I just got off the phone with a friend from columbus ohio who said that one of his friends had a trail camera up this year over a coyote den, and he has pics of 13 different fawns that were drug to that den.He said that he was going to take it to the ODNR fish and game officers to let them see the different dates on the pics. If this Is true our deer heard is in serious trouble.. If we want to continue to hunt deer we better be hunting more coyotes!!!
I love to hunt/shoot coyotes but you're not gonna do any serious damage to the 'yote population by just hunting them. They're way too sharp for us to get them in any numbers that would put any dent in the population. Trapping may be the only thing that has any remote chance of doing anything to their numbers, and even it isn't easy. The U.S. government has tried everything under the sun and spent millions of dollars to keep coyote numbers down but to no avail. They're here to stay and multiply and kill and eat.
Ouch!
DEER KILLERS FOR SURE...
That is nature doing it's thing. Trapping is a great tool for population control, but that can take a bit of work. Hunting helps, but won't make a big difference. We will be living with this for years to come. All you can do is do your best at nabbing them.
Hunting them with a bow is fun but not very productive,They are the only animal I hunt with a gun anymore,I usually kill around 6 to 10 every year and in the last 15 years I have killed 85 but it dont seem to have affected their population at all.They are here to stay.
Look at Cory Van Gilders coyote/predation study. It is astonishing.
Can't begin to count the number of times I have heard the stories of a coyote "den" camera with similar reports of photographic eveidence. And despite countless requests to see these photo's, not one has ever been presented. Would love to see them.
Trap 'em. There are more there than you think. This is from one weeks worth of snares on one farm.
(http://i53.tinypic.com/nlczo5.jpg)
Coyotes are as efficient a killing machine as there is.
Before plowing the field in the background,the rancher went around to gather up debris.This is a picture of the remains of 26 antelope and mule deer-all coyote kills.These occurred after the end of November and were picked up in April.The field in the background is the field I hunt antelope out of.
The typical scenario is,you arrive in the morning and find a fresh kill that wasn't there at dusk,the evening before.It is a skeleton with the head and the hide is hanging off that.It looks like it was dipped in a piranha tank-all done overnite.These are yearling and adult animals.
This year when hunting antelope during August,out of app. 50 antelope present,there was only one fawn.
Don't ask me how a 35 MPH coyote catches a 60 MPH antelope but they do and almost any time they want to.They are smart and adapt.They regularly hunt in pairs or groups of 4-5 and can coordinate their efforts.I have seen a pair hunting rabbits several times and they coordinated like rabbit hunters.
I have the greatest respect for coyotes but kill every one I get a chance to.Ishoot4thrills nailed it.They are so resilient that you really have to take out every one you can anytime you can,if you care about your hunting.Don't worry,you can't make them extinct.The Indians said they will be the last creatures on earth.There is a lot of wisdom in that.
I trap them mostly but I think it is important to combine that with calling and incidental shooting.They will get smarter with pressure.
Fawns are just the candy.Coyotes take whatever they can get and when they really need the calories,adult deer and antelope are the ticket.
Around urban areas,they regularly hunt pets.When I lived in Reno,NV,several times when we went to the foothills to shoot our bows after work,we would see coyotes coming out of the hills,headed towards the housing and apartment developements.The bulletin board at my apartment developement always had notices and pictures of lost cats.If there is a meal,coyotes will find it.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/CoyoteKills001.jpg)
This adult buck antelope was killed in the same field,about the 1st of November.
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a140/jbrandenburg/Trapping2008010.jpg)
I recommend that anyone do a search for "coyote" before posting here. If for nothing other than fun.
Hydrasport- I doubt they are killing fawns at this time of year? Unless your talking about last years fawns, cause the whitetail haven't started dropping the new fawns yet, but it will be in another month or so depending on where you live.
I say start working on those coyotes right now before the spring fawn drop and turkey hatch. Nobody ever mentions the turkey poults, but coyotes and fox get their fair share of those also when they hatch. Opossums and coons also raid the nests and will eat ever single egg when they find them.
I know coyotes do their share of killing, but lots of other critters will take their toll as well.
Around here the quail are all but non existent, and I'm sure the deer suffer from coyote predation also, but I haven't' found any remains of animals killed by them. Only carcasses that were dumped from deer season after they were butchered and those rarely make it through the night. I dump mine right behind my house to attract them closer for an easy shot and I've dumped an entire deer carcass before right at dusk and it was nothing but bones by morning.
