Community dynamics among reintroduced elk, white-tailed deer, and coyote in southeastern Kentucky

Elk were translocated to Kentucky from 1997–2001 as part of an effort to establish a free-ranging population within a 14-county area in the southeastern portion of the state. I monitored 104 elk released at Redbird Wildlife Management Area in the Daniel Boone National Forest from February 2000 to August 2002, documented factors that influenced their population dynamics, and examined their ecological relations with two species, the white-tailed deer, a smaller herbivore and potential competitor, and the coyote, a medium-sized canid and potential predator of cervids that colonized Kentucky within the past 50 years.; Reintroduced elk had annual survival rates that exceeded 75% despite the fact that 47% died 2.5 years post-release primarily from capture-related causes, meningeal worm infection, and automobile collisions. Although 5 elk dispersed distances that exceeded 70 km, elk were located on average 13.5 km from the release site and showed release site fidelity similar to those released in an area with extensive grassy openings. Elk monitored at 3 release sites that included Redbird WMA had home ranges that ranged from 9–276 km2. Where available, elk selected reclaimed mine habitat over others during diurnal hours, otherwise they preferred early successional forest. During crepuscular and nocturnal hours, elk used reclaimed mines and low elevation clearings. Because elk and white-tailed deer exhibited similar temporal and spatial resource use patterns, resource and parasite-mediated competition between them in some areas of the Cumberland Plateau may occur.; Coyotes in Kentucky were larger than their western counterparts and had spatial patterns that indicated they were socially organized around a male-female dyad. Coyote diet varied with the landscape they inhabited; those in forest primarily consumed medium-large mammals, and those on reclaimed mines relied more on small rodents, plants, and insects. At both study sites, coyotes consumed deer during the spring during fawning season and during the fall deer hunting season. Coyotes at Redbird scavenged a majority of the elk that died from capture myopathy up to 6 weeks post-release. Although coyotes in Kentucky will continue to opportunistically prey on cervid neonates and scavenge their carcasses, it is likely they will not significantly slow elk population growth.