Coyote (Canis latrans) Predation Research in Virginia
Coyote predation is a significant concern for ranchers, herdsmen and hunters. Historically, coyotes were only located on the Great Plains in the mid-west and western states. But changes in land use allowed coyotes to significantly expand their range in the United States. Today, coyotes can be found throughout the eastern seaboard. As a top carnivore, biologists want to know what coyotes are eating and whether accusations that coyotes are eating too many deer is true or not.
Research on coyote scats has revealed that 2/3 of coyote scats studied in 2011 contained deer remains. In other words, coyotes were eating deer. But were the coyotes responsible for predating on deer? Or were the coyotes simply eating deer that had died from vehicle strikes, disease, gun-shot or arrow wounds etc.? In other words, did the deer die from direct coyote predation or something else? If something else, then charges that coyotes are harming deer populations would be unfounded.
Interestingly, the study found that bobcat (Lynx rufus) scats contained a similar percentage of deer in bobcat scats. Black bear (Ursus americanus) scats, however, revealed the presence of deer in only 36% of the black bear scats. Keep in mind that this study was limited to the state of Virginia. So use caution when using Virginia scat data to base conclusions about predator behavior in other environments and states.
These findings show that scientists need to learn more about the cumulative effect of these predators on deer populations. Since deer are an important resource, learning more about the interactions of predation is particularly relevant to wildlife management officials.
Source: Bock, Bob. 2012. Coyote Research in Virginia. Wildlife Professional 6:3(Fall):74.
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