Even though they are sometimes a problem in certain areas, I can't help but admire their tenacity and superior survival skills. As far as predators are concerned coyotes are at the top of their game and highly efficient at it.
I'm just thankful that they don't get any bigger than they do, cause if they did humans may end up on the menu.
There is a large pack around one area we hunt, I would say they are on a turkey diet as the numbers of turkey are way down. I couple of years ago a member of my group was watching a group of coyotes harassing a deer. When the deer made a group of turkeys show themselves, the coyotes left the deer and went after the turkeys. A few days later he heard the turkeys in a cedar thicket making lots of noise. since they were not about to come to call he prepared himself to shoot a coyote. when all of a sudden the turkeys busted for air and right behind them coming up above the cedar thicket was a mountain lion, going for a flying turkey. he said he got out of there as fast as possible and went home to change his pants. We have not seen the lion for a several years, I hope he stays gone, but the coyotes are thicker than ever.
The fawns were from last spring, and Im sure this spring will be the same if not less due to the deer numbers going down! I dont know about the rest of you but we never heard or saw any coyotes in the late 80s- early 90s. seems like the last 15 years or so is when they really started to climb. Now they are eveywhere!!!
I received these in an email yesterday. Supposedly taken on the #4 hole of the Fargo Country Club...
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h476/gunnermcgee/ATT00205.jpg)
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h476/gunnermcgee/ATT00208.jpg)
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h476/gunnermcgee/ATT00211.jpg)
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h476/gunnermcgee/ATT00214.jpg)
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h476/gunnermcgee/ATT00217.jpg)
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h476/gunnermcgee/ATT00220.jpg)
(http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h476/gunnermcgee/ATT00223.jpg)
the first coyote I saw was 1968 in Hardeman county west tennessee. Shot him with a browning nomad . We were excited there was a new animal to see . People still talk about it when they see a coyote they are a little fasinating . I may not like them but their songs sure adds something to a quite dark night .
From what I've heard, really hard to permanently dent without extensive trapping (and even that can be undone fairly quickly). Apparently yotes are very self-regulating on reproduction, meaning if they get knocked back they will up the litter size. Doesn't mean I wouldn't shoot one on sight though. :p
Amazing pics Ammoeater!
So how do we hunt them with a recurve?
Interesting facts about a coyote study done by Dr. Kilgo in the Savannah River Plant.
Sunday, June 24, 2007COMMENTPRINTEMAIL It's difficult to peek inside the secret world of a predator and its prey, but John Kilgo has the patience to make it happen.
1 / 2
Special
This nocturnal coyote was photographed with a remote control camera at Savannah River Site. Coyotes in Georgia and South Carolina weigh an average of 28 pounds.
Click photo for optionsFor the second spring in a row, the U.S. Forest Service research biologist is using radio telemetry to determine how frequently whitetail fawns are killed and eaten by coyotes. The results, although preliminary, are disturbing.
"This year we caught and followed 22 fawns," he said. "Of those, eight were killed by coyotes, three by bobcats and one we haven't figured out yet."
The studies, conducted at Savannah River Site, are in their second year.
In 2006, Kilgo and his colleagues captured and observed just five fawns. Coyotes ate four of them.
Kilgo, who plans to continue his research at least two more years, cautions that his findings are preliminary. But he acknowledges there is mounting evidence that coyotes may affect deer populations.
In conjunction with the radio tracking studies of fawns, graduate student Josh Schrecengost has been collecting and analyzing coyote droppings at SRS for two years.
"He collected scats during two fawning seasons, with May being the biggest month, and into the first part of June," Kilgo said. "He collected scats all over the site, 30 to 40 samples each month."
The findings show coyotes eat plenty of fawns.
"From the two Mays he surveyed, 31 and 38 percent of the scats contained fawn remains, meaning roughly a third of the coyote meals are fawns," Kilgo said. "That's starting to look kind of compelling."
Although coyotes prefer fawns during fawning season, the bulk of their complex diet is fruit.
"Even during fawning season, fawns are not the No. 1 food item," he said. "It's wild plums in May, blackberries in June and black cherries in July. In August they eat pokeweed, and in September, they're after persimmons."
The evidence that expanding coyote populations account for expanding deer mortality could become a cause of concern for wildlife managers.
"In the Southeast, since coyotes have been here, the general consensus from the deer biology community has been that they're not a problem," Kilgo said. "For a long time the region has had more deer than it needs, so it's been viewed as coyotes helping control the population."
Today, however, the coyote's growing numbers could be linked to reductions in deer density, but more research is needed.
