Richard D. L. Fulton

Coyotes were first reported in Maryland in 1972, and have spread throughout the state, while coywolves (wolf and coyote hybrids) seem to have concentrated in the Chesapeake Bay areas.

Coyotes were once considered endemic to the “Wild West,” often playing the role of those menacing, howling inhabitants among the shadows of the night.

But something happened that caused the western coyotes to eventually migrate east, inhabiting every state on the East Coast—Maryland and Delaware being the last two states to experience the arrival of the furry invaders.

The Coyote Invasion

In Maryland, the first reports of the presence of coyotes were made in Cecil, Frederick, and Washington counties in 1972, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Coyotes were generally concentrated west of the Mississippi, but “Alterations and/or elimination of competing predators during the post-European colonization period facilitated rapid range expansion into eastern North America,” the DNR reported.

In other words, humans set the stage for the coyote invasion of the East Coast by eliminating, through hunting or just plain shooting (to protect livestock, etc.), a significant number of coyotes’ natural enemies: mountain lions, wolves, foxes, black bears, weasels, badgers, wolverines, and even eagles.

 So what is a coyote? The species name for the coyote is Canis latrans). In addition to coyote, they are also called prairie wolf (so dubbed by 19th century explorers, Lewis and Clark), brush wolf, American jackal, and “in many western states, they are referred to simply as dogs,” according to the National Park Service NPS).

Generally, the coyotes have the general appearance of a German Shepherd, with a shoulder height of 18 to 23 inches, a length of 4 feet or more, and a weight of 20 to 35 pounds.

Generally, coyotes are pack animals. If there are coyotes around where a resident lives, one might have heard their distinctive howl as they communicate with one another. They also travel in packs of five-to-six adults. However, the NPS notes that packs can actually have as many as 10 adults or more.

Coyotes are basically omnivores, meaning they will eat plants and animals, but they are principally carnivores. It has been said that if a person notes a decline in foxes and outdoor pets, it could likely be that there is one or more coyotes prowling the neighborhood.

As far as the occurrences of the coyotes in Maryland, the DNR stated, “In Maryland, coyotes occupy most of the state’s habitat types, with the highest densities occurring in intermixed woodland and farmland areas… (with the) highest densities (numbers of coyotes present) in Western Maryland and the lowest densities on the Eastern Shore.”

Now For the Coywolves

Maryland has not only been faced with a coyote invasion, but also a new form of coyote has appeared on the scene: the coywolf.

Apparently, coyotes, being a canine, can breed with other types of canines. As a result, some coyotes arriving in Maryland had cross-bred with wolves, as was discovered through DNA analysis. As a result, this new coyote-wolf “breed” has been dubbed as coywolves.

DNA analysis has additionally revealed that some of the coywolves had even cross-bred with common household dogs.

According to the Smithsonian Institute, the average DNA result of a coywolf is 25 percent wolf, 10 percent domestic dog (usually large dogs), and 65 percent coyote.

The wolf DNA found in the coyote was attained by crossbreeding with eastern wolf and/or western wolf, while the presence of domestic dog appears to have been the result of crossbreeding with large dogs, such as Doberman Pinschers and German Shepherds.

It should be noted that some authorities claim that all of Maryland’s coyotes are, in fact,  coywolves, but the issue continues on as a matter of debate.

In general, the coywolf looks very much like the coyote but, on average, is generally “about 55 pounds heavier than pure coyotes, with longer legs, a larger jaw, smaller ears, and a bushier tail,” according to the Smithsonian Institute.

For some reason, the coywolves seem to be more prolific around the Chesapeake Bay area, but this could just be the route of the initial coywolf invasion. Javier Monzon, a genetics researcher at Stony Brook University in New York, reported in an article written by Sadie Dingfelder, and published by timberwolfinformation.org, that the coywolves “are perfectly adapted to the I-95 corridor.”

It also seems that those that have also crossbred with dogs may be less sensitive to vehicular traffic and city noise.

Sharon Levy, in Rise of the coyote: The new top dog (published by nature.com), reported that the coyotes began to arrive in the Washington, D.C., area in 2004, when an encounter occurred between a hiker and her German Shepherd and two suspected coywolves in Rock Creek Park.  Apparently, according to local news coverage, the Shepherd had initially challenged the two coywolves, but then subsequently retreated.

Preparing for a Close Encounter

Coyote and coywolf attacks on humans are extremely rare in Maryland. In fact, only two attacks on humans have ever been recorded in Maryland, one of which occurred in Rockville, and the animal involved was subsequently found to be suffering from rabies.

If one finds themselves in a potential “stare down” with one or more coyotes or coywolves, Harry Spiker with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources told ABC 7 that in order to avoid a conflict, individuals or groups of people should, “Stay upright. Don’t bend down. Never run. Any member of the canine species has a chase reflex, where they will chase something that runs. So, back away, make yourself large, talk in a firm voice. If it continues to approach you, throw rocks or sticks in its direction, continuing to back away. And ultimately, if it would attack, fight back. Don’t play dead.”

Spiker noted, however, that a human encounter with a coyote or coywolf would be “extremely unlikely.”

The most serious concerns would be protecting indoor-outdoor pets and farm animals.

First, one might want to contact the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to see if there has been any coyote activity in the area of a resident, neighborhood, or farm.  Coywolves seem to be attracted to areas with a high deer population.

The best way to reduce the chance of encounters with indoor-outdoor pets and farm animals is to eliminate some of the attractants (hunting has not proven to be effective since eliminating a pack simply opens the way for a new pack to move in).

Hobbyfarms.com has listed a few means of reducing encounters with coyotes or coywolves, especially around homesteads:

•   Don’t leave bowls of pet food or water outside overnight. 

•   Keep garbage in a sturdy container with a tight-fitting lid.

•   Don’t place garbage cans out at the curb until the morning of your scheduled pickup day.

•   Compost in enclosed bins instead of exposed piles.

•   Clean up around bird feeders.

•   Keep all pets inside at night and watch small dogs while outside, even during daylight hours.

•   Keep cats indoors.

•   Make sure your fences are more than 6 feet high with no gaps at ground level—coyotes are good diggers.

As far as protecting farm animals, farmandanimals.com notes that, “Because coyotes are smart, observant, cautious, and elusive, keeping them away from your crops, pets, and livestock can be very challenging. They learn and adapt fast, so it’s smart to have a varied bag of tricks to use against them.

Farmandanimals.com offers several  recommendations to help protect the farm, including installing tall, strong fencing; using electric fences where possible; and adopting guard animals, such as large herding dogs (Great Pyrenees, Komondor, Anatolian, Akbash), donkeys, and llamas.

For additional tips and more information, visit Farmandanimals.com.

Coyotes do not hibernate and hunt year-round