Resource Acquisition in the Presence of Novelty by Coyotes of Different Rank

Abstract

We investigated acquisition of food by 3- to 6-month-old-band reared coyotes (Canis latrans) of different social rank in an area familiar to the coyotes with and without novel objects (safe and potentially unsafe environments). We tested the hypothesis that dominant coyotes were more hesitant than subordinates in approaching food in the presence of a novel stimulus. We found that dominant pups initiated feeding more often under familiar conditions than when exposed to a noval stimulus (75 vs. 6% of the trials). We also determined if the behavior of subordinates in the test was caused by the presence of a higher-ranking individual, or alternatively, was a response that occurred without the dominant's presence. When the pups were tested individually, there was no difference between dominants and subordinates in response to novel conditions. We suggest that social rank plays a role in a coyote's vulnerability to novel conditions and objects (e.g., traps), especially when in a group