Myths and Truths About Coyotes: What You Need to Know About America's Most Misunderstood Predator

169 Pages·2010·3.44 MB·English

by  Carol Cartaino

contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1
A Quick Perspective on Coyotes
CHAPTER 2
Coyotes Up Close
CHAPTER 3
A Look at Coyote Society
CHAPTER 4
The Country Coyote
CHAPTER 5
The City Coyote
CHAPTER 6
Coyote Control: Ways of Discouraging Coyotes
CHAPTER 7
When Coyotes Must Go: Trapping and Hunting Coyotes
CHAPTER 8
A Few Last Facts about Coyotes
PARTING THOUGHTS
RECOMMENDED READING
Photo by Steve and Dave Maslowski
dedication
May I be dead when all the woods are old And shaped to patterns of the
planners’ minds When great unnatural rows of trees unfold Their tender foliage
to the April winds….
I weep to think these hills where I awoke, Saw God’s great beauty, wonderful
and strange, Will be destroyed, stem and flower and oak I would rather die than
see the change.
—Jesse Stuart
acknowledgments
By the time you are finishing up a book, it can be hard to remember every step
of the long journey that took you to this point, and every hand that hoisted you
up, or helped you over a rocky spot in the path. I hope I haven’t forgotten
anyone here.
First, thank you to my publisher, Menasha Ridge Press, for their patience and
unflagging faith in this project. Especially Molly Merkle and Holly Cross (who
gave me my first chance to hear editorial remarks in a soft Southern accent).
Thanks, too, to Jack Heffron, who helped move the book from idea to publishing
contract.
My brother Richard provided strong moral support, as well as a great deal of
deeply appreciated hands-on help with the fact and illustration search. Clayton
Collier-Cartaino served as a sounding board of second opinions, complete with
witty remarks that helped put things in perspective at times. Susan Waddell gave
very useful input on the draft manuscript. Veterinarian Dr. Robert T. Sharp and
Amy Sharp Schneider provided expert feedback and advice on many issues, plus
their usual irreplaceable bright-eyed encouragement.
I am grateful, too, to coyote experts such as Stanley D. Gehrt of The Ohio State
University, who provided a wealth of hard-won information to mine, and Paul R.
Krausman of the University of Montana, who was kind enough to serve as an
expert reader. The many fine publications and Web sites of the individual states
on the subject of coyotes were also invaluable. Books by other authors on
coyotes, listed in the back of this book, were an inspiration and treasure trove as
well. Sincere thanks, too, to the many people who endured my endless
questioning and interviewing on this subject, and to outdoor writer Tom Cross of
Winchester, Ohio.
Illustrations help bring a book to life, and I appreciate each and every one of the
photographers and illustrators whose fine work enlivens these pages. Many of
these people—and state agencies—did so either at no charge or at a rate that
made it possible to include them. Special thanks to Russell Link of the Fish and
Wildlife Department of the State of Washington, Elise Able of Fox Wood
Wildlife Rescue, Inc., D. J. Hannigan, Gerald Tang, and Steve and Dave
Maslowski.
This list would be incomplete without a nod to the band of coyotes to the
southeast of my pole barn office, whose evening serenades first got me
interested in this subject.
about the authors
Carol Cartaino, a native of New Jersey and graduate of Rutgers University
(major in English and minor in biology), has had a lifetime interest in animals
and the outdoors. Growing up, she had just about every pet animal known and
walked home from the library every week with armloads of books on wild
animals. All of her best time as a child was spent in the woods near home or on
her grandparents’ farm in Western Pennsylvania. As an adult she has spent many
happy hours hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, and engaging in outdoor
photography and nature study.
For the past 40 years, Carol has been a professional book editor and writer’s
collaborator, working on almost every subject imaginable within nonfiction,
with a strong emphasis on how-to, self-help, and reference. She has helped many
authors—from the editors of Field & Stream and Arizona Highways to scuba
divers, photographers, plastic surgeons, veterinarians, and experts on moonshine
and cookery—to produce satisfying books. In her ten years as an editor in the
Trade Division of Prentice-Hall, Inc., books on nature and gardening were
among her specialties. In the decade that followed she was editor-in-chief of
Writer’s Digest Books in Cincinnati. In the years since, she has been a freelance
editor and book doctor for literary agents, publishers, and individual authors.
Since 1980, Carol has also served as editor and collaborator for best-selling
author Don Aslett, whose books have sold a total of more than three million
copies.
Carol lives with her son and many pets on a 66-acre farm in Southern Ohio, on
which she can continue her nature study and listen to the coyote songs.
Richard S. (“Rick”) Cartaino, of Fort Myers, Florida, was born in New York
City and raised in New Jersey. His favorite job there was driving a 60-passenger
commuter bus from the NJ suburbs into New York City. He moved to Florida in
1969, where he worked in retail management in the restaurant and men’s
clothing business. After that he went into law enforcement and is now a retired
Deputy Sheriff of Lee County. Richard likes to watch and photograph wildlife;
other hobbies include boating, fishing, swimming, woodworking, electronics,
and gardening coupled with tending to his handsome collection of tropical plants
and trees. Richard lives with his wife Marguerite and has three grown children