Presentation a Howling Success

By Lindsey Pizzica Rotolo

The Norfolk Land Trust sponsored an illustrated lecture on Eastern Coyotes to kick off their 24^th annual meeting.  The talk, given by Dr. Jonathan G. Way, a field biologist and science educator, covered Way’s extensive research project on coyote behavior, both in the wild and in captivity.  He centered his research on the coyotes of eastern Massachusetts, particularly those on Cape Cod.

More than 100 people in the audience enjoyed Way’s video footage of coyotes both in captivity and in the wild. One remarkable scene showed him surrounded by coyote pups, which he was then raising, and communicating with them in their familiar yips. Way’s findings on space use, pack size, activity patterns, denning season and movement patterns all provided the audience with a better understanding of coyote behavior. One of his goals is to help dispel the urban myth of coyotes as ferocious killers.  Twenty people a year die from dog bites, he told his listeners, yet there is just one recorded instance of a human fatality from a coyote attack.

Way was born and raised on Cape Cod and currently lives in Falmouth where he teaches high school.  He has developed a two to three week curriculum for high school students on coyote behavior. “We need more education to diverse audiences so the general public can understand the actual nature of coyote behavior,” Way explained at the end of his lecture.