....... a grad student of mine and I saw what was probably the first coyote on the bomb plant back in 92 or 93. Lehr Brisbane was watching for them and not surprised when we told him what we had seen. They certainly got there on their own.
I was trapping predators for fur hard in the late 70s and early 80s. Those were very lean years on the farm, and my yearly income was substantially boosted with fur sales in Dec.- Feb. I was primarily a fox trapper, but caught many bobcat and 'coon. Prices were awesome. There were many others trapping in my county, and adjacent ones in GA. We compared notes often. We began catching coyotes in the early 80s, almost directly across the river from the Savannah River Site, and easily within 4 miles of the southeastern part of SRS's property. The Savannah River is the dividing line between SRS and the parts of GA we were trapping.
If it is accurate that you saw the first coyote on SRS, in '92-'93, I find it very strange that it took them 10+ years to cross the Savannah River, as proficient as they are at swimming. I also would say that you should count yourself blessed beyond normal comprehension that you saw the first coyote to set foot on SRS, considering it is no less than 198,046 acres, or 310 square miles. I know we all like to think we have "discovered" something, from time to time, but that's a bit of a stretch, IMO. And, 310 square miles is a gracious plenty for not just 500 coyotes but 5000 or more, especially considering that SRS is mostly woodlands, and prime coyote habitat.
