2014 Field Updates & News

December 31, 2014. Gruesome find: nearly 40 coyotes found slain and slaughtered in New Mexico. Thank you Ken Bixby for your comments describing the barbaric and unnecessary ways these animals were killed.

 

December 29, 2014. Utah coyote hunter kills wolf (collared). As an example of just how out of touch wildlife management is with the rest of society this person will no doubt get off scotch free because “he thought he was killing a coyote”. What terrible news.

 

December 28, 2014. NH outdoor writer John Harrigan defends coyotes. It is very heartening to read this passage from an outdoor writer: “I’d like to part of a sensible discussion on how New Hampshire should regard and treat its coyote population, rapidly evolving into brush wolves, close to the wolves we once had, in size and behavior – hunting in packs (families), and taking down larger prey. We pretend to adore and long for the majestic wolf, but treat its close cousin like a rat at the dump. We should do a lot better.”

 

December 28, 2014. Why must we prey on the predators? An interesting article on the hate that people have for coyotes and wolves in the western U.S. and why that viewpoint needs to change.

 

December 24, 2014. “Ban predator hunting at National Seashore”. It is heartening to know there are courageous people that will stand up for our wildlife. Thanks Louise Kane!

 

December 22, 2014. Wolves in the Great Lakes region (MN, WI, and MI) returned to the Endangered Species Act. Ruling sparks concerns about more illegal wolf killings. Related article: Federal judges’ ruling on hunting wolves could have national impact. It would be great if what came out of this was a national plan to recover wolves – not just in local areas – including here in the Northeast U.S.

 

December 21, 2014. Pet dog killed by hunters in Cape Cod National Seashore. This is absolutely unbelievable and why hunting shouldn’t exist in a national park. I sure hope that the Seashore passes the ban on carnivore hunting as requested December 11, 2014.

 

December 18, 2014. In war on coyotes, some argue for learning to live with them. This is based out West and is really as much about society’s clear shift to learning to coexist with them even where they cause problems. The argument by the hunter over the “personal freedom to shoot coyotes” is becoming less and less publicly accepted.

 

December 16, 2014. Outrage. A mountain lion makes it to Kentucky and it is shot and killed. Worse, there is no legitimate reason given as for why it was killed. This is unbelievable.

 

December 16, 2014. Statewide predator hunting contest planned in New York. After my very positive December 3 post (below) about the state of CA banning predator hunting contests, here is yet another one, essentially condoned by the state of MA. The comments in this article are classic, as eastern coyotes (coywolves) are blamed for being a predator and that their numbers have to be depleted for whatever reason. Also, a 75 lb canid is a wolf (likely eastern wolf) and not a coyote/coywolf – what proof does the biologist have that it wasn’t a wolf? As I post this article, I receive in my inbox yet another hunting contest in NY.

 

December 11, 2014. Cape Cod National Seashore asked to ban predator hunting. This is a very important potential turn of events and hopefully will kick-start carnivore reform in the Northeast.

 

December 9, 2014. I just want to survive this. This is a story about myself getting shot while I was running in the woods at nearly dark. I was with my dog and not conducting research at the time. It is nice to still be here today.

 

December 8, 2014. It’s time to let Oregon Wolf #7’s collar go dead. This is a fascinating account/opinion about letting wolves be truly wild.

 

December 5, 2014. Win or lose: Why the bear referendum was necessary for Maine. I hadn’t seen this article until now, but this is one of the best articles that I have read in a long time. It clearly dictates how undemocratic and unaccountable current systems of wildlife management are where officials can say or do what they want often with no science to back them up.

 

December 4, 2014. A very important paper was published today that could hold great relevance to canine management. Click here for a 2nd article of the same paper. The 25 year study found that it is counter-productive to kill wolves to keep them from preying on livestock. Shooting and trapping lead to more dead sheep and cattle the following year, not fewer.  The disruption of family groups via hunting/trapping creates an increase in conflict. (By the way, the unfounded comments by the livestock “representative” are almost comical.). This is a link to the original scientific, peer reviewed research which demonstrates quite clearly that trapping and killing carnivores may cause more harm than good.

