Coyote (Canis latrans) Family Activity in a Landscape of Fear

At a global scale, rapid urban expansion is spilling human development over the boundaries that divide urban and rural. This overlap creates conflict as some wildlife species are forced to adjust to urban areas alongside human residents. One such species that has readily adapted to this urban life is the coyote (Canis latrans). Unfortunately for the coyote, being a medium-sized carnivore, human residents may feel threatened by this predatory neighbour. To address this fear, managers often turn toward aggressive management strategies. These strategies aim to induce fear in the coyotes, making them leave or avoid humans. For coyotes that have long resided in cities or have nowhere else to go, this management could arguably cause suffering or reduced fitness. To explore the latter, I used camera traps spanning an urban-to-rural gradient in and around Calgary, Alberta. I captured images from the homesites of these coyotes to better understand how fear might manifest behavioural differences and what effect this might have on fitness-related behaviours. Urban coyotes displayed significantly higher levels of fear-related behaviours like vigilance and den guarding but lower levels of exploration. The trade-off these coyotes make in committing more time to being on alert and guarding pups could make for less time for necessary fitness-related behaviours, like effective hunting and receiving signals from their environment. Given coyotes are a vital top carnivore in urban areas, one consequence of the previous might be less effective control of prey populations. Fearful coyotes may also seek easier anthropogenic food sources that can lead them to further conflict with humans. With conflict incidents with coyotes frequently appearing in the media across Canada, I explore how my findings support a peaceful, non-harassment coexistence approach, where people work with the coyotes instead of against them.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MSc)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Geography

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Mitchell, Robert

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Alexander, Shelley

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Draper, Dianne
• Johnson, Steig

• Coyote
• Landscape of fear
• Ethology
• Vigilance
• Pup-rearing
• Urban wildlife management

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/42768

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/117925