camera trap is a definitive way to identify coyotes, where as coyote scat and tracks are less convincing of coyote presence and can be easily misread.
Hammond 10 Tracking scat and tracks: Through my personal tracking observations, I noted 3 specimens of scat, 5 sets of tracks, and identified 1 coyote sound. I found mostly track patterns or single tracks. I found a large pile of scat on a log by the marsh loop. I had identified it as coyote due to the size. I later learned that it came from a raccoon. Raccoon scats are also large and contain similar food items to coyote scat like seeds and trash. Raccoon scat can get to 3 6 inches long and it is usually broken into segments ¾ inches in diameter. Raccoon scat is also left in prominent spots including logs and rock lookouts. They are also common at tree bases (Stokes 62). This description in Stoke s tracking guide fit the location perfectly. Another specimen of potential coyote scat was found next to a trail and looked like it could also be from a dog. Further scat analysis is needed to determine if it was in fact from a coyote. Because I am a beginner tracker, with very little experience, this technique was least effective in confidently determining coyote presence at IslandWood. Although some tracks and scat were clearly from a coyote, others were more unknown. Activity Log: Through the activity log and recordings collected by IslandWood staff and graduate students, I recorded 6 scat observations, 2 track identifications, 5 coyote sightings, and 1 coyote sound. Of the three collection methods, the activity log was most effective bringing in a total of 14 observations of coyote activity, illustrated by the chart below.
Hammond 11 8 6 4 2 0 Scat Tracks Sigh1ngs Sounds Stacey Tracking Camera Trap Ac1vity Log Peer Observa1ons The chart below shows the different types of coyote activity noted in each location. None of the 6 locations showed all 4 types of coyote activity, although most of them showed 3 types of activity. 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Scat Tracks North Campus Spine Trail North Campus Mist Net Trails, Learning Tree North Campus Marsh Loop Central Campus Welcome Center/ Parking Lots Central Campus Pond Trail, Mac's Dam Trail, Mac's Pond South Campus Lower Loops, Old Logging Road, South Spine Trail Sigh1ng Sounds I also noted frequency of activity in each location. The chart below documents the coyote presence at IslandWood in each distinct area of IslandWood s campus. The south campus Lower Loop trails, Old Logging road and South Spine Trail showed 8 recorded activities with the central campus by the Welcome Center and the parking lots only having 2. The north campus as a whole, which included the Marsh, Spine Trail, Mist Net Trails, and Learning Tree, showed the most coyote activity with a total of 15 observations, making up 47% of the total observations.
Hammond 12 North Campus Spine Trail 25% 22% 6% 16% 9% 22% North Campus Mist Net Trails, Learning Tree North Campus Marsh Loop Central Cmapus Welcome Center/ Parking Lots UNANSWERED QUESTIONS In this study, I had originally planned on looking at evidence of prey animals to determine the extent of coyotes on campus. Because of time limiting factors, I was unable to truly take part in this investigation. Luckily, there were a number of direct coyote sightings, evidence of coyote tracks, and scat to be able to determine the presence of coyotes at IslandWood from direct activity alone. A question to further study would be regarding the extent of prey animals at IslandWood and their availability to coyotes during the winter. Another question to explore is regarding den activity and bedding areas. As I worked on this project, I came to understand the true complexity behind understanding coyote habitats including dens and runs. I was able to learn a little through research, but was unable to apply that knowledge tracking in the field. I decided to focus my evidence of coyote
Hammond 13 presence based on tracks, scat, and sightings. To add to this study, one could explore the presence of coyotes at IslandWood to include an investigation of dens and runs. Other questions to explore are what time of day coyotes are most active at IslandWood as well as what other locations they frequent. In this study, I did not examine the teams course area or the central campus near the lodges and buildings. I also believe that fewer staff and graduate students explore the south part of campus, which could impact the results of the activity log. I also spent less time on the south part of campus in my tracking and to my knowledge there was only 1 camera trap set up. It is possible because the trails on the south part of campus are less frequented that there is more coyote presence on the south part of campus than recorded in this study. This would be a good question to explore in a future study. Overall, this study determined that there is a significant presence of coyotes at IslandWood in the winter based alone on scat, tracks, and sightings. By answering the above questions, one could further gain a better understanding of their presence at IslandWood.
Hammond 14 Appendix: Data Grids Number of Recordings for Each Activity Type of Activity Total Recordings Coyote Sightings 5 Coyote Tracks 7 Coyote Scat 9 Camera Trap Coyote Sightings 8 Coyote Sounds 2 Effectiveness of the Methods Method of Examining Presence Scat Tracks Sightings Sounds Total Stacey Tracking 3 5 0 1 9 Camera Trap 0 0 8 0 8 Activity Log- Peer Observations 6 2 5 1 14 Location Activity Location Total Recordings North Campus-Spine Trail 5 North Campus-Mist Net Trails, Learning Tree 7 North Campus-Marsh Loop 3 Central Cmapus-Welcome Center/Parking Lots 2 Central Campus-Pond Trail, Mac's Dam Trail, Mac's Pond 7 South Campus-Lower Loops, Old Logging Road, South Spine Trail 8
Hammond 15 Location of Activity by type of Coyote Sign Location Scat Tracks Sighting Sounds Total North Campus 1 4 8 2 15 Central Campus 3 2 4 0 9 South Campus 5 2 1 0 8 Location Scat Tracks Sighting Sounds Total North Campus-Spine Trail 0 1 3 1 5 North Campus-Mist Net Trails, Learning Tree 1 2 4 0 7 North Campus-Marsh Loop 0 1 1 1 3 Central Campus-Welcome Center/Parking Lots 0 0 2 0 2 Central Campus-Pond Trail, Mac's Dam Trail, Mac's Pond 3 2 2 0 7 South Campus-Lower Loops, Old Logging Road, South Spine Trail 5 2 1 0 8
Hammond 16 Works Cited "Animals Creature Features: Facts and Photos Coyotes." National Geographic Kids. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/coyote/>. Brown, Tom. The Science and Art of Tracking: Nature s Path to Spiritual Discovery. New York: Berkley Books, 1999. Print. Durkin, Emily. Coyotes Winter Diet. IslandWood Natural History Investigation Project. 10 February 2011. Knowlton, F., and L. Stoddort. "Some Observations from Two Coyote Prey Studies." Ecology and Management of the Eastern Coyote. New Brunswick: University of New Brunswick, 1992. 183 94. Larrucea, Eveline Séquin, Peter F. Brussard, Michael M. Jaeger, and Reginald H. Barrett. "Cameras, Coyotes, and the Assumption of Equal Detectability." Journal of Wildlife Management 71.5 (2007): 1682 689. Print. Lavine, Amy. "The Urban Wildlife We Don't Want: Coyote Management Planning and Regulatory Control Measures." (2011). Social Science Research Network. Albany Law School, 11 June 2011. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1862801>. Murie, Olaus J. Peterson Field Guide Series: Animal Tracks. New York: Houghton Mifflin
Hammond 17 Company, 1974. Print. Sheldon, Ian. Animal Tracks of Washington and Oregon. Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Lone Pine Publishing, 1997. Print. Stokes, Donald and Lillian. Guide to Animal Tracking and Behavior. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1986. Print. Wikipedia contributors. "Coyote." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/coyote>.