Will an artificial scent boundary prevent coyote intrusion?

Published source details Shivik J.A., Wilson R.R. & Gilbert‐Norton L. (2011) Will an artificial scent boundary prevent coyote intrusion?. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 35, 494-497.
Share Tweet Email

Actions

This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Use scent to deter predation of livestock by mammals to reduce human-wildlife conflict Action Link

Use scent to deter predation of livestock by mammals to reduce human-wildlife conflict

A study in 2007–2009 of a shrubland and grassland wildlife refuge and a replicated, randomized study in 2006 at a captive facility in Utah, USA (Shivik et al. 2011) found that applying coyote Canis latrans scent as a trial of its use in deterring livestock predation did not reduce visits by coyotes. In the wildlife refuge study, wild coyotes visited areas marked with other coyotes’ scent more often (average 36 visits/coyote) than they visited non-marked areas (average 11 visits/coyote). In the captive study, coyotes visited areas marked with other coyotes’ scent more often than they visited non-marked areas both at territory boundaries (marked: 17 visits; not marked: 6 visits) and within territories (marked: 13 visits; not marked: 7 visits). In the wildlife refuge, GPS-collar data were obtained from three coyotes that had been followed for >10 weeks to define home-ranges. Within each home range, 1–2 clearings (2 ha), >100 m apart, were randomly selected and either marked with coyote urine (1–2 ml every 1–2 m) or left unmarked. Coyotes were monitored for four weeks. The captive study was conducted over two 13–14-day periods in October–November 2006. Two from four coyote pairs, housed in 1-ha pens, were randomly selected to have the boundary of 7% of their pen area marked with urine and scats from other coyotes. Two pairs did not have their pens marked. The behaviour of each coyote was monitored for eight hours through direct observation.

(Summarised by: Ricardo Rocha)