North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>]

At 11:53 AM 2/9/2004 -0500, you wrote:
> I've heard that Red Wolves were released in eastern NorCar and Virginia and
> it is a big no-no to harm them.  They look like coyotes to me. One is a
> predator and the other is an endangered animal.  Might be a problem. Any
> comments?

Doc,
I've posted at least a couple of red wolves - they had a few captive ones 
at nearby Land Between the Lakes(may still have 'em, I don't know for sure) 
that were part of the captive breeding program, and some of those released 
into the wild came from LBL.
I couldn't see any notable difference between them and a coyote - but I'm 
not a mammalogist, and I've seen/read comments suggesting that a 
significant amount of coyote genetic material is noted in some, if not all 
of the remaining red wolves, when they do DNA analyses on them.

We've got 'em here.  I hear 'em frequently, and occasionally see them 
crossing the pasture back of the house.  I've seen 'em, on more than one 
occasion, rapidly pursuing a big red fox that used to live here.  Haven't 
seen a fox in a couple of years - don't know if they finally caught 'em or 
they just moved on due to the competition.
I haven't seen a groundhog on my place in nearly 10 years, and have had no 
reason thus far to suspect them as being a threat to my cattle.
Deer populations seem unaffected by them, though I wouldn't be surprised if 
they took a young fawn here or there.  Turkeys seem to be doing OK, though 
I'm sure the coyotes probably  nab a poult or setting hen from time to time.
Almost never see a rabbit, except for the one in my yard that keeps pruning 
pecan seedlings and mountain laurels - 'course, I never see it when I have 
a gun.