AUGUSTA — UMaine professor Daniel J. Harrison will give a free talk on “Coyotes and Wolves in Maine,” at the Maine State Museum, 230 State St.,  at 6:30 p.m.,  Wednesday, April 8. Harrison is a professor of wildlife ecology.

According to Harrison, coyotes are recent arrivals in the eastern United States, finding suitable habitat here over the last century, after native wolves were killed off and forests cleared. The eastern coyote is a distinct sub-species, a bigger cousin to coyotes on the American western plains, and has filled the niche once occupied by wolves. Currently, there are no confirmed breeding wolves in Maine, but a study in 2011 indicates that excellent wolf habitat exists throughout northern areas of the state.

For more information call 207- 287-2301 or visit the museum’s website at www.mainestatemuseum.org.