The Eastern Massachusetts Eastern Coyote Ecology Study is led by Jonathan Way, Dr. Eric Strauss, and Dr. Peter Auger, all currently affiliated with Boston College.  The study aims to:

• Develop an ecological profile of eastern coyotes residing in a suburban area (Cape Cod) and an urban area (Boston)

• Teach high school students to capture, radio collar and track wild, urban coyotes and be involved in the eventual data analysis
  

This project is an addition to a similar study that has been progressing on Cape Cod for the past five years.  In the study site of Revere, MA and the North Boston Metro area, next steps include monitoring radio-collared coyotes.  CyberTracker will be used to aid students in tracking and recording coyote locational data and social behaviour. This information will then be transferred into a GIS format (ArcView) to be used in creating maps and charts of project results.

For updates from the field, photos and more information, visit the study’s website at www2.bc.edu/~wayjo

                                                                                                             

About the Coyote                                                                                                     Photo © Jonathan Way

The eastern coyote (Canis latrans var.) is a member of the Canidae family.  Weighing 30-50 pounds or more, it is the biggest variety of coyote.  It is actually believed to be a hybrid between the western coyote and either the red/eastern timber wolf or the gray wolf. 

Historically the coyote was a resident of the western United States.  They colonized the eastern states beginning in the late 1800s/early 1900s.  Major factors in this development are thought to be habitat fragmentation into agricultural and suburban areas - which provides plentiful prey opportunities - and an absence of competition from wolves which kill coyotes when given the opportunity.

Through natural range expansion, the coyote is thought to have reached northern New England by the 1930’s and 1940’s.  It has moved steadily southward, now occupying virtually all suitable habitat in the Northeast.

One theory, however, attests that coyotes have always inhabited New England and merely survived at very low densities until the early 1900’s.  Data does not support this theory, however, as research has found that coyotes generally are able to colonize new areas very quickly.  Therefore, if present in the 1900’s these canids would have undoubtedly been detected shortly afterwards.  The other, more accepted theory is that wolves used to be the canid that inhabited the Northeast until they were hunted to extinction in the early 1900’s.  Then, as mentioned, the eastern coyote (which probably mated with the few remaining wolves) colonized this area around the 1950s.

Coyotes now live in 49 of 50 U.S. states (the island of Hawaii being the exception).  They live in all types of habitats from pristine wilderness to urban areas.  Despite being very elusive, the coyote’s continent-wide distribution makes them an ideal case study for almost any classroom in the United States.