Guys,
i found the article on the NYS coyote...
Record coyote shot
Webster man hits 81-pound, 62-inch male
By JIM CASTOR, STAFF WRITER
A Webster hunter has shot and killed what is believed to be the largest Eastern coyote recorded in New York.
An 81-pound male coyote was shot by Shawn Orchard last week while he was hunting deer with friends on private property in Ontario, Wayne County.
"Two female deer were being pursued by a pack of three coyotes," Orchard said. "We heard them crashing through the brush, physically hunting the deer down. I saw two smaller ones about 15 yards behind the deer, then the big one came into view behind them. I was up in a treestand. The shot was from about 90 yards."
Orchard said he took the coyote home and weighed it on his bathroom scales, after weighing himself to check the scales' accuracy. "It may have been off a pound or two, but that's all," Orchard said.
Orchard then drove to the state Department of Environmental Conservation's Region 8 headquarters in Avon, where wildlife technician Ron Newell confirmed the species.
When taxidermist Rick Streeter of Williamson prepares the hide for mounting, tissue samples from the animal's muscles and tongue will be sent to a wildlife biologist in Syracuse for study. It is possible it's a crossbreed between a wolf and coyote. Wolves, however, are rarely seen in New York.
Robert Chambers, a wildlife ecologist with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, said it is "by far, the largest coyote I've heard of in New York."
"I don't know what to make of it," he said. "The size is horrendous. They told me it was 62 inches long. It seemed to have all the characteristics of a coyote. We'd like the tissue samples so we can have some DNA testing done. Some hybridization seems very likely."
Chambers has been studying coyotes in New York since 1969. Their presence has been a source of controversy among hunters, landowners, farmers and others for many years.
Coyote hunting season runs from mid-October to the end of March.
A DEC study in 1991, prompted by a proposal to open the season year-round, concluded that there was no strong demand or need, and that nuisance complaints were localized and not widespread.
But reports persist that coyotes have raided the chicken coop, killed farm livestock or ravaged the family cat. This month biologists in Region 9 (Buffalo area) have been holding a series of informational meetings on coyotes after complaints from residents, particularly in Niagara County.
Coyotes kill animals, or eat already-dead animals, as their main diet. In winter, the most frequently found food in their stomachs are varying hare (rabbit), deer, plant material, chipmunks and squirrels.
"They're normally about the size of a medium-sized German shepherd dog," Chambers said. "The average male adult coyote weighs between 35 and 45 pounds."
Their coat is long and thick, tail full and bushy and usually carried pointing down. The ears are erect and pointed.
"We believe coyotes came from Canada, when the St. Lawrence River froze over in the winter," Chambers said. "We suspect there's been some hybridizing, although we've had only three reports of wolves since 1969 one in the Fulton area, one in Allegany and the other in the St. Lawrence Valley. They are not an established population."
PHOTO CAPTION
The big one Shawn Orchard shot this 81-pound coyote from about 90 yards away.
-----Original Message-----