 

December 3, 2014. In tremendous news: CA becomes the first state to officially ban wildlife killing contests. This is one of the tenets of our Carnivore Conservation Act. It is nice to see it being implemented, albeit in a different state.

 

December 3, 2014. Killing 890 wolves (in Canada) to learn about them: something’s wrong. A great and harsh critique of supposed science that involves slaughtering wolves to see what kind of ecological effect that has.

 

November 28, 2014. Walter Medwid: Time for a change in managing Vermont’s wildlife. A great (and balanced; not anti-hunting) article about the need to revise the way that wildlife is managed mostly for only hunters and to consider other users especially regarding predators.

 

November 19, 2014. Actor Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) is vocally anti-coyote and likes to kill them for fun. I find it amazing that a well known person could be so stupid to turn off potentially so much of his viewership, like me – I won’t see the sequel after reading this article.

 

November 19, 2014. An editorial on the barbaric practice of using hounds to chase, terrify and tree bears that are then shot in trees. While not related to canids, I believe it nicely summarizes how allowing this type of activity gives us a glimpse into our culture.

 

November 13, 2014. Predator hunting is questioned in a prestigious journal article. This is a fascinating and very important article and summarizes what I have said and thought about predator hunting for years – although they do it in a very articulate and thought out manner. It is clear that there is a growing disapproval of predator hunting and this newspaper article is the result of this very important professional publication which can be accessed here. It is the first journal article to ethically evaluate the reasons people hunt predators, mainly wolves. It concludes, quite convincingly, that predator hunting is not justified in today’s society. I believe all state wildlife departments should have ethicists to be able to justify their management practices.

 

November 12, 2014. Who should pay for Wyoming’s wildlife? Even in western, more conservative states, there is increasing pressure to have all users fund wildlife management and not just hunters. This follows the Oct. 27 post below… The professional publication of that article can be found here. Fortunately it only seems inevitable that in the very near future wildlife funding will change to include all users of wildlife (i.e., non-consumptive users) and that these people/users will also have a “seat at the table” for wildlife management including things like developing fair wolf management (and other carnivore) plans. It is very important to note that nationwide, much more money is spent on wildlife by non-consumptive users, rather than hunting – even though state wildlife depts. get the bulk of their money from hunting related dollars (see Oct 27 article).

 

November 5, 2014. Victory declared in Michigan for wolves and voters rights. This is great news for wolves in Michigan.

 

October 31, 2014. Gray wolf reported at Grand Canyon for first time in decades. Exciting news!

 

October 27, 2014. Who really pays for wildlife? In this very important analysis, “Wildlife Conservation and Management Funding in the U.S.”, it is shown that the general taxpayer contributes substantial more to wildlife conservation than do hunters, despite the often mentioned comment that “hunters pay for wildlife management”. This document clearly shows that that is not true and that wildlife should be managed for all citizens as a public trust resource and not for special interests.

 

October 21, 2014. Utah bounty hunters kill over 7,000 coyotes in a year. What a backward and regressive wildlife agency. I always find it very telling when Republicans support these pet programs. I guess it is minimize government waste unless it benefits me and my buddies. But perhaps what is more telling is this quote: “When you are dealing with coyotes, it is hard to tell exactly what impact is happening because we do not know their population,” said Leslie McFarlane, mammals program coordinator for DWR. This means that Utah has no idea how many coyotes there are but is willing to kill as many as possible like they are in some sort of 1800s form of wildlife management.

 

October 20, 2014. Coyote contest to be held in Virginia. What an incredible archaic view toward managing “coyotes” here in the East. The quote “this is a fun way to engage our hunters” says it all about how many hunting groups view ecologically important animals like coyotes.

 

October 16, 2014. Opinion letter (Ithaca, NY): Shame on you for not including coyotes’ value to ecosystems. Very thoughtful letter by Melissa Groo.

