BEHAVIORAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN COYOTES, CANIS LATRANS, AND WOLVES, CANIS LUPUS, AT UNGULATE CARCASSES IN SOUTHWESTERN MONTANA

Wolf (Canis lupus) recolonization of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) provides an excellent opportunity to document competitive interactions between sympatric canids. To date, information regarding interactions between wolves and coyotes (Canis latrans) has been primarily descriptions of partitioned space use (Paquet 1991), extent of dietary overlap (Paquet 1992, Arjo 1998, Arjo and Pletscher 1999), adverse effects on coyote survival and demography (Crabtree 1998), and influences on coyote foraging patterns (Switalski 2003). The results of competitive interactions between coyotes and wolves may be ambiguous, particularly in areas where coyotes have become habituated to the presence of wolves. Although wolves may kill coyotes, they also provide significant scavenging opportunities by killing large prey not directly vulnerable to