Home Range and Habitat Use of Coyotes in a Farm Region of Vermont

Abstract

We studied home ranges, activities, and habitat use of 29 radio-collared coyotes (Canis latrans) representing 11 different social groups in the Champlain Valley of Vermont. Between July 1984 and December 1986, 1,870 radio locations were obtained. Home ranges averaged 18.7 ? 4.6 (SE) km2 and 17.1 ? 3.2 km2 for adult males and females, respectively. All members of individual family groups shared the same home range. Home ranges were smaller during the pup-rearing period (15 Apr-15 Jul) than at other times of the year. Home ranges of adjacent social groups showed limited overlap, but smaller core activity areas were mutually exclusive. Study animals preferred hardwood forests during winter and spring, and farmland during summer and fall. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 55(3):433-441 In the last 50 years, coyotes have expanded their range east into northern New England, Quebec, and the maritime provinces of Canada (Richens and Hugie 1974). The first sightings of coyotes in Vermont were recorded in the 1940's (Pringle 1960), and they are now common throughout the state. The rapid increase in the coyote population in the Northeast is of ecological and management interest because of the impact these animals may have on livestock, indigenous prey species, and competing predators (Todd 1985, Litvaitis and Harrison 1989). Previous studies of coyotes in the Northeast have been conducted primarily in heavily forested habitats (Messier and Barrette 1982, Harrison and Gilbert 1985, Major and Sherburne 1987). No comprehensive eastern coyote research has been reported from a farming region, This content downloaded on Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:50:46 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 434 COYOTES IN VERMONT * Person and Hirth J. Wildl. Manage. 55(3):1991 although most farming is livestock-oriented and has high potential for conflict with coyotes. Furthermore, little information exists concerning coyote ecology in semi-rural residential areas where potential for human conflict with coyotes is also high. The objectives of our study were to examine home ranges and habitat use of coyotes in an agricultural region of Vermont and to compare these results with studies of eastern coyotes in forested environments. Because portions of our study area included habitat in transition from rural to urban, we examined coyote activities in these areas as well. This descriptive study is intended to provide baseline information prior to hypothesis-testing research on the interaction of coyotes and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in both agricultural and forested habitat. Our research was funded by Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife through Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W-45-R-5. We are grateful to B. W. Day, Jr. and J. J. DiStefano of that agency for their support and encouragement throughout our work. Woodstream Corporation donated Softcatch? traps. D. E. Capen and G. J. Badger provided valuable advice on data analysis. S. J. Williamson, E. B. Soper, K. G. Timothy, and especially R. Hoffman and M. A. Ingle assisted in trapping and radiotracking. We are grateful to D. E. Capen, S. DeStefano, J. J. DiStefano, D. J. Harrison, M. A. Ingle, and A. W. Todd for reviewing earlier versions of this manuscript. Finally, we thank the many farmers who gave us permission to trap on their land.