NW PA Coyote Study

[eplatz1]

https://sites.google.com/site/coyotestudy/

As coyote become part of Pennsylvania's natural landscape, Pennsylvanians are interacting with coyote, and sometimes for the first time. Unfortunately, there is very little research on coyote in PA, and even less on the coyote-human relationship in PA. Therefore, the purpose of this survey is to fill some of those gaps with the knowledge and opinions of people from the NW PA region. We are specifically looking at the northwestern Pennsylvania area, but are more than happy to collect data from anyone in western PA. We are hoping to get an overview of potential coyote population, hunting methods, coyote behavior towards humans, peoples' opinions and knowledge of coyote, and other general coyote-human interactions in NW PA to help fill the research gap.

You do not have to be a hunter of coyote to take this survey. Please feel free to pass it along to your family and friends. Everyone's opinion is important.

Thank you for your time!!

https://sites.google.com/site/coyotestudy/

[eplatz1]

I have had a few message boards where people thought this was spam, so I want to make it clear that I am doing research, not posting links for the fun of it.

We are trying to do research and we need opinions. I am a student at Edinboro University of PA and I am working with a professor in order to complete this coyote study. We want lots of opinions, so I figured that I would post it on message boards and try to get people to respond. This study will be published in a scientific journal and we are also giving the analysis of the results at a conference in NYC in February

[ar15jules]

I can't answer the survey with any real data to back up my choice. I can tell you that living in Erie County, I see coyote on a regular basis roaming the railroad tracks near my home. I don't hunt much in Erie County, but see coyote on a regular basis while hunting in the bordering northern Crawford and Chatauqua County NY. I can ONLY ASSUME that coyote are utilizing deer as part of their regular diet. Are they packing and killing fawns or sick adults? Can they manage to take down a healthy adult? Do they eat road killed deer? I just don't know.
Jules

[bigandy1966]

Tell me, what is the end purpose of the research? Is it just an Opinion Survey? What do you want to do with the information gathered? The overall "Theme and feel" of your surveys site tends to make me believe this is not an unbiased survey, some your questions can be answered by simple research on the Pa Game commission website. Please tell me Why would Scientists be interested in "Opinions"? Opinions are not scientific data. Opinion polls are used to introduce legislation. If there is enough people who "feel" that hunting and trapping of coyotes is wrong then laws are written or changed based on "Feelings and Opinions" not scientific data.
In Pennsylvania we have Coyotes in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and every county between, Northern Tier to Southern Borders. These are intelligent, adaptable and prolific animals. One was seen and photographed in Central Park in New York City.There has been cross breeding with feral domestic dogs and are called Coydogs, also of which we have an over abundance of.
The Eastern coyote has already been extensively studied and its paths back into the Commonwealth have been proven through DNA sampling and Scientific study. The coyote we see is actually a hybrid between the Western Coyote and the Red Timber wolf of Southeastern Canada, so the reintroduction is a natural migration of Coyotes looking for territory, moving up through the northern mid-western states through Canada. This has been proven repeatedly and is the basis of many actual Scientific studies. We manage the Coyote population based on Scientific data Not public Opinion polls.
The people who are encountering coyotes for the first time are urbanites who move out to suburbs and rural areas and realize that there are wild animals out here who will eat their cats and peekapoos. New Jersey has a huge population of Coyotes and liberals who might lend a sympathetic ear to your underlying agenda and provide the skewed data that you are looking for.

[ar15jules]

peekapoo...............LOL

[eplatz1]

We are interested in the dynamics of humans and animals. It is social research. There is actually a whole new research area that is opening up that deals with human dimensions of wildlife. We want to understand people's reactions to the coyote and what people's opinions are. This is important when dealing with managing a population, etc. We are not doing a biased study, although there will always be bias when dealing with human opinions/knowledge. Those that care about the issues will respond, those that don't, probably won't, etc. As a researcher, you can't control that bias.

And, yes, we know that we can look up the facts...and have already done so, but opinions from people are not always facts...you can tell me the sky is green, but that is not a fact...just your opinion.

