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Coywolf: Eastern Coyote Genetics, Ecology, Management, and Politics

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Coywolf: Eastern Coyote Genetics, Ecology, Management, and Politics By Jonathan G. Way Published by Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research - www.EasternCoyoteResearch.com E-book • Citation: • Way, J.G. 2021. E-book. Coywolf: Eastern Coyote Genetics, Ecology, Management, and Politics. Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research, Barnstable, Massachusetts. 277 pages. Open Access URL: http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/CoywolfBook. • Copyright © 2021 by Jonathan G. Way, Ph.D., Founder of Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research. • Photography by Jonathan Way unless noted otherwise. • All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, e-mailing, or by any information storage, retrieval, or sharing system, without permission in writing or email to the publisher (Jonathan Way, Eastern Coyote Research). • To order a copy of my books, pictures, and to donate to my research please visit: • http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/store or MyYellowstoneExperience.org • Previous books by Jonathan Way: • Way, J. G. 2007 (2014, revised edition). Suburban Howls: Tracking the Eastern Coyote in Urban Massachusetts. Dog Ear Publishing, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. 340 pages. • Way, J. G. 2013. My Yellowstone Experience: A Photographic and Informative Journey to a Week in the Great Park. Eastern Coyote Research, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. 152 pages. URL: http://www.myyellowstoneexperience.org/bookproject/ • Way, J. G. 2020. E-book (Revised, 2021). Northeastern U.S. National Parks: What Is and What Could Be. Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research, Barnstable, Massachusetts. 312 pages. Open Access URL: http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/NortheasternUSNationalParks/ • Way, J.G. 2020. E-book (Revised, 2021). The Trip of a Lifetime: A Pictorial Diary of My Journey Out West. Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research, Barnstable, Massachusetts. 561 pages. Open Access URL: http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/TheTripOfALifetime/. Pay it Forward Dear Reader, I wrote this as an e-book because, as a biologist who has made studying eastern coyotes/coywolves my life’s work, I wanted to maximize the book’s exposure as much as possible. I am offering it for free to anyone in the world who wants to read it. This is the culmination of years of work and delves deeply into eastern coyote ecology, behavior, and genetics. This project was the result of a labor of love that turned into a real-life nightmare in recent years. Thus, it has evolved to include politics because it’s important to understand the regressive policies that dominate predator management and the negative consequences many biologists face when they try to accurately portray predators in the context of wildlife management. The book is nearly 280 pages long and includes 290 color pictures. It is my “tell all” book from the last 20 years and is a must read for anyone interested in predators/ carnivores, coyotes and wolves, hybridization, politics, and how to reform carnivore management. If you enjoy and appreciate this e-book, all I ask in return is that you pay it forward by sharing and please consider a donation of $10.00 to support my research and education efforts, as well as supporting the book’s Open Access format. That is about the price of one movie ticket and you get to own this book, and all of its pictures, forever. I may occasionally update the text – an advantage of e-books – so feel free to visit the webpage and see when the latest version appeared. If you do not want to donate from my website, you are welcome to email me and I can provide you with a physical address: [email protected] or [email protected]. Thanks in advance! Jon Way Table of Contents Acknowledgements 9 Testimonial In Support of Coywolf 10 Introduction 11 What Took So Long? 12 Why Now? 13 A Brief Preview and Disclaimer 18 Part 1: Genetics and Ecology 21 Chapter 1: Meet the Eastern Coyote aka the Coywolf 22 The Big Guy 25 Foraging and Diet 27 Predator Interactions Keep Prey Alert 32 Coexistence 37 Chapter 2: Hybridization Creates the Coywolf 39 Body Mass Data Analyzed 39 DNA Profiling Provides Answers 45 Scientific Debate 51 Benefits of Hybridization 53 Conclusions 55 Canis latrans x lycaon x lupus 56 Chapter 3: Genetic Analysis Identifies main Canis Types in Eastern North America 59 A Pictorial Representation 60 Is it a Wolf or a Coyote? 