(Note: This meeting and presentation took place online, via Zoom platform technology, due to social-distancing protocols prompted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.)
At 7:00 pm, President Ken Chaya called the meeting of the Society to order. He introduced himself and thanked the attendees for joining the meeting. As of that moment, he said, 84 people were watching the meeting live. He also announced that over 70 people had participated in Linnaean walks in Central Park that morning and that it was likely that, collectively, participants saw over 100 species today.
President Chaya noted that this was our ninth speaker meeting to take place live and online, and that it is our last meeting of the season. He then thanked the Society’s council members and officers for their help throughout the year.
Commencing with the business portion of the meeting, President Chaya announced the result of a recent online vote to approve a slate of new council members. It passed with 118 votes of approval and none of disapproval. President Chaya welcomed the following nine individuals as new members:
- Elizabeth Tylawsky, Active, sponsored by Kate McMullan
- Edmund Berry, Active, sponsored by Barbara Saunders
- Jill Hoskins, Supporting, sponsored by Miriam Rakowski
- Anna Via McCollough, Life sponsored by Ken Chaya
- Carey C. Russell, Active, sponsored by Chuck McAlexander
- Margaret Bradley, Active, sponsored by Ellen Rockmuller
- Ana Gomez-Taylor, Active, sponsored by Rochelle Thomas
- Patrick Smith, Active, sponsored by Anne Lazarus
- Kevin Rolwing, Active, sponsored by Gabriel Willow
He then announced the result of a vote to approve the minutes of the April meeting: it passed with 116 votes of approval, none of disapproval, and two abstentions.
President Chaya invited non-members in attendance to join the Society, explaining that they could learn how to do so by visiting the LSNY website, www.linnaeannewyork.org. He also pointed out that he or any of the other LSNY officers listed on the website would be willing to sponsor anyone who would like to join, emphasizing that an organization is only as healthy as its growing and diverse membership. He declared that the LSNY welcomes all to become members regardless of race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, background, or geographic location.
He reported on the annual Bird-a-thon, an event that raises much-needed funds to support the research and stewardship conducted by the Great Gull Island Project. Great Gull Island is the site of the largest Common Tern colony in the world and the largest Roseate Tern colony in the Western Hemisphere.
This year, the Bird-a-thon took place on the weekend of May 8-9. President Chaya said that while awaiting final results, he had two “shoutouts”: (1) The team named the “Noble Gnatcatchers” reported seeing 105 species in Central Park and Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and (2) a six-year-old participant named “Arthur A.” counted 22 species near Quechee, VT. “Congratulations, Arthur!” Viewers were told that they can make a donation to GGI, at any time, by visiting the News & Resources page on the LSNY website.
As the final item of business, President Chaya announced that the council had voted unanimously to incorporate and accept the bylaws of the new corporation with one small amendment. This means that members will have the opportunity to vote on incorporation in the next month. He explained that a three-quarters majority vote will be needed to incorporate, and encouraged members to support the work of the council with a vote of “yes.” An outline of the voting process will be included in his forthcoming president’s letter.
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At 7:14 pm, President Chaya introduced the evening’s speaker, Roland Kays, who is the head of the Biodiversity Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science and a professor in the Fisheries, Wildlife & Conservation Program at North Carolina State University. Roland is broadly trained in mammal ecology, evolution, and conservation, and has published on sloth sleep, Canis soupus, frugivorous carnivores, arboreal fishers, and incognito olinguitos.
His talk was titled, “Eastern Coyotes: Part Wolf, Part Dog; Extremely Adaptable and Close.” The Eastern Coyote is actually a large coyote-wolf mix that has expanded its range in eastern North America over the last few decades. Having taken over the wildlands, this big predator is increasingly observed in urban areas—including New York City. Roland addressed questions such as how easily do these animals adapt to urban landscapes? How will people’s relationship with coyotes change?
Roland opened his talk by referencing the coyotes that have been seen recently in New York City’s Central Park, sharing photos of coyotes taken there by Linnaean member Bruce Yolton.
He then discussed the background of the coyotes we’re seeing today, with the objective of helping us to better understand how to co-exist with them in urban and suburban environments.
In the Pleistocene Era (12,000 years ago), there were a great many megafauna in North America. During this time, there were coyotes, but they were not in the forests and lived largely on prairies and deserts. They were also mesopredators — relatively small to medium when compared to megapredators present at the time, such as short-faced bear, American cheetah, dire wolves, and others. While megapredators from this era went extinct, the coyote survived, along with the wolf and the cougar.
