Coyote or Wolf?

[BEHR655]

Saturday, after visiting the landing gear site via Bear Swamp, KenDawg and I headed up to Spring Hill to see if we could see the jets we could hear making their practice runs. By the time we got there the jets were gone but there were two men there that had been watching them. After talking for a while they told us that if we went just a little up the trail there was a great view to the east. We decided to check it out. Just as we approached the turn off we could see two guys parked there on the right at the vista and right in front of us we saw what we thought was a dog that was in the process of turning around to run the other way. I shouted to the guys to ask if it was theirs and they said no. When I looked back the animal had turned off the trail and was heading into the brush. At first glimpse I had thought it was a German Shepherd but as it turned into the brush I could see it had a bushy tail. This animal was about the size of a Shepherd which I think is too large for a Coyote. I have never heard of Wolf in the Pines. Could it have been a Wolf or can a Coyote be the size of a German Shepherd?

Steve

 

[BarryC]

Well there's a stuffed Coyote in the visitors' center at Batsto, inside a glass case. He might be almost as big as a Shepherd. I don't know. I've never heard of Wolves in the Pines. They've been extinct from NJ for a very long time. There is a wolf preserve up in Warren County though.
Sounds like a neat find. Wish I had seen it.

 

[bach2yoga]

I saw a coyote by the Parkway a couple of months ago, he was about the size of a small german shepherd.
My Animal Tracks of NJ says female is slightly smaller, 58-65 cm (that's 23-26" for those of you who haven't converted to metric yet )Length is 80-100 cm (32-40"). It doesn't list the wolf as a NJ species, neither does my Track Finder; it shows them as being much more northern. Anyone know any different?
Renee

 

[BEHR655]

Barry,

I at first thought it was a coyote but when I saw the stuffed one at Batsto on Sunday I realized what I saw was larger.

Steve

 

[Teegate]

Jessica and I saw what you are describing last weekend crossing 72 in the vicinity of Coyle Field. It was as big as a German Shepherd but it did not appear to be one. As it was running across the road it kept it's head turned toward us as it crossed. We were the closest vehicle to it, as the cars in the other direction was off in the distance.

I am certain that there is some sort of odd animal out there. That was on my mind Saturday near Ft Dix as I was in the woods alone because Jessica though the property was owned by the military and she stayed in the car. I heard a noise in the bushes near me and there was something there that was moving the bushes that had to be a human or equivalent in size. I held up my yellow GPS and blue camera case in the event it was a bow hunter, but the rustling stopped and I did not see what it was. If it was a hunter he did not say anything as I approached. I am not afraid to admit it was a weird feeling being in the woods alone and something right near you starts to move around. I continued to walk around with a constant glance back in that direction, and shortly after decided to exit the area.

Guy

 

[BEHR655]

Renee,

It took me a long time to get good with inches and feet. I don't see myself changing to metric any time soon.

Of course this could be like the fish that got away, it keeps getting bigger. LOL

 

[Teegate]

Using Metric is like not using D/M/S on your GPS. It just should not be done!

Guy

 

[manumuskin]

I"ve seen two coyotes in the past year and got a real good look at both.they were both german shepherd size though maybe not as thick in the chest.tall,long and lanky I"d say.they were I would judge about 60 lb.for both andmid thigh on me and my belt is 36 inches off the ground so I"d say 26 inches at the shoulder.our coyotes they say are bigger then western coyotes because they bred with wolves in canada before they started moving south.wether this is so I don"t know but one of the ones I seen stared me in the eye for a good minute before I tried to get closer and except for the exceptionally large ears I"d say he could of passed for a small wolf.
Al

 

[bach2yoga]

Using Metric is like not using D/M/S on your GPS. It just should not be done!

Guy

You guys are funny!
You drink 2 liter sodas, right? The trick is NOT trying to convert, just accept it for what it is. For instance, do you say, Hey can you pick me up 2.1 quarts of Pepsi at Shoprite or do you say pick me up a 2 liter of soda? Just 2 liter soda, right? You don't bother to convert it, you just accept it. I know that as long as we work in the US we have to do some conversion, but it does help to look at it that way. Working in 10s is really much simpler, you just have to forget about "how many inches is that equal to?"! :lol: Guess that's not too hard for me cause I never could estimate things to begin with, so there are no bad habits to break!
Renee

 

[Teegate]

I buy 2 liter bottles because that is how they are sold, and that is the only reason. And what fool would buy a meter stick? My opinion on this has nothing to do with trying to convert, or accepting it, it has to do with why should we ever need to use it. We have a perfectly good system that works. I see no need to change.