 

October 15, 2014. Why is the Federal Government killing million of animals every year? An important article that has implications for coyotes since they are the number 1 mammal killed by the poorly named government agency “Wildlife Services”.

 

October 10, 2014. Survey (10 short questions) on coyotes in Virginia. Please take this survey as the questionnaire is in response to a bounty/hunting contest that is proposed in the area. I hope any sane person, including hunters, would vote against a bounty which promotes hate of an animal.

 

October 8, 2014. Video: Rewilding the Northeast. A great, short video (2 min) on the importance of returning all wildlife (including predators) back to the Northeast. I am part of the Northeast Wolf Coalition whose some of its members produced this video.

 

September 24, 2014. Victory for wolves in Wyoming! Federal Judge Reinstates Federal Protections Statewide. This is great news! The fact that the state of Wyoming treated wolves as vermin across 80% of the state is a terrible way to manage these animals. It is amazing that state wildlife agencies are allowed to manage predators, specifically canids, to begin with given their anti-predator attitude.

 

September 24, 2014. Montana delays decision on wolf ‘management’ stamp after hunters protest. It is almost like state game agencies want to show people who really manages wildlife (i.e., hunters) even though wildlife is supposed to belong to all of the public.

 

September 22, 2014. Montana man brags on Facebook about running over wolves. This is very disturbing and I especially like (and appreciate) Brooks Fahy’s quotes about the subconscious of a person doing a deliberate act such as what is described. I bet this person will get to keep his Montana hunting license despite his recklessness.

 

September 12, 2014. Sweeping new rule for Alaska’s predator control. In some great news, the federal government is standing up to the state of Alaska and not allowing them to inhumanely slaughter predators on National Park lands. Good for them.

 

September 5, 2014. Something fishy is brewing in red wolf country: will the red wolf program survive? I happen to agree with the author’s assessment that the US Fish and Wildlife Service will abandon recovery efforts for red wolves in North Carolina, all for political reasons. Here is another article: Feds seek input on maintaining red wolf recovery. However, it seems obvious that they have already made up their minds and the program will soon end all because of another anti-predator state wildlife commission.

 

August 25, 2014. Politics can never escape wildlife management. Here is a deeply conservative politician in Idaho whom already lives in a welfare state, meaning that they get back more than they put in. Now he wants extra money for his state to reimburse private livestock owners, many whom are grazing at greatly reduced cost on our federal public lands, against losses to native predators that he claims the federal government set upon his constituents. Now I am counting 3 forms of welfare being given to his constituents in this one paragraph despite most people in Idaho wanting the federal government left out of their lives. Yet he finishes his piece claiming “The federal government has a responsibility to assist with the impacts of damages triggered by federal lands policy and predator reintroduction.”

 

August 23, 2014. Humans Have Created A New Top Predator That Is Taking Over The Northeast. Interesting article on coywolves (eastern coyotes) from Business Insider which really is a spin-off from last week’s article in NY Times Magazine.

 

August 15, 2014. Should you fear the pizzly bear? A very interesting articles on hybrid animals and the process of hybridization in general from the NY Times Magazine. The beginning is about the eastern coyote/coywolf and is accurate and well done, mentioning both of the animal’s names. A long but worth reading article (note: humans also contain the genes of other Hominids, namely Neanderthals).

 

August 11, 2014. New methods needed to reduce shorebird predation. An important article appearing in the Cape Cod Times to basically ask officials to stop blaming predators for shorebird mortality and instead to come up with ways to solve this “problem”, which is a completely natural one.

 

July 18, 2014. Another wolf killed in Iowa. Yet again, another hunter kills a wolf thinking it “was only a coyote” (my words) and gets off with no charges against him. It is amazing that there was no discussion about the fact that it is legal to kill coyotes during the pup-rearing season in May and no regard for animal ethics or well-being – just it was a wolf killed in Iowa and the person thought it was a coyote.

