NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) – A new program to track coyotes in Rhode Island has been launched to help understand their habits, numbers, and how to manage the animal.

The initiative, called the Narragansett Bay Coyote Study, is being spearheaded by Numi Mitchell, vice president of a privately financed, nonprofit organization, the Conservation Agency. Animal trapper Spencer Tripp, director of the Rhode Island Trappers Association, and veterinarian Ralph Pratt will assist in the study.

The team plans to tag 10 coyotes on Aquidneck and Conanicut islands. The collars have Global Positioning System tracking devices and radio transmitters. For four hours every morning, the transmitter will broadcast information about the coyote’s whereabouts during the previous 24 hours.

Information collected on tagged coyotes on Aquidneck and Conanicut islands will soon be available on a Web site set up by a nonprofit agency, The Providence Plan.

The eastern coyote first appeared in Rhode Island about 35 years ago. Originally from the Midwestern plains, the population has expanded as development by humans has killed off the animal’s main predators, while leaving garbage and domesticated animals for them to eat. They’re now in every part of the state except Block Island.

Mitchell said the study is important because state officials know little about local coyotes.

“You can’t talk about management if you don’t have some baseline,” she said.

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On the Net:

Narragansett Bay Coyote Study: http://www.theconservationagency.org/coyote.htm

The Providence Plan: http://www.providenceplan.org

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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.projo.com/

AP-ES-11-20-05 1338EST