We have at least three Coyotes on or near our (and their) property, judging from the moonlight howling contests that these canines sponsor. They’re extraordinarily elusive, but we did get a glimpse of one at a great distance yesterday. We’re sorry about this bad image, but – if you have good eyes – you’ll see one of our locals with what appears to be a fresh deer femur bone in his mouth. (Sex assumed.)
Enlarged portion:
The estimated 12 to 15 thousand Coyotes in Maine are so-called Eastern Coyotes or Coywolves. Their ancestors bred with wolves and dogs during the Great Coyote Migration from the west in the past century. DNA analyses in 2014 found that the Maine hybrids studied were approximately 62 percent Coyote, 14 percent Western Wolf, 13 percent Eastern Wolf, and 11 percent domestic dog. It’s thought that the interbreeding of the Eastern species is over here due to the canines reaching sufficient numbers.
The wild prey of the Coyotes around here appears to be mostly small mammals, occasional wild turkeys, and young and small deer. (Now, when snow and ice in the woods inhibits the leaping ability of deer, yearlings are more vulnerable. In the spring, newborn fawns also are vulnerable.) Coyotes also eat berries and other plant food, not to mention garbage.
There apparently has been no reported human injury from a Coyote attack in Maine, although there have been some reported attacks in other states. Nonetheless, Maine public policy is not friendly to coyotes. Except for Sundays, hunters may kill as many as they wish during the daylight hours and they may be hunted at night from mid-December through August 31. (Brooklin, Maine)