 

July 18, 2014. It makes more economic sense to shoot bears with cameras than with guns. Yet another article on the exponential amount more that wildlife watching generates compared to hunting.

 

July 12, 2014. Why are kids afraid of nature? This is unrelated to eastern coyotes but is more general in nature and follows a disturbing trend that as kids spend less time outside (and more on electronics inside) they are more afraid of the outdoors. The message: take your kids outside as often as possible. Also see Marc Bekoff’s article on the subject.

 

July 9, 2014. Great news: the vast majority of the public supports red wolf recovery and not shooting coyotes in North Carolina. Unfortunately, wildlife management is clearly not a democracy and I am sure that the wildlife commission will represent the minority and try to pressure the USFWS to abandon red wolf recovery.

 

July 1, 2014. Coywolves in Washington, DC. Interesting article by Sadie Dingfelder. Unfortunately I couldn’t be quoted because one of my pictures was used but it is unfortunate that the term is still confused by some professionals quoted in the article. In my opinion, how do you call an animal that is statistically intermediate between coyotes and wolves, simply coyotes. They aren’t. They are hybrids and hence I like the term coywolf much better as it summarizes their complex history in one simple word.

 

June 19, 2014. Compassionate conservation. An interesting article on a growing field: the focus on individuals (not populations) in conservation.

 

June 18, 2014. Wolves aren’t biggest threat to deer in Wisconsin. Another interesting article indicating that wolves/predators aren’t a primary threat to deer populations.

 

June 12, 2014. Torturing a coyote in Michigan on video. This is graphic and very disturbing. It is unbelievable that dogs are allowed to chase (and in this case kill) wildlife in many states. I hope I am wrong, but I doubt the investigation will produce any charges because states provide a pathetic lack of protection for coyotes nationwide. That is why we need state and a national carnivore conservation act(s).

 

June 12, 2014. Coyote-wolf hybrids have “invaded” Washington, D.C. This is a very interesting personal experience article. However, I really dislike the descriptions “invaded” and “they aren’t native to this region”. The animals got here on their own 4 legs and there is actually evidence that coyotes lived here a long time ago and they have “native” wolf genes. A more accurate description, in my opinion, is to state that they naturally colonized the area on their own four legs. In other words, it is natural range expansion by a species to changing ecosystem (habitat changes, less competition) conditions.

 

June 5, 2014. In more good carnivore news, a town in Colorado launches a coyote coexistence plan to foster education and informed coexistence (NOT lethal control) as its main management strategy.

 

June 5, 2014. There are differing opinions of whether Montana’s Wolf Conservation Stamp is a good thing. This article states that it is a bad thing because MT Wildlife and Parks can’t be trusted while this article states that the stamp is a good thing and will finally allow non-hunters (and non-fishers) to contribute to wildlife management. I tend to agree with the latter, that although all state fish and game agencies are heavily biased toward hunting, even though they are supposed to hold wildlife in the public’s trust, you have to start somewhere. It will hold the state of Montana responsible for listening to all stakeholders and if they don’t, well then a beef can be realistically expected against them. Note: that if our Carnivore Conservation Act passes, with the CC Stamp provision included, it will also entail greater protections for carnivores, something which is not a guarantee in Montana’s stamp plan.

 

May 31, 2014. Revisions to the Carnivore Conservation Act (proposed for MA) to include a “Carnivore Conservation Stamp” for non-hunters and wildlife watchers to be able to purchase (section 3.e) and it defines where the funds for 3.e are dedicated to as well as monies from 3.d (Carnivore Hunting Tag). Lastly, we revised 3.h to make the act more palatable and fair for farmers. We really like the additions to this version as it allows non-hunters to put their money where their mouths are and contribute to carnivore conservation.

 

May 27, 2014. What’s killing the deer? by Dick Thiel. This is a perfect article to counter the article directly below here. In the Great Lakes region (MN, WI, MI), wolves kill deer but don’t significantly affect human hunter opportunity as there are still plenty of deer to go around.