"In some areas there are still too many deer, but in other areas we're seeing fewer and fewer deer," said Kilgo, adding that South Carolina and SRS are down significantly.
Future studies could help unravel the extent to which coyotes affect deer herds, Kilgo said. Coyotes first appeared in the SRS area in the 1980s and became widespread and common by the mid-'90s.
"After that they really took off, and whether they've leveled off in the last few years or are still increasing, we don't know yet," he said. "The bottom line is, we have a lot of coyotes now that we didn't have 15 years ago, and that increase in coyotes - concurrent with the decrease in deer - is what motivated the study."
Reach Rob Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com.
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
- This spring, scientists studied 22 newborn fawns; eight were eaten by coyotes, three by bobcats and one died of unknown causes.
- Last summer, four of five fawns studied were killed by coyotes, but the sample was deemed too small to be conclusive.
- About one-third of coyote droppings collected at SRS in May 2006 and May 2007 contained fawn remains.
Well when you think about it the deer ain't all ours.. Coyotes gotta eat to, and wolves and bears and cougars and wolverines etc :)
Thats Life,,,,,who are we to command all, we are just part of the puzzle not the entire puzzle. Soon as we accept how we fit in and how we can be a part of nature, the better. Good for the Coyote, I bet he was hungry.
When I first started hunting in Michigan,(1978) coyotes were an animal of the desert southwest.
Skinny and frail. They ate mostly mice. We never spoke of coyotes here in Michigan, because there was no need.
I shot THREE, yesterday evening from my back porch. A female, and two males...the female was in heat. The female was 38 lbs and the two males were a tad larger. My wife just happened to catch them out the window, and they were paying more attention to each other than me. :D
They are an invasive species in many areas that they now thrive. Chances are, the coyote will change your hunting in the near future.
I hope my last statement turns out to be completely wrong.
Out west here we have been hunting and trapping them, for over a hundred years. Guess what they are still here. They can survive just about any where.
QuoteOriginally posted by SveinD:
Well when you think about it the deer ain't all ours.. Coyotes gotta eat to, and wolves and bears and cougars and wolverines etc :) [/QUOTE
I agree 100% but there numbers need to be regulated. The population of coyotes here are way up and bout three of us has around 10000 acres to manage and its tuff to keep the numbers where there not so much a problem . We've killed around 40 the past 8-10 months and still see them a little more often than I like. I'm finally seeing rabbits again so I guess were helping the matter thou!
You want to control Coyote's......get Wolves, the proven Coyote killer. I agree that for the most part to expect hunters to manage the numbers of coyotes is sort of like expecting hunters to manage the hog population. It comes down to a numbers game and an animals will to survive on a daily basis. Most of do not get the chance to hunt 365 days a year, they do.
Downstate here in NY we have plenty of Coyotes and a ample of opportunity to hunt them, no bag limits and a long season, Oct 1 - March 27. But we still have a large population of them and they have adapted to living close to dense population very well, better than chipmunks.
When the end comes 2 things will survive cockroaches and Coyotes .
There seems to be a huge amount of study/information on coyotes and their negative impact on some of our favorite game animals. I truly believe this is largely true. There is an underlying thought in the back of my mind that makes me second guess it just a bit (in my area that is). On any given day with fresh snow, old snow or no snow I could search long and hard and not likely find a kill site. I'm not sure about you guys, obviously out west they are really doing a bit of damage; however where I am I have yet to personally see deer and coyote tracks cross. Any thoughts on that?
I think Bonebuster said it well. coyotes will change our hunting!
we snared 13 and killed 8 and they are stil all over here in western ohio we got a nuisance permit to continue trapping them so hopefully we will put a big dent in them
The coyote population is growing because the deer population has grown. Predator levels are in direct relation to the availability of prey species. There weren't that many deer back in the 60's and 70's but conservation efforts have allowed the whitetail population to rebound from near extinction from market hunting before regulated seasons were implemented. Now there are an over abundance of deer in many states, and to the point that most states offer multiple antlerless tags or even unlimited tags in some areas.
So actually more deer = more coyotes.
Just do your part to keep numbers in check by taking out every coyote you have the oppurtunity to and mother nature will balance out the rest.
I think the auto insurance companies are planting coyotes. :D
QuoteOriginally posted by KentuckyTJ:
I think the auto insurance companies are planting coyotes. :D
They are dropping them from helicopters with little blanket sized parachutes. :biglaugh:
QuoteOriginally posted by SEMO_HUNTER:
The coyote population is growing because the deer population has grown. Predator levels are in direct relation to the availability of prey species.
