The Story of PEI Part 10: Introduced Mammals

Over the past few weeks, we’ve explored how and why PEI lost its large, native mammals during the 18th and 19th centuries. But in the early 20th century, people thought was a good idea to bring different animals to our newly-tamed land. Let’s start with some of the Island’s non-native mammals. 

Photo 1: A PEI Raccoon. Photo by Brian McInnis, used with permission.

One of the first animals to be introduced to PEI was Raccoon (Photo 1 courtesy of Brian McInnis). In the early 1900s, Raccoon fur was popular; for example, the fashionable Stanley Bros. store in Charlottetown was advertising Raccoon coats starting at $48 (the equivalent of more than $2,000 today). This, coupled with the economic success of Fox ranching on PEI, inspired local entrepreneurs to branch out into Raccoon ranching. By 1912, there were local sales of live Raccoons, such as seven pairs on offer by W.F. Weeks & Son in Fredericton PEI for $25 (more than $1,000 today). 

Raccoon ranching wasn’t as profitable as hoped, and the animals were released. By 1928, seeing a wild Raccoon on PEI was still novel enough that local papers would report the sighting, but by 1936 they were plentiful in some areas, particularly Eastern Kings. In 1953, their growing population prompted Government to introduce a bounty of $3 per snout. Despite thousands of Raccoons being killed over the next few years, they remained established on PEI and are common and widespread here today.

Fur ranching is responsible for another animal’s presence on PEI: Striped Skunk. Skunk ranching was mentioned in Island newspapers as early as 1903, with notes that pelts from farms elsewhere in North America were selling at $4 each (roughly $175 today); by 1912, pairs of Skunks were being offered for sale in Charlottetown for $40 to $45 (about $1,100 to 1,300 today).

In 1914, famed Fox rancher Charles Dalton reported having 35 pairs of Skunks (marketing their fur as ‘sable’) while a Skunk ranch in Wilmot Valley had 300 animals with a goal of expanding to 1,800 within three months. In 1919, well-known Charlottetown retailer Moore & MacLeod, Ltd had a pre-Christmas sale on Skunk fur stoles, with prices from $20 to $120 ($380 to $2,100 today, Photo 2). 

Photo 2: A pre-Christmas advertisement Charlottetown retailer Moore & McLeod, Ltd. in 1919, offering Skunk fur stoles (and other furs) for sale.

Like Raccoon, Skunk ranching didn’t last long. By 1921 there were no remaining Skunk farms on PEI; the animals had been released and were increasing rapidly in the wild. Bounties were in place between 1932 and 1956, with thousands of animals turned in each year. Despite these efforts, Skunks remain common on PEI today.

Furbearers weren’t the only animals brought to PEI: in 1949 a pair of White-tailed Deer was given as a gift to PEI from the Government of Ontario. Two years later, a dozen fawns from Nova Scotia were released near Charlottetown, with some of them later moved to Prince County. In 1958, it was reported that as many as 20 deer roamed the woods around Black Banks and Poplar Grove, and they persisted into the 1960s.  Their introduction didn’t take and there are no wild White-tailed Deer on PEI today, but you can read the full story of this attempted introduction here: https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/pei-s-white-tailed-deer-experiment .

Photo 3: An Eastern Coyote on PEI. Photo by Brian McInnis, used with permission.

The Island’s newest mammal is the Eastern Coyote (Photo 3 courtesy of Brian McInnis). Although Coyotes weren’t intentionally brought here like Raccoons, Skunks, and Deer, their presence is the result of human activity. Coyotes are open-land animals, originally found in North America’s Great Plains. Land clearing allowed them to expand their range east, all the way to PEI. They were first confirmed here in 1983 (although were certainly here years before that) having made their way to the Island from the mainland across the winter ice. They have since expanded throughout the province and are common in both urban and rural areas.

These aren’t the only animals that were intentionally introduced to the Island. Next week, we’ll explore more of this history of PEI Untamed!