 

May 27, 2014. PA debates studying predator (bear, coyote) impact on white-tailed deer. The article and specifically this quote really shows the mindset of most state wildlife management agencies: “This has been, at least as far as I’m concerned, a subject we’ve had to take a look at for a couple of years now,” said commissioner Jay Delaney of Luzerne County. “It’s something our customers [i.e., deer hunters] have been asking for.” There is no discussion about the food web, biodiversity, or the importance of predators. This is all about supply and demand and keeping PA as a deer farm for a small segment of PA’s population. There needs to be a fundamental shift of wildlife as a public trust and that all citizens, especially considering how much wildlife watchers contribute to economies, are “customers” of wildlife. BTW – this is all in the state with the highest deer-density, where they have to build exclosures to protect state timber harvests.

 

May 24, 2014. In great news, Montana is proposing to offer a “Wolf Conservation Stamp” that will essentially be used for non-lethal purposes to help their wolf population. Anyone can buy it and you don’t have to have a hunting license to get one. This is really good news for state wildlife management and we, in fact, will likely revise our Carnivore Conservation Act in the immediate future to add such a provision for carnivores in MA! Update May 31: We have now added this language (i.e., a Carnivore Conservation Stamp) to our Carnivore Conservation Act!

 

May 23, 2014. Animal Planet offers horrific and misleading hype on wolves with their new program for “Monster Week” (link will allow you to see 3 clips on the wolf show). Fortunately, Marc Bekoff has already written about this propoganda since, at most, 2 people have been killed by wolves in North America’s history. In one of those 2 attacks, it is contested whether wolves or a bear killed a young man. Marc notes that “the best way to leave a comment is to call 1-571-262-4899 which is set up for such matters”. Updated May 27: Another good article on the subject “‘Documentary’ presents distorted view of wolves“.

 

May 20, 2014. 6,000 coyotes killed in Utah bounty. I am convinced that people are regressing back to the dark ages with anti-science moves like re-establishing a bounty on ecologically important carnivores. Yet Utah doesn’t seem to be collecting any data on the benefits of this slaughter. Are deer numbers really improving? Even if they are effective is it justifiable to kill coyotes to “save” deer.

 

May 14, 2014. US judge blocks coyote hunting in red wolf range. This is major news showing that wildlife is held in a public trust and that it is possible to protect a common animal (coyotes) in a similar looking animal’s range (red wolves). Update May 17: Editorial supports this ruling “A needed ceasefire spares NC’s red wolves”. The comments from the wildlife commissioner of NC are very disturbing and reflect an incompetence to the important role of predators in the ecosystem.

 

May 14, 2014. What the president can do right now for conservation. This is an important article, written by former Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbit, that may indirectly help canids in their protection/conservation.

 

May 9, 2014. Recently released information from the 2011 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. The link allows you to click on any state. In Massachusetts in 2011, 1.8 million people spent $1.3 Billion (yes, billion!) on wildlife associated recreation. That is 14.6 times more money and 32.6 more people than that spent on hunting in MA (see page 4 of the MA survey)! How can state wildlife agencies, a public trust steward, continue to cater to hunters when these numbers indicate that a much higher proportion of people wildlife watch, spending lots of money while doing it?

 

May 9, 2014. Predator conservation relies on understanding human psychology. A popular article based on a recently published scientific paper from the journal Science. It is well worth the read.

 

May 7, 2014. First wolf in Iowa in 89 years killed. Articles like this reinforce how important it is that hunters receive good education on differences between similar species, but more importantly, that we recognize that shooting predators for the sake of eliminating an animal is morally and ethically wrong.  It is not enough that killing a wolf is immoral. Killing coyotes should also be immoral.  If predators as a group were protected, these incidents would not be as likely to occur.

 

April 27, 2014. John Harrigan: Why hate the coyote but worship the wolf? A nice article (and similar to the tune of my “Love wolves, hate coyotes” article I wrote in 2012) written for NewHampshire.com.

