EVALUATION OF METHODS FOR DETECTING NONFLUORESCENT COLORED FLAKES ANDFLAKE PERSISTENCE IN COYOTE SCATS

Effective markers are needed to investigate coyote behavior, especiall y in areas of feeding and bait acceptance. We evaluated three methods for detecting nonfluorescent colored flakes in coyote seats and the pe rsistence off lakes in stored seats. Captive coyotes were offered tall ow baits with 100 mg each of red, green, blue and a mixture of red and green flakes. Seats deposited daily for 5 days after bait consumption were examined for flakes on the surface, after crushing and after was hing in nylon bags. Post-baiting, correct-colored flakes were detected for an average of about 21/2 days in both surface and crushed-seat ex aminations and for nearly 4 days in washed seats, which was significan tly longer. Preparing bags and washing must be done carefully. The fla kes were persistent in seats - no color fading or color separation fro m the silver-colored bases was observed during 8 months of weathering and storage. The flakes made durable coyote-scat markets that were rel iably detected with simple, inexpensive materials. The seat-washing te chnique described would probably be useful in detecting most inert par ticles delivered in baits.