BEIJING, Sept. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Enter the
wolf, exit the coyote. The coyote may be the top canine predator in many parts
of the United States, but a new study finds that when a wolf shows up one-third
of the coyotes in a given area go away.
Detailed online by the Journal of
Animal Ecology, the research took a close look at the effects of wolves on
coyote populations in Grand Teton National Park and the southern greater
Yellowstone ecosystem. Researchers followed radio-collared coyotes and found
that while there are always more coyotes than wolves, there were fewer coyotes
in the places where both species hunted.
Coyote densities were 33 percent lower in the areas
they shared with wolves in Grand Teton and 39 percent lower in the areas of
Yellowstone where wolves were recently reintroduced.
About 16 percent of radio-collared coyotes were
attacked and killed by wolves, the study found.
Relative safety came only in
numbers as coyotes without packs were more likely victims. Lone coyotes were
also much more likely to leave an area inhabited by wolves than coyotes living
in packs.
"The study tests the hitherto unproven hypothesis
that wolves limit the range and numbers of coyotes in places where the two
species compete with one another," said study leader Kim Murray Berger, a
Wildlife Conservation Society researcher. "In this instance, the findings do
support the theory, but coyotes can hold their own against wolves by living in
packs."
Humans are actually a bigger threat to coyotes than
wolves, with 29 percent of the coyote mortality in the study attributable to
human activities.
(Agencies)
