Branch History

After arriving on the shores of Prince Edward Island for the first time roughly a decade ago, this bushy-tailed addition to the Island wildlife scene is still battling to be understood by the Island's population.
People, it seems, are becoming unnecessarily frightened by coyotes - one of the smaller members of the wild dog family whose numbers are heading towards an estimated peak of 700 on Prince Edward Island.
"There usually is (a scare) when they first appear in any area," says Randy Dibblee of the provincial Fish and Wildlife Branch. "People associate them with wolves and become quite frightened."
QUELLING FEARS
To help reduce unnecessary fears, Fish and Wildlife is producing a pamphlet aimed at educating Islanders about the coyote.

Coyote Arrives on P.E.I. by
crossing ice

Mr. Dibblee says for one thing coyotes, which can range in color from cream to almost black, although most are a tawny grey, are much smaller than wolves, usually between 30 and 40 pounds, although the occasional old male will top 50 pounds.

Mostly they eat small wild mammals, such as mice, hares, squirrels, skunks and beavers. But they are omnivores, which means they also eat fruit, grass and berries. But one of the troubling aspects of coyotes is that they will attack and eat poultry, cats, dogs and perhaps, most commonly, Iambs.

"There are cases of them attacking animals and we make no bones about that," Mr. Dibblee says. "Virtually all of the Island's sheep farmers are aware of the coyotes and of techniques to prevent attacks."

Those techniques include not dumping the carcasses of dead animals in back fields or in nearby woods, installing predator-proof electric fencing, guard dogs and guard donkeys.

"You know how dangerous a horse can be to a dog?" Mr. Dibblee says, explaining the guard donkey's effectiveness. "Well, it's the same phenomenon that these guard donkeys are known for. He recalls a case at Dundas Farms a while back where they were holding a flock of sheep to ship to Quebec and were losing animals on a regular basis to coyotes. But after installing a guard donkey to watch over the flock they didn't lose an animal.

As for attacks on humans, cyotes generally try and avoid them and cases of attacks on humans are extremely rare.

"Documented cases of coyotes attacking children are extremely rare and are invariably associated with coyotes that have lost their fear of humans as a result of being fed, often in campgrounds orurban areas," the Fish and Wildlife pamphlet explains.

Coyotes first came to the Island around 1981, with the first contact with them being 1983, when a hunter snared one near Souris. Originally inhabitants of the plains of central North America, Mr. Dibblee explains that it took them roughly 100 years of gradual migration before they finally crossed the ice flows to reach Canada's eastern extremities.

They weren't spotted in Newfoundland until 1987. They reached Prince Edward Island by crossing the strait's winter ice, not surprising for an animal Mr. Dibblee refers to as "the marathoners" of the wild dog family. He adds they are still occasionally spotted from ferries.

One of the main differences be tween coyotes and wolves, other than size, is that they will hunt alone whereas wolves hunt exclusively in packs.

Coyotes are highly territorial and a pair of adults and five to seven pups will usually take up a 20 square mile area. That same territorial nature is what helps limit their size, Mr. Dibblee says, and is tlow he can estimate that their population on Prince Edward Island wll probably peak at around 700 within the next few years.

Nova Scotia tried to curtail its coyote population in the 1980's by placing a $50 bounty on each one killed. But the population actually expanded and the bounty payouts went from $2,250 to $22,100 in four years, so it was eliminated.

Fish and Wildlife says Islanders should accept coyotes as another interesting inhabitant of the Island's wildlife world.

SOURIS - Prince Edward Island's 'Mad Trapper', Edgar Rose, a well known fisherman and award winning conservationist, died recently after a long and hard-fought battle against cancer.
Edgar Alexander Edison Rose was born Jan. 22, 1932 in East Baltic and raised on a small family farm. East Baltic remained his home after marrying Sharon Connolly of New Glasgow, N .S. in 1960 and together they raised five children.
Mr. Rose fished out of North Lake Harbour throughout his life, which was a busy and varied one, always in tune with nature and the world around him. Running hand in hand with his fishing career was his involvement with wildlife as a hunter and trapper since childhood, and as a conservationist with the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation.
FOUNDING MEMBER
He was a founding member of the P.E.I. Trappers Association, a member of the Ontario Trappers Association, Kings County vice president of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation and a director and past president of the Souris and area branch for more than a decade.
In 1984, he was named Conservationist-Sportsman of the Year. Mr. Rose is described in that award as "having accomplished himself as one of the best trappers in Canada"
He was involved in the development of the annual wildlife dinners where his delicacies such as 'sweet and sour beaver" and 'fried muskrat" became favourites on the menu.

EDGAR ROSE
...well known
conservationist

DEACON IN CHURCH

Mr. Rose was deacon of his church for 10 years, and worked many hours over a five-year period for the Eastern Kings Community Centre. He was a founding member and vice president of Union Local 321 CBRT-GW; a member and executive member of the Eastern Kings Fisherman's Association and the P.E.I. Fisherman's Association; as well as a former chairman of the North Lake Port Committee.

Each year for its duration, he gave his time and expertise in preparing fish for the Basin Head Fisheries Museum's 'Harvest of the Sea'. As a result of this continuous volunteer effort, he was made a life member of the P .E.I. Museum and Heritage Foundation. He was also a member of the Baltic Bog Advisory Committee.

SOURIS - Work by the Souris and Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation to improve fish habitat in rivers and streams in Eastern Kings County is gaining increased support in all sectors.

This was evidenced recently by a $1,000 donation from Babineau Fisheries owner Ed Babineau, who is interested in the potential benefits of the habitat enhancement program as it affects both recreational and commercial fishing opportunities.

Larry Avery, project coordinator of the program, said during the restoration of various watercourses, barriers which inhibit fish migration are removed or improved upon so fish can reach valuable upstream spawning and nursery areas.

According to Mr. Avery, other aspects of the program also contribute to increasing the numbers of fish in area rivers and streams. These include rehabilitation and protection of the spawning grounds themselves, controlling and removing excess silt, and creating holding areas and places for the fish to hide. The Souris and area branch is also stabilizing stream banks and replenishing native fish stocks.

"It's reasonable to assume that the improved quality of our inland waterways will not only be attractive to native trout, but will also result in increased use by anadromous fish such as salmon, gasperaux, smelts and silversides which travel from salt to fresh water to spawn," he said.

There are also other commercially viable shellfish species like bar clams, quahaugs, mussels and oysters which all thrive in healthy coastal estuaries.

Besides this potential for an enhanced commercial fishery, he believes there are other important socio-economic impacts that result from caring for the fishing resource.

These are the things that Increase sport angling, family ,rcreation and tourism as well as preserve the environment in general for future generations.

SOURIS - Members of the Souris and area branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation held their annual wildlife dinner Sunday serving everything from seal flippers to caribou.

Winning the Biggest Lier Contest was Provincial Conservation Officer Spud Stewart, who took the title from local branch president Mickey Macdonald. The Edgar Rose Sportsman-Conservationist award went to member Larry Avery for his work with the branch's ongoing stream enhancement program.

The C.Roy White Youth Award was presented to Chepstow-Little Harbour 4-H for their tree planting project, while the Ike Cheverie Farmer-Forester Award went to the Provincial Department of Transportation for its improvemen in handling silt problems and highway runoff.

A certificate of appreciation was awarded to Babineau Fisheries for its $1,000 cash contribution to the Souris Branch's stream restoration program.

All pictures appearing on this site or its associated flickr account are the property of the photographers and the Souris & Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation.
They may not be copied without permission of the photographer and the Souris & Area Branch of the P.E.I. Wildlife Federation.