Roland then discussed the impact of humans on coyotes, as they began to inhabit North America. Following the first immigrants who came over the Bering Strait, settlers from Europe wanted to exterminate the existing predators they found in North America. As an example, Roland referenced the Great Hinckley Hunt, which took place in Ohio on Christmas Day in 1813. The residents of this area decided they wanted to wipe out all animals in a local forest so that they could let their sheep wander there with no predators or competitors. They formed a circle surrounding the forest and closed in on the center, killing every animal they encountered. This was the attitude toward animals, in general, at this time. By 1960, wolves were almost completely driven out of the lower 48 states, with only a few remaining in the uppermost portions of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
He said that then, at some point, a female of the few remaining wolves came into heat and we can infer she mated with coyotes, which were more prevalent in the area. The resulting offspring bred back with other wolves to create hybrids. He then showed a chart of the genetics of one real wolf in Minnesota, indicating that its genetic make-up was 15% coyote and 85% wolf. In other instances, some of the hybrid descendants of the initial coyote/wolf mating bred back with coyotes until the resulting offspring were mostly coyote. This was occurring at a time when coyotes were moving eastward. Those with wolf genes moved eastward into upstate New York more rapidly. We have some evidence that one of the first females to arrive in upstate New York interbred with dogs, as no other wolves or coyotes were present. In short, this animal was a coyote x wolf mix, interbred with dog. A GENSCAN of one Eastern Coyote showed it to be 84% coyote, 8% wolf, and 8% dog. These hybrid individuals look mostly like coyotes, but the genetic mix causes some to exhibit characteristics of dogs in their appearance. He said that while Eastern Coyotes are hybrids, they are not “coywolves,” as they are mostly coyote and are as much dog as they are wolf. There is also continual variation and gene flow.
He addressed the question of how Eastern Coyotes differ from Western Coyotes, saying that the Eastern Coyote is a bit larger. Eastern Coyotes grow to a maximum of 50 lbs., with the eastern male averaging 35 lbs. The average western male is 25 lbs.
Wolf DNA is helping Eastern Coyotes to grow larger. There are four different genes that have been passed on from wolves that are affecting body size and skeletal proportions, especially chromosome 4. Researchers examining the diets of Eastern and Western Coyotes found that those in the East eat more deer and those in the West eat more mice, while both eat rabbits in approximately equal portions. Even within the East, diet varies by location. For example, in Westchester County, NY, coyotes have been found to have a diet of 60% deer and 19% rodents, while those in New York City have been found to have a diet of 9% deer, 18% rodent and 24% plants. In short, coyotes are generalists and will eat what they can get. They are also generalists when it comes to habitat. Unlike their western counterparts, Eastern Coyotes are using forests and hunting alone, rather than in packs. Camera traps in North Carolina showed them overwhelmingly hunting alone.
He remarked that, in coyotes, evolution and natural selection are happening right in front of us, and that like the coyote, modern man is also a “three-species hybrid” (i.e., Human x Neanderthal x Denisovan).
Next, Roland addressed the subject of coyotes in urban and suburban areas. We tend to think that animals aren’t successful in more highly populated areas but, actually, some do quite well. He cited the example of deer thriving in suburban areas. Given that we co-exist with coyotes in urban and suburban areas, he went on to discuss the negatives and positives of this co-existence, first highlighting the challenges.
Coyotes vs. domestic cats: free-ranging cats are likely to be killed in an encounter, as coyotes are opportunistic feeders. Coyotes will eat cat food, as well as cats themselves. They will also eat small dogs. Most coyote attacks on dogs are on small ones; most large dogs that have been attacked were actually chasing coyotes prior to the attack. Additionally, 92% of the dogs that were attacked were unleashed. Most recorded attacks were in Canada, while attacks in the eastern United States are rare, but do happen. Not all coyote/dog interactions are aggressive. Only 10% of their recorded interactions were predatory; most were social.
Coyotes do attack people. There were 142 recorded attacks on people between 1960-2006. Of these, 85% were in western states, 7% were rabies related, and two were known mortalities. Usually, there were minor or no injuries. Putting the numbers in perspective, Roland stated that there are many more bites/deaths from dog attacks than from coyote attacks. Further, 30% of attacks on humans have taken place when known feeding of coyotes has taken place nearby. He also said that he thinks that attacks on people are increasing and cited 19 attacks in Montreal in 2018 and multiple attacks in recent years in Frisco, TX, Moraga, CA, and Los Angeles. He noted, however, that in several of these locations, the attacks were all attributed to the same individual coyote.
He summarized the conflicts with coyotes as follows:
Conflicts with livestock, domestic cats and domestic dogs do occur.
Attacks on people are rare.
Attacks on people are more common in the western U.S. than in the east.
Moving on to discuss possible solutions, Roland stated that coyote removal doesn’t reduce local population size. As coyotes are territorial animals, if one is removed, too many young dispersers are ready and eager to take over the vacated territory.
He then looked at options for changing the behavior of coyotes. He said that mesopredators are very good at evaluating risk and can evaluate humans in this way. In short, mesopredators adapt to predators. We need to focus on animals’ behavior. Some places, like Canada, are doing hard-core hazing using paintballs and dogs. As coyotes get bolder and bolder, how do we manage them? It’s a challenge and, as we continue to live with them, we should not feed them. Also, some hunting and trapping is important to modify behavior and remove problem animals. How to adopt and maintain safe coexistence with urban coyotes is still a challenge we will need to work on.
Pointing out the positive side of predators, Roland spoke of their role in the balance of nature. This balance is needed, even in urban areas, and coyotes can help.
Roland concluded his talk by showing just how “urban” coyotes can be: he displayed photos taken of various coyote intruders in kitchens, bathrooms, groceries—and even one on a rooftop in New York City. He showed a final photo of one that had found its way onto an airport tram in Portland, Oregon, asking genially, “how far will they go?”
At 7:50 pm, Vice President Gabriel Willow thanked Roland for his talk and facilitated the Q&A portion of the program.
At 8:35 pm, Vice President Willow passed the floor back to President Chaya, who also thanked the speaker and invited viewers to return in September when the LSNY will resume its online meetings.
8:40 pm—The meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted by Amy Simmons, Recording Secretary