My thoughts exactly. Once the Rabbits, Mice, Deer and Turkey populations plummit, then so will coyote populations.
No, that is not correct, when they run out of native food sources, they will just eat more kitties, chickens, and joggers. Better watch out them 'yotes will get ya.
Truth is, they they are not likely to run out of mice, voles, and ground squirrels, so the fawns and the turkeys will continue to suffer.
It's just my opinion here but I feel strongly that we are natures trump card. If we don't keep coyotes in check, all we will have is coyotes.
We could sit back and let "Nature take it's course"but.............
Coyotes can live on mice....Some coyotes learn that hey can kill bigger stuff that tasts better and makes more meals. They rase young coyotes on bigger better tasting treats. These young coyotes continue the trend.
When the bigger stuff runs out the coyotes will eat mice.
We will still have coyotes...many more....
In the end we will end up hunting coyotes because....If we don't keep coyotes in check by hunting and trapping them, all we will have is coyotes to hunt.....Just my opinion.
When they run out of tasty things to eat at least they have each other.
I guess we're just screwed :readit: :laughing:
There are not many rabbits left around here since the coyotes showed up.
The problem really resides with State Wildlife agencies that are "supposed" to be experts in habitat preservation and management. Here in NY all I've seen is a bunch of bumbling moves that do not serve the hunting community, the same group that buys the permits and licenses to support these efforts. There are two "managed" properties that I used to frequent, one property the road through the property can only safely be negotiated by only the largest 4x4, the other now has a stream going through the road, I don't feel like driving over the trout.
So we are are worst enemy, it's not the Coyote's fault.
The deer, rabbits, coyotes, foxes, and wolves have been long before we ever showed up and they will all be here long after we are gone.
WE are the whitetail deer's #1 predator Not the coyotes. State Conservation Agencies need to adjust their quotas and number of tags sold and dispersed to accommodate what the coyotes are using. Hence the unlimited doe tags in my own home state in some areas. Most of the northern counties in my state of Missouri allows unlimited antler less deer tags during bow season and rifle season. That way of thinking has got to stop or you will definitely see deer numbers decline, I already have and by the time you notice the decline the damage has already been done.
Yes, We are our own worst enemy that's a fact.
The only thing we can do is practice good stewardship which means that all of us need to do our part keeping coyotes and other predators in check. The same goes for taking only what you need and not as many as you can buy tags for. That's just greed.
Then the State Conservation and Wildlife Agencies need to follow suit and adjust the bag limit accordingly.
That is the only way and the right way to approach the issue.
The coyotes are only doing what they were designed to do and what they have been doing since before man stepped foot into their home territory.
SEMO, I totally agree that coyotes are just doing what they do best.
Having said that, would you agree that coyotes have adapted at much faster pace than in the past? Would you agree that they have LEARNED to hunt big game with efficiency, and therefore are more like a wolf in their behavior?
It is their "new" behavior that causes me concern. I killed three on Monday evening with a rifle. They were ALL sleek, and well fed. If you kill many coyotes with a firearm, you know that they often defecate when they are hit with a bullet. The scat is always full of deer hair.
The first coyote I ever saw was back in 1983. Few people EVER saw one during that time. Hearing them howl and carry on at night was VERY rare. By 1993, it was VERY common to see them and their howls were EVERYWHERE.
A single coyote in a hayfield was the norm ten years ago. Now, they are almost ALWAYS travelling in a pack. If you see one, there is at least one more close by.
I have learned to NOT be surprised by anything a coyote does. The only time I shoot at them is when I see them.
A few years ago there were quite a few coyotes around my property. I regularly got them on my game camera, and every evening you could hear them. Then mange got into them, and I started getting pictures of them in various stages of baldness. Now they are uncommon, and I haven't gotten a picture of one in the last year. Nature has ways of compensating. The same thing happened with the coon population. They were a real bother, digging up potted plants on my deck and such. Mange got them, too.
Fact - in the history of this country we have shot, trapped, poisoned them for many, many years and all the coyote has done is expand his numbers and territory. So don't have the slightest remorse about having at them to your hearts content. The other local willife will thank you.
I live in southeastern ohio, and the coyote problem is simply horrible. I've seen four on one gut pile at a time, Have heard them howl and scream in packs while I'm walking to my stand before dawn. They even lured my mothers dog out of the yard into the woods, and ripped its throat out in the middle of the day. I think the only thing that will work is an aggressive snare campaign.
This is a little off subject but it's a good story.