 

April 2, 2014. Do wolves, cougars (predators) help curb diseases? A very important and yet another timely article on the benefits of predators.

 

April 1, 2014. Minnesota is a special place where deer and wolves and people can co-exist. A very refreshing article about a human hunter who appreciates that predation ability of wolves and how important they are to the ecosystem. I predict that if we had many more vocal hunters like this wildlife management would be more equitable and less contentious than it is now.

 

March 19, 2014. Preserving large carnivores in ecosystem requires multifaceted approach. Another article (based on a peer reviewed scientific article) suggesting the importance of sociality when managing social predators like coyotes and wolves.

 

March 16, 2014. Snared- A wolf named Kitchi. A heartwarming story about a lady that rescued a snared wolf from a busy snowmobile trail – and the heartache of watching other humans ignore this poor animal in distress. Here is the original story. It is amazing that these types of activities are legal in most of the U.S. and Canada; it really shows a lack of modernity in wildlife management practices.

 

March 12, 2014. How to kill a wolf. A fascinating article about the author who went undercover to a coyote and wolf derby (killing contest) in Salmon, Idaho pretending to be a participant. It is frightening (and disturbing to read) how some of those people acted especially since it (like using racist terms) was verified by other locals in the town. Must be a great place to live for anyone with an open mind (sarcasm intended). Meanwhile these anti-government people in small towns get way more back in taxes from the federal government than what they put in. Dare I say, hypocrites?

 

March 10, 2014. Is the wolf a real American hero? Interesting article and not the answer many readers here might expect. Short answer to which the author Author Middleton suggests: no it is not, it is just another animal living in and around Yellowstone park.

 

March 9, 2014. Coyote encounter. A cool story by Mary Park Sonis about an observation of a pair of eastern coyotes (coywolves) down in North Carolina. The female was jet black (not pictured in the article).

 

March 6, 2014. Whither the hunter/conservationist? By George Wuerthner. This is another outstanding article about predators and predator politics and how state wildlife agencies manage wildlife for an extreme minority of the human population.

 

March 6, 2014. Life and death in the New Hampshire woods: Deer carcass feeds coyotes and their fetal pups. It is very refreshing to read an article that celebrates the wildness of even suburban areas and doesn’t bemoan the fact that a “precious” game animal was killed by a non-human hunter.

 

February 28, 2014. Research: Wolf-Coyote mating is possible. This is an interesting study but it should more accurately state western coyote x western gray wolf reproduction is theoretically possibly. The authors found that 1 of 9 female western coyotes successfully produced offspring from artificial insemination of western gray wolf sperm. Of course, the coywolf in the Northeast is proof that wolf-coyote mating is possible but the wolf involved is believed to be the eastern wolf, not the larger gray wolf. The present study is the first to show that it is a small chance, but at least theoretically possible, for the larger gray wolf and smaller western coyote to produce offspring. There is a press release on this research obtainable here.

 

February 27, 2014. Return of the wolves: the next chapter. A recently produced hour long film focusing on wolves in the western U.S. You can watch it in its entirety here.

 

February 26, 2014. Killing squid, a giraffe, and the common sense of science. This is a revealing article as scientific inquiry is not and cannot be objective because scientists are humans. A good example is a wildlife agency accusing a scientist of being an advocate for animals, all the while while they “advocate” for more hunting of a species.

 

February 26, 2014. Exposed: human-animal interactions and the war on wildlife. Another article on the film “Exposed” which reveals the “unaccountable and and clandestine of taxpayer-supported programs in America.”

 

February 25, 2014. Isle Royale wolf travels over pack-ice and leaves the island and is found dead in Minnesota. Wow, this is an amazing journey considering that Canada is closer to Isle Royale than the U.S.

 

February 10, 2014. Coyote climb tree and steals a bobcat’s duck. A true story with pictures. Very interesting, and this observation could warrant a note in a scientific journal.