[bigandy1966]

We are interested in the dynamics of humans and animals. It is social research. There is actually a whole new research area that is opening up that deals with human dimensions of wildlife. We want to understand people's reactions to the coyote and what people's opinions are. This is important when dealing with managing a population, etc. We are not doing a biased study, although there will always be bias when dealing with human opinions/knowledge. Those that care about the issues will respond, those that don't, probably won't, etc. As a researcher, you can't control that bias.

And, yes, we know that we can look up the facts...and have already done so, but opinions from people are not always facts...you can tell me the sky is green, but that is not a fact...just your opinion.

Certainly and in my opinion your Survey is flawed. How is Opinion important to scientifically "managing a population"? Hard data is the criteria, tangible proven facts are the mitigating basis of a true scientific study. Your terms "peoples reactions to the coyote" imply that you are looking for emotional responses. You state that you have researched the Pa Game commissions website yet your survey questions bring up methods that are illegal in Pennsylvania "Human dimensions" of wildlife implies there is quite a bit of anthropomorphic implications to your survey that have no bearing on scientific methods.
Let me tell you some first hand observations about Coyotes. They carry rabies, there are far more than people realize, they kill fawns, they kill domestic farm animals, they kill domestic pets. Proven scientific and first hand accounts every single one.
I have seen a news article about a poor old man walking his small dog and a coyote jumping out of a bush and trying to snatch it. The old mans beloved pet had to be euthanized because of its horrific injuries. That old man was devastated by the loss of his pet.
My brother in law was fishing on Lake Jean near a picnic area. A human family with small children on a picnic were watching a family of deer peacefully feeding on some grass in a field a short distance away. A pack of coyotes attacked the deer and tore the fawns to pieces in front of the people and their small children. They never even ate any of the meat. the screams from the fawns was terrible thing to hear and the children started to cry.The coyotes then ran the doe up into the woods.
My mother has a small beagal. One night they were ringd bya pack of coyotes and she had to pick up her dog and run back inside her house. She carries a revolver on walks to this day because of it. hows that for a "dynamic interaction?"

[eplatz1]

Certainly and in my opinion your Survey is flawed. How is Opinion important to scientifically "managing a population"? Hard data is the criteria, tangible proven facts are the mitigating basis of a true scientific study. Your terms "peoples reactions to the coyote" imply that you are looking for emotional responses. You state that you have researched the Pa Game commissions website yet your survey questions bring up methods that are illegal in Pennsylvania "Human dimensions" of wildlife implies there is quite a bit of anthropomorphic implications to your survey that have no bearing on scientific methods.
Let me tell you some first hand observations about Coyotes. They carry rabies, there are far more than people realize, they kill fawns, they kill domestic farm animals, they kill domestic pets. Proven scientific and first hand accounts every single one.
I have seen a news article about a poor old man walking his small dog and a coyote jumping out of a bush and trying to snatch it. The old mans beloved pet had to be euthanized because of its horrific injuries. That old man was devastated by the loss of his pet.
My brother in law was fishing on Lake Jean near a picnic area. A human family with small children on a picnic were watching a family of deer peacefully feeding on some grass in a field a short distance away. A pack of coyotes attacked the deer and tore the fawns to pieces in front of the people and their small children. They never even ate any of the meat. the screams from the fawns was terrible thing to hear and the children started to cry.The coyotes then ran the doe up into the woods.
My mother has a small beagal. One night they were ringd bya pack of coyotes and she had to pick up her dog and run back inside her house. She carries a revolver on walks to this day because of it. hows that for a "dynamic interaction?"

Thank you for your stories, they are actually exactly what we would like to know. When those things happened because of the coyote, it affected those people. Learning how people respond to animals does help with understanding how to manage a population. For example, a park near me has to study people's reactions to wildlife in order to effectively keep their reputation in good standing. If they are constantly doing something that the public sees as bad, then they need to change their ways in order to appease the public. That is where opinion matters.

[bigandy1966]

Which would also include apeaseing the people who feel that hunting coyotes is wrong. In politics the party with the deepest pockets and the biggest mouths hold sway over common sense

[eplatz1]

This is nothing political...it's a survey to understand people's responses to coyote...that's it, nothing political about it. No one said anything either way about hunting coyotes being wrong...