Varmints and Game

Alright, this is kind of off-the-cuff, but here I go.

I was perusing some sportsman magazines recently; well, the Newfoundland Sportsman in particular, but a simple trip down google-lane will reveal similar sentiments all across Canada and the United States. That is, anti-coyote and wolf sentiments - 'varmints' as they are almost exclusively referred to in some magazines. These animals, many say, are pests that if left alone will decimate the caribou and moose populations, the former of which are experiencing declining herds populations in the province. And so the government has decided to introduce a "seasonal" coyote harvest aimed at controlling their numbers and easing pressure on the large ungulates. That season runs from September to July, and licenses are free. It's basically open season, boys, kill those 'yotes!

Coyotes seem to have first arrived in Newfoundland in the 1980's. At least, the first evidence of their arrival was seen in 1986 when a coyote pup was struck by a car. Their numbers now range between 5,000 and 10,000, though there are those with a very specific agenda who would put that number much higher. I was home in Central Newfoundland last summer, and from my parents back yard I heard them yipping and howling in the hills nearby. A spooky sound to be sure, but exhilarating all the same.

There is lots of misinformation floating around: coyotes kill for the heck of it and leave the carcass untouched, they don't fear humans, they routinely take caribou and moose - even the adults. I didn't even need to look into the claim about recreational killing to know that it was false. What animal struggling to survive would expend the number of calories needed to take down a caribou only to walk away from it afterwards? I thought, well maybe to teach their young how to hunt, but even in that case I just can't imagine that they would not take advantage of the meal. Coyotes do have a healthy fear of humans, but there have been very very rare instances of attacks, especially from packs that have been fed by well-meaning people. There was a fatal attack some years ago in Nova Scotia, but in general you are much more likely to be bitten or killed by a dog. The Eastern coyotes are typically larger than their Western cousins, and it has been speculated that this increase in size has been due to their having to adapt to larger prey in order to sustain themselves and to survive the harsh winters. Still, the main staple of their diet is by far rabbits, hares, voles, mice and the like. Being opportunists they will eat what hunters leave behind of their moose and caribou kills, and they will take a calf if they can, but I think if we want an explanation for the dwindling caribou numbers we need to take a good long look at ourselves.

I take exception to the 'varmint' label. It is part of an attempt by some hunters to vilify coyotes, anthropomorphically, in order that they be able to shoot one on site with no questions asked. A picture is painted of an animal with blood-lust in its eyes, picking off prey and livestock willy-nilly with no other motive than for sheer joy in death and destruction. We can't seem to put our trust in the fact that Nature will strike a balance perfectly well without our meddling, so we blunder along in our infinite wisdom introducing species here, annihilating them there. There used to be a Newfoundland Wolf, but that has gone the way of the dodo, or more appropriately, the Great Auk.

Lets call a spade a spade. When a coyote enters wolf territory it will be lucky to make it out alive. A wolf will absolutely kill a coyote and leave it uneaten; they are competitors. I wonder what alien visitors would make of our behavior towards other predators in our territory? We try to dress it up as a service to the caribou population, we try to give it some sort of high-functioning purpose, but it is really a very 'base' animal thing to do, just what the wolves are doing: we can't abide the presence of something competing with us, much less for our precious "game", another word that I have a growing dislike for, as if these animals exist solely for our games. Given a chance there are those who would shoot every last coyote in North America without a second thought, because they have bought into this notion that they are "varmints" ruining our "game".

All that being said, I am not against hunting (though trophy hunting is another thing); in fact, I think that if you are going to eat meat, then killing it yourself is the most honest and responsible way to go about it (not that I can claim to take that responsibility myself); look the animal in its eye before you pull the trigger, that sort of thing. But systematically destroying other predators out of fear and ignorance and lack of respect leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Coyotes are to be just as respected as any other animal.

I searched around for a coyote documentary and all I found was this amateur, but informative video that looks to have been put together as a doctoral project or something. I can't seem to embed it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dnzq0uPWyVQ

I'll end with this Native-American myth about "the trickster":

Long ago when it became night, there were no stars in the sky. The Wolf thought he would brighten up the dark sky by putting stars there. He designed The Big Dipper, The Little Dipper, The North Star, The Eagle's Footprint, The Three Hunters and The Bears. The Wolf worked and worked and by noontime he was very tired. So he lay down to take an afternoon nap with his sack beside him.

As big brother Wolf was sleeping, along came his little brother, Coyote, who was searching for him. When Coyote came upon his big brother sleeping, he noticed the sack beside him and became very curious. He said to himself, 'I wonder what my big brother has in that sack?  I think I will take it and see what is in it.'

Coyote took the sack and ran. While he was running, he opened the sack and looked in. Not watching where he was going, he tripped and spilled the stardust with which brother Wolf had been making the stars. The stardust splattered into the sky among the designs brother Wolf had been working on.

If brother Coyote had not taken brother Wolf's sack of stardust, all the stars would now be formed into different designs rather than scattered about as they are today in the Milky Way.

When Coyote looks into the sky and cries, it is because he sees the scattered stars and he remembers what he did. It makes him feel very sad.