Targeting alphas can make coyote control more effective and socially acceptable

Research at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) has improved our understanding of how to reduce sheep depredation while minimizing the impact on coyotes. Analysis of a 14-year data set of HREC coyote-control efforts found that sheep depredation losses were not correlated with the number of coyotes removed in any of three time scales analyzed (yearly, seasonally and monthly) during corresponding intervals for the next 2 years. Field research using radiotelemetry to track coyotes supported and explained this finding. For example, in 1995, dominant “alphas” from four territories were associated with 89% of 74 coyote-killed lambs; “betas” and transients were not associated with any of these kills. Relatively few coyotes were killing sheep, and these animals were difficult to capture by conventional methods at the time of year when depredation was highest. However, selective removal of only the problem alpha coyotes effectively reduced losses at HREC

Targeting alphas can make coyote control more effective and socially acceptable

Research at the UC Hopland Research and Extension Center (HREC) has improved our understanding of how to reduce sheep depredation while minimizing the impact on coyotes. Analysis of a 14-year data set of HREC coyote-control efforts found that sheep depredation losses were not correlated with the number of coyotes removed in any of three time scales analyzed (yearly, seasonally and monthly) during corresponding intervals for the next 2 years. Field research using radiotelemetry to track coyotes supported and explained this finding. For example, in 1995, dominant “alphas” from four territories were associated with 89% of 74 coyote-killed lambs; “betas” and transients were not associated with any of these kills. Relatively few coyotes were killing sheep, and these animals were difficult to capture by conventional methods at the time of year when depredation was highest. However, selective removal of only the problem alpha coyotes effectively reduced losses at HREC

A coyote in sheep\u27s clothing: predator identification from saliva

We used polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) and microsatellite analyses to identify canid species, gender, and individual genotype in samples containing a large excess of domestic sheep DNA. These methods were then used to investigate the feasibility of identifying predators from saliva on predation wounds. We analyzed predation wound samples from 19 sheep carcasses. Coyote DNA was identified in 18 samples (95%), of which 17 contained male coyote DNA (94%) and 11 (61%) yielded heterozygous microsatellite genotypes at 21 locus. These methods have promise for genetic identification of individual predators

TEMPORAL GENETIC VARIATION IN A COYOTE (\u3ci\u3eCANIS LATRANS\u3c/i\u3e) POPULATION EXPERIENCING HIGH TURNOVER

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are mobile, adaptable canids found in a wide range of habitats across North America, with range extensions into previously unoccupied areas in the western and eastern United States. Although long-distance dispersal capabilities in both sexes (Harrison 1992) and relatively large proportions of transient coyotes that do not exhibit fidelity to a single territory (typically 13–34% of a population— Andelt 1985; Windberg and Knowlton 1988) suggest that coyotes exist as a panmictic population, other aspects of coyote behavior may increase the likelihood of local population structure