 

February 6, 2014. When Big Carnivores Go Down, Even Vegetarians Take The Hit. A 4 min NPR piece that yet again highlights the importance of carnivores/predators and the hint that they are managed (like for hunting) completely different than they should.

 

February 6, 2014. California may ban hunting contests for coyotes and other animals. This is great news and a first step toward making carnivore management more equitable.

 

February 5, 2014. Coyote control measures impractical for farms. A great and important article written by a rancher for an agricultural newsletter about learning to coexist with coyotes and only practicing non-lethal management techniques such as hazing, herding cattle, and using guard dogs.

 

February 5, 2014. A wolf in coyote’s clothing? A very strange article coming out of my home state of MA. This is clearly an eastern coyote, albeit a fat one. They would not be showing signs of pregnancy this early in the year. The fact that the state official doesn’t mention that eastern coyotes are coyote x wolf hybrids already, and could be called coywolves, is interesting to say the least. He also uses the old term “timber wolf” which is very generalized to wolves in the northeast but really is not an not accurate term as scientists now think that eastern wolves originally lived throughout most of the Northeast in colonial (and before) times and that gray wolves only appeared in this area as hybrids with eastern wolves (gray x eastern wolf hybrids) similar to which occurs in the Great Lakes area of MN, MI, and WI today.

 

January 28, 2014. True cost of a Canada Goose coat? The company uses trappers to foothold trap and kill coyotes for the majority of their fur. Great article exposing where the coats really come from. The video of trapped and shot animals is graphic even for me that is used to seeing footage like that.

 

January 24, 2014. When in doubt, slaughter. Delaware recently opens hunting of mid-Atlantic coyotes and decides to allow an unlimited slaughter of them for 6 months a year despite their noted ecological importance and ability to help prey on overabundant white-tailed deer. Way to go guys! That is a sound, political policy that is not based in science.

 

January 17, 2014. Idaho breaks the law and wolves die. A great article about the amazing state of affairs with fish and game depts in charge of managing predators. What a conflict of interest if I have ever heard of one.

 

January 9, 2014. Disappointing News: after my Dec. 31, 2013 post on deer in Washington, DC and trying to have natural predators like coyotes interact with the deer and help control them, I just learned that the National Park Service started a mass slaughter of the herd by the federal killing agency, Wildlife Services.

 

January 7, 2014. Debate continues over presence of wolves (in Maine). The most notable thing from this article is how state and federal officials essentially ignore comments from knowledgeable people like John Glowa, and also do nothing to protect coywolves (eastern coyotes) which are already part wolf. I have said it once if I’ve said it a thousand times: unless eastern “coyotes” are protected, there is no way that wolves will return to the Northeast.

 

January 6, 2014. Coyote “problem” in county leads to lack of deer. I think in order to publish in a “sportsmen” column you have to have a few qualifications. This is nationwide, from Maine to Montana… 1. Be a die-hard conservative and only want change if it is good for you. 2. Have no clue as to what ecology is. 3. Only like game species. 4. Have your views essentially run wildlife mgmt b.c your $30 tag supports game depts even though they are supposed to have the public’s general interest in line, and the vast majority of people report way too many deer in places like New York. 5. Call killing predators “conservation”… That says a lot. Yet, some groups want to continue to promote wolf recovery within the current structure of wildlife management. I find it almost impossible given the structure of state fish and game departments… By the way, the line about cat and dog collars (and such) in coyote dens is an old wives tale because every den I have ever seen is clean and clear of debris. I have heard many iterations of that story.

 

January 5, 2014. Congressman questions costs, mission of Wildlife Services. This is an important article which essentially is in response to Predator Defense’s video “Exposed”, which bizarrely isn’t mentioned in the LA Times article. This is an unaccountable, rogue agency that needs serious reforming.

 

January 2, 2014. Filming Death Valley coyotes. A cool and short (2 min) behind the scenes interview of how the filmmakers got footage for the acclaimed show “North America”.

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