Northeastern Coyote

Steps to facilitate inter-jurisdictional collaboration nationally and continentally have been critical for implementing and conducting coordinated wildlife rabies management programs that rely heavily on oral rabies vaccination (ORV). Formation of a national rabies management team has been pivotal for coordinated ORV programs in the United States of America. The signing of the North American Rabies Management Plan extended a collaborative framework for coordination of surveillance, control, and research in border areas among Canada, Mexico, and the US...

The dramatic expansion of the geographical range of coyotes over the last 90 years is partly explained by changes to the landscape and local extinctions of wolves, but hybridization may also have facilitated their movement. We present mtDNA sequence data from 686 eastern coyotes and measurements of 196 skulls related to their two-front colonization pattern. We find evidence for hybridization with Great Lakes wolves only along the northern front, which is correlated with larger skull size, increased sexual dimorphism and a five times faster colonization rate than the southern front...

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the northeastern portion of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Bovine TB in deer and cattle has created immense financial consequences for the livestock industry and hunting public. Surveillance identified coyotes (Canis latrans) as potential bio-accumulators of Mycobacterium bovis, a finding that generated interest in their potential to serve as sentinels for monitoring disease risk. We sampled 175 coyotes in the bovine TB-endemic area...

Feces and duodenal scrapings were collected from 22 coyotes (Canis latrans) killed in managed hunts in northeastern Pennsylvania. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods were used to detect Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. PCR-amplified fragments of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. SSU-rRNA genes were subjected to DNA sequence analysis for species/genotype determination. Seven coyotes (32%) were positive for G. duodenalis: three assemblage C, three assemblage D, and one assemblage B. Six coyotes (27%) were positive for Cryptosporidium spp...

The state of Michigan has recognized the presence of Mycobacterium bovis in its free-ranging white-tailed deer population since 1994. This endemic infection is primarily located in a 12-county area in the northeastern lower peninsula of Michigan. A statewide surveillance and eradication program of the disease has been in effect since 1994. Worldwide, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex organisms have a known predilection toward development of antimicrobial resistance. The objective of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial susceptibility of M...

Coyotes (Canis latrans) have colonized northeastern North America only within the past 10-80 yr. We examined feces of coyotes in 2000-01 at three sites in New York (USA) to survey parasites in the region. Two cestodes, nine nematodes, five protozoa, one trematode, and two arthropods were identified from 145 coyote fecal samples. Parasite component community diversity was higher (n = 16 species) in southern New York than in middle and northern sites (nine species each) and infracommunity species richness was greater in southern New York than at the other sites...

The US Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) Red Wolf Recovery Program recognizes hybridization with coyotes as the primary threat to red wolf recovery. Efforts to curb or stop hybridization are hampered in two ways. First, hybrid individuals are difficult to identify based solely on morphology. Second, managers need to effectively search 6000 km(2) for the presence of coyotes and hybrids. We develop a noninvasive method to screen large geographical areas for coyotes and hybrids with maternal coyote ancestry by combining mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis of faeces (scat) and geographic information system (GIS) technology...

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence of tuberculosis caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis in cervids on privately owned ranches in northeastern lower Michigan. DESIGN: Epidemiologic survey. ANIMALS: Cervids on 96 privately owned ranches. PROCEDURES: A combination of slaughter and skin tuberculin testing was used to collect data. Infection with M. bovis was confirmed by use of standard necropsy and bacteriologic culture techniques...

To further determine the distribution and prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in the central United States, 245 wild canids (125 red foxes, 120 coyotes) and 33 bobcats were collected from Nebraska, Kansas, and Wyoming and examined for this parasite. Animals examined included 11 red foxes from the western panhandle of Nebraska; 5 red foxes and 30 coyotes from southern Nebraska; 56 red foxes and 1 coyote from northeastern Nebraska; 20 red foxes, 63 coyotes, and 13 bobcats from northern Kansas; 2 red foxes, 26 coyotes, and 20 bobcats from southern Kansas; and 31 red foxes from east-central Wyoming...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether animals had serologic evidence of infection with Sin Nombre virus (SNV). DESIGN: Prospective serosurvey. SAMPLE POPULATION: Serum samples were obtained from 145 cats, 85 dogs, 120 horses, and 24 cattle between April 1993 and August 1994 and 54 coyotes between December 1994 and February 1995. PROCEDURE: Serum samples were analyzed by western immunoblot assays for reaction with SNV nucleocapsid antigen...

In 1992, 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico reported 8,644 cases of rabies in nonhuman animals and 1 case in a human being to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost 92% (7,912 cases) were wild animals, the largest number of wild animals ever reported, whereas 8.5% (732 cases) were domestic species. The total number of reported cases increased 23.9% over that of 1991 (6,975 cases), with most of the increase resulting from continued spread of rabies in raccoons. The 2 epizootics of rabies in raccoons (Northeastern/mid-Atlantic region and Southeastern region) are now approaching convergence in North Carolina (49 reported cases of rabies in 1992)...

In 1993, 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico reported 9,495 cases of rabies in nonhuman animals and 3 cases in human beings to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Greater than 93% (8,889 cases) were wild animals, whereas 6.4% (606 cases) were domestic species. The total number of reported cases increased 9.9% over that of 1992 (8,645 cases), with most of the increase resulting from continued spread of rabies in raccoons (37.1% increase in reported cases over 1992). The 2 epizootics of rabies in raccoons (Northeastern/mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions) approach convergence in North Carolina (106 cases of rabies in 1993, compared with 49 in 1992)...