Guy

 

[bach2yoga]

I buy 2 liter bottles because that is how they are sold, and that is the only reason. And what fool would buy a meter stick? My opinion on this has nothing to do with trying to convert, or accepting it, it has to do with why should we ever need to use it. We have a perfectly good system that works. I see no need to change.

Guy

LOL, you win! Who could argue with that logic? If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Gotta admit I never liked using moles and converting stuff in chemistry. IMHO, moles are animals, not measurements.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled programing, your dial is set to NJ Wildlife.

Renee

 

[BEHR655]

...... it has to do with why should we ever need to use it. We have a perfectly good system that works. I see no need to change.

Guy

If we could just get the rest of the world to see it our way.

 

[BarryC]

Actually I don't buy 2-litre sodas! :wink: I only buy cans or slightly larger bottles. But anyway, the thing I don't get about metric items in America is, the fact that soda is sold in metric in the big bottles, but in ounces in the smaller bottles and cans. What's up with that? And for that matter, why are other items sold in ounces and not metric at all? You never see a 1-litre or 2-litre milk carton do you? Strange, huh?
I remember when soda came in 64 oz bottles, and then they started making the 2-litre bottles. I never understood why we needed to convert to metric when our system worked fine.
Barry

You guys are funny!
You drink 2 liter sodas, right? The trick is NOT trying to convert, just accept it for what it is. For instance, do you say, Hey can you pick me up 2.1 quarts of Pepsi at Shoprite or do you say pick me up a 2 liter of soda? Just 2 liter soda, right? You don't bother to convert it, you just accept it. I know that as long as we work in the US we have to do some conversion, but it does help to look at it that way. Working in 10s is really much simpler, you just have to forget about "how many inches is that equal to?"! :lol: Guess that's not too hard for me cause I never could estimate things to begin with, so there are no bad habits to break!
Renee

 

[BEHR655]

I never understood why we needed to convert to metric when our system worked fine.
Barry

I'm an old dog and like our system too but the fact is that we are one of the very few countries in the world that does not strictly use metric. This makes us a bit backwards.

 

[Teegate]

It doesn't make us backwards, it makes us unique! Just like owners of Lawnboys, Mac Computers, Beta Video Players, etc, etc. You MUST look at it from that point of view. Once you give in you have lost your identity, something this country has unfortunately done too much of.

Guy

 

[Ben Ruset]

Canada, the UK, and Venezuala all use the Imperial system.

Different countries use it in varying degrees. I could never wrap my mind around metric units, but I suppose that if I spent more time in a country that used it, it would come easy. Everything is dividable by 10.

 

[manumuskin]

We are unarguably the strongest,richest nation on the face of the earth and in my opinion the greatest,so why should we copy anybody or their system of measurements.they should be copying us.As a matter of fact many of them are trying.ok enough of my american arrogance.I"ll stick with our system which by the way is english but they deserted it for metric so I guess it"s ours now.
Al

 

[TRA]

In spring of 2001 there were some unconfirmed sightings of a cougar around the Chatsworth area. My girlfriend and I had just begun exploring the "Pines". We were in a section of Greenwood east of rte. 539. We were walking and came upon some tracks that were large and deep. We were so excited (understatement) , we went back to the car and made a trip into Lacey to get some plaster of paris. We reported the tracks to an outfit that checks out these sightings. After showing the casts and the actual tracks, he said they were canine and not feline. He explained to us that he thought the animal was a ferral dog that weighed in at somewhere around 150 lbs.. He said the animal hunted along the road until picking up a good scent, and following them into the brush. . We went back every week or so, and would always see more tracks. After reading your post I dug out a casting and measured it. 3.5" wide x 4.5" long (prox.) A few weeks later we heard growls in the brush where we were walking about a quarter mile from the tracks. To say that we hurried back to the car would be an understatement! The cast was made on 6/01/2001. My name is Tom and I have enjoyed this site to no end.

 

[Teegate]

Tom,

I work with quite a few people who live in Chatsworth, have lived there, and have ties to Chatsworth, and they have told me that the person who reported that cougar did not have their facts correct to say it lightly. When that incident hit the news, there was quite a bit of conversation around work and it was quite negative. So personally if I had decide from what I know and have heard, I would not take that report seriously. That is not to say it wasn't correct, because I do not know this person. But I had more than three people tell me otherwise. If I was a judge and had three character witnesses saying differently, I would have to rule in their favor.

With that said, as I posted above, I did see an odd animal on 72. But to say specifically it was a cougar would be irresponsible of me.

Guy

 

[alfonso]

i believe i saw coyotes before in the wells mill area and the crossly area , there out there . if they don't want to be seen they won't. always carry something with you for protection . i also beleive i saw a bobcat or lynkes. in the area . the pines hold alot of secrets. please becarefull out there