My friend was walking down the river bottom along a 20 foot cut bank. He heard some noise above him at the top of the cut bank. He looked up just in time to see a coyote come rolling down it. A second later he looked up again to see a Mulie doe looking over the edge. He must of figured the fall was going to be better than betting he was going to take.
Coyotes are one efficient, smart predator. They can adapt to almost any environment and are reaking havoc on the deer and antelope here in Idaho. The only thing worse is our wolf problem and for now we can't hunt them. They (wolves) thin out the coyotes, but the coyotes just shift areas and continue killing the deer. Fun to hunt and a real challenge with a bow, but I doubt hunting or even trapping will reduce their numbers significantly. In the early days poisoning was very effective but there was collateral damage to other wildlife. I doubt we will ever see poisoning again and I am not advocating it. Definitely no shortage of them to hunt.
Too bad coyotes are not very tasty.
QuoteOriginally posted by pavan:
Too bad coyotes are not very tasty.
Or grew horns.
Jackayotes?
We've got plenty of 'yotes here, but in eastern NE the whitetails are so overpopulated that this past year some state senators were advocating an unlimited open season for landowners. Definitely no shortage of food for the deer nor the scavengers...nor the hunters within the corn belt.
One of the good things about coyotes is that they eat cats.
I've noticed the songbird population is way up from a few years ago. The cats were killing them all.
Boy with some of these posts, it makes you wonder how those adult animals ever got to be adults with the existing yote population.. I still see more than half the does in the fall having twins, and have never found a carcase I can say was a yote kill.. Yote cleanup you bet.. I have watched yotes work deer herds pretty good, never seen a kill or found one after that fact.
In Yellowstone before the wolves took over the estimate was that coyotes took about 1,200 elk per year.
I don't think they have trouble with killing deer.
I say good deal:
2-4 lbs of coyote meat
16 oz of apricot preserves
1 bottle BBQ sauce
1/2 purple onion diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Start eating.
Besides we gave up on the Fur Industry long ago. We are getting what we deserve. Most I know leave them lay in the woods. No respect for the animal. Buy a coyote fur or a predator call and Do something besides compain.
We have lost the creativity to get the job done in the USA. I thought it was open season on Coyotes all year for a reason! Plain Lazy I say.
Nothing more fun then a call and a Savage in 223 for hunting yotes. I do keep the pelts and sell them.
Yotes attacking a fawn.
I also have a link to a pack of wolves running down and killing a yote that moved in on their kill...but it's a little to gory for me to post on here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUwzyAidzas&feature=related
I shoot them on sight with a gu-gun. Yep a gun.
We usually try and hunt them hard in Late Jan through mid March. Lots of calls and gut piles. If the pelt is in good shape we keep it... mange, nope.
Nothing like rolling one at 250 plus while he is sitting looking for the darned "rabbit makin all that noise".
There are more then ever before.. more deer also.. Its a predator prey thing.
I shoot them on sight with a gu-gun. Yep a gun.
We usually try and hunt them hard in Late Jan through mid March. Lots of calls and gut piles. If the pelt is in good shape we keep it... mange, nope.
Nothing like rolling one at 250 plus while he is sitting looking for the darned "rabbit makin all that noise".
There are more then ever before.. more deer also.. Its a predator prey thing.
Well 99 percent of the ones I get never see deer. But the farmers have a hate love afair with them. They get the ground squirrels but they also ply with the iregation lines. And they do get the feral cats that do way more damaged.
I like calling coyotes better than deer hunting.
I hunt them from sept to march keep the good hides. (quivers and stuff).
To control coyotes you need to kill at least 70 % over a period of years ,only areial hunting and or poisoning will get the job done.
I have taken 47 yotes last 3 years, within 2 miles of my house, doesnt seem to have dented the population. Heard 2 big packs the other night. I am going to start snaring and trapping more. Oh yeah, this was not with a bow, I hunt them to exterminate them, quickest, best means is snares and a good long range rifle that I built myself.
Good job Sam!
I have seen coyotes all over in the Phoenix metro area. Chased one with my patrol car at work after watching it try to go toe to toe with a stray pit bull- coyote got worked. I chased him until he got back to his den, in a grave yard in the middle of a densely populated urban area. They, like cockroaches, can live anywhere.
I watched that video that was posted earlier and then did a little surfing, came up with this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqVE9qfg7yI&feature=related. Don't know the back story but this coyote was aggressive.
Here in the southwest, the coyotes are pretty much the top of the food chain. They are very amazing creatures.