62 Don’t Call Eastern Coyotes ‘Non-Native’, ‘Invasive’, or ‘Exotic’ 63 Comparison of Canis Body Types 65 Chapter 4: Trapping, Radio-Collaring, and the Importance of Research 71 What Happens Next? 73 Radio-Tracking Surprises 75 Chapter 5: The Way of the Coywolf 82 Home Range and Territoriality 82 Sociality 87 Activity Patterns 88 Den and Rendezvous Site Behavior 91 Movement Patterns by Residents and Transients 101 Residents 101 Transients 102 Chapter 6: Living with Canids 106 Relative danger 109 Avoiding interactions from occurring 110 Chapter 7: Summary of Eastern Coyote Ecology and Behavior 116 Part 2: Management and Politics 122 Chapter 8: ‘Coyote’ Management and Implications for Wolf Recovery in the Northeastern U.S. 123 Wolf Recovery Attempts in the Northeast 123 Legal Protection for Wild Canids in the Northeast is Necessary 124 Live Wolf Documented in Maine not Protected by the State 129 Ethical and Financial Reasons for Canid Protection 132 Chapter 9: Carnivore Conservation Act 138 Government Agencies Biased to Kill Carnivores 138 A Rigged System 141 Better Protections 144 Provisions of the Carnivore Conservation Act 147 Proposed Regulatory Changes 148 Citizens Can Petition for New Laws 152 Ballot Initiative 155 Chapter 10: A Primer on Political Obstruction of Research 158 Coming Out 159 Background 160 How the Obstruction Started 166 A Website Becomes a Problem 169 Chapter 11: The Terrible Trio 175 An Institutional Campaign of Retribution and Obstruction 175 The Meeting that Ended it All 177 The MassWildlife Mafia 182 Legislative Aide and University Support to the Rescue? 186 Chapter 12: Moving On 193 Chasing My Tail 193 The Big Break, or Not 196 Permits Denied even with University Support 199 Strip Club Science 203 Re-seeking Lawyer and State Representative Support 205 Chapter 13: On Redirecting Policy 209 Cape Cod National Seashore 211 Petitioning the National Park Service to Protect and Study Carnivores 211 Permits to Study Carnivores go by the Wayside 215 Sharing an E-mail gets me Terminated 217 PEER to the Rescue? 221 National Wildlife Refuges 225 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) 227 MassWildlife Staff 229 Getting Shot 231 Final Thoughts 232 Chapter 14: Where are We Now? 234 Plea 236 A New Era? 237 Problematic Claims 243 What can be Done? 247 References 253 Wildlife is Worth More Alive than Dead! Decree to Formalize Wildlife Watching as a Core Function of State Wildlife Agencies 270 What You can do to Help Eastern Coyotes and My Research 275 Acknowledgements My work would not be possible without the help of friends and family, the rock that makes me who I am. I have never received a dime of state money for this research so they know the difficult nature of operating this scantily funded research effort, but continue, nevertheless, to fully support me in my endeavors. I have lost colleagues, friends, and funds over this research. Indeed, I’ve paid a dear price for presenting my work in a truthful manner or for questioning the status quo. When I first started, I was affiliated with a university but because my research conflicted with the policies of our state wildlife agency they created a wedge to separate me from my professors, and tainted my reputation with newer affiliations by slandering me and my work. I am no longer in touch with any of the collaborators who I wrote about in Suburban Howls. The tactics the state used, and continues to use, are shockingly inappropriate for a publicly funded agency in charge of public trust resources and the public needs to know about this. The war they waged against me effectively sabotaged the goals I set for my research career. I appreciate the efforts of Marie Thomas, the reader over my shoulder, who edited Suburban Howls and the 2009 version of this book. Louise Kane edited much of the political chapters (10-13) back when I published a Testimonial to describe the state’s actions against me in 2016, and she co-wrote the Carnivore Conservation Act of Massachusetts with me. She was a friend when many others chose to abandon me for greener, less political pastures. Dr. Ben Sacks, University of California Davis, provided important comments on the genetic chapters of this book. I believe these revisions helped to legitimize the book and the coywolf concept. My mother, Robin Way, who continues to provide vital editorial work and constructive criticism on all my writing, was also there for me, as she always is, by copy editing the version that I present here. The support over the years from my family and colleagues has inspired me to continue to try and live a dream to research and to fight for better protection for these marvelous animals. This is a difficult task given the political reality of working in a state like Massachusetts where MassWildlife, the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, and even the past two Governors, have repeatedly ignored our published findings; findings so compelling they demand better protection for this marvelous animal. Our wildlife deserve better than they are getting from state wildlife agencies and I hope that this book explains why. Testimonial In Support of Coywolf “For years wildlife managers have abused the public trust by catering to hunters and people with an anti-carnivore mindset in their management regimes. Science and predators have been devalued as a result of this ‘rigged system’. It is wonderful to see Jon Way’s new book Coywolf that is abundantly illustrated and describes the science behind the ecology and genetics of eastern coyotes, who are also now being called “coywolves”.
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