Survival of Translocated Coyotes in the Chicago Metropolitan Area, USA

For nuisance animals, the general public perceives translocation to be a humane alternative to lethal control measures, but survival of translocated wildlife is often quite low due in part to increased movement post-release. Thus, for common species whose relocation generally serves a social rather than conservation purpose, translocation might not be correctly characterized when presented as nonlethal. We quantified release site fidelity and survival of coyotes (Canis latrans) fitted with very high frequency radio-collars and translocated within the Chicago Metropolitan Area, Illinois, USA, from 2000 to 2006. We also compared survival for 14 weeks post-collaring for our translocated animals to that of 143 unmoved, control coyotes in the same region and used Cox proportional-hazards (CPH) models to evaluate the influence of translocation status, sex, age class, and collar season on survival. Of the 9 translocated coyotes, all animals vacated the site of release, 6 died within 14 weeks of collaring, and 3 animals were lost. Consequently, survival over the monitoring period was 0.00, relative to 0.88 for the unmoved coyotes. According to our CPH models, translocation status was the only factor contributing to reduced survival of the translocated animals (P <0.001). These results indicate that translocation does not provide for a more successful outcome for nuisance individuals than an approved euthanasia. If the risk to people and property is low and animal welfare is a local concern, nonlethal methods of reducing conflict, including education and behavior modification of humans, should be considered before translocation.