Saw a Coyote? on our Land

[westcliffe01]

The 3 different packs of coyotes which 3 years ago were responsible for the loss of 80% of the lambs on the farm, have obviously had to turn their attention to alternative food sources. If you figure substituting about 120 lambs with fawn, that is a lot of dead deer and I think the current population collapse bears it out. The wildlife, unlike the sheep, have no protection at night and the large groups of coyotes learn to run down even fully grown deer. Given that I have only sighted a single fawn this summer and also just a single doe along with 4 x 2 year old bucks (with headgear), I get the impression that the bucks have a far better chance of survival against the predators and also are much more adept at avoiding the hunters. I think we are looking at a local reduction in the deer herd of something like 75% compared to a few years ago. In the suburbs, quite the opposite case. The deer seem to know that they can't be hunted and have less risk from predators.

 

[Raspy]

Thanks for all the thoughtful discussion! I'm learning from this post and really appreciate it.

Many of you know I have a soft spot for coyotes, and I also don't know as much about them as some of you. Since their population continues to grow, and many think shooting them is the answer, which tends to increase their numbers, proper management is becoming more important.

Meanwhile, I thought I'd post a picture of a coyote I spotted on the front porch a while back. My pal BeiBei told her what was up!

 

[troutsqueezer]

I can only speak for my 10 acre plot but here there are many coyotes, deer, turkeys, bobcats, etc. The only change in wildlife populations I've noticed over the thirty years I've been here is the California Quail that used to be so numerous have disappeared. I suspect cats had something to with that.

I've got a game cam coming from Amazon tomorrow. Hoping to catch a shot of the mountain lion that has been roaming around here lately.

 

[westcliffe01]

I don't buy the comments regarding litter of 12... What a joke.... Perhaps in the south, with mild weather, but not here in MI. Thats equivalent to saying that when the baby daddy walks out on the momma, that she is going to add a bunch more offspring, raise them herself and increase her standard of living.....

Every coyote I have killed has meant less food getting back to the den and potentially pups without a mother. In winter, most of the time pups without a mother will not survive. Mating is in Febuary and pups are born in ~April and weaned by May. They still take another 11 months to reach maturity so are particularly vulnerable the first winter. Given the fact that Michigan has now had 3 exceptionally mild winters in succession, it is a definite factor in allowing larger numbers of coyotes to survive. Human activity, in the form of road kill, is a substantial factor in their survival in winter. If road kill got cleaned up they would be denied this easy resource. The wounded deer that hunters abandon is yet another source and I think that is a subject few want to discuss.

If you are trying to run a business with livestock, it is an uphill battle. DNR designating the coyote as a game species is simply a matter of control (over hunters) and source of revenue. There are exceptions in the law for anyone farming and experiencing damage, but most of the time, the farmer does not have time to attend to the predators personally since most have a second job to stay solvent along with the common lack of labor on smaller farming operations. Coyotes being as prolific as they are, it still takes a LOT of time investment as well as plenty of specialized equipment to have anything more than a token effect on the population. The "professionals" chase them down with dogs and have a large team of shooters, but it is pretty expensive.

Its mainly city folk who are champions for the wolf and coyote, or hobby farmers who do not rely on income from their operation. Securing pastures against coyotes in an effective manner can be done, but is again expensive and high maintenance. I have met alpaca breeders who had 8 ft high "no climb" fences around their pastures along with electrified cattle fence on the outside to deter cattle and bears, but the cost to wrap 100 acres with that kind of material would be eye watering for sure... Most ranchers I met were barely scraping by financially, but were in it for the "lifestyle" and the quality of life.

 

[Ken45101]

We have plenty of coyotes AND deer here. The yotes howl and carry on quite close to the house at night. As for the deer population, they are a hazard on the roads. I love to watch deer, but I hate driving at night around here.

 

[Stick895]

Coyotes will regulate their population growth according to their food supply because they adjust the size of their litters, i.e., more food, more coyotes. So a little hunting doesn't seem out of line. I know I see pictures on predatormasters.com of people with piles of coyotes they have killed and they hunt all the time. Mostly in the western states. We have a few in Arlington and a pack lives in Rock Creek Park in the middle of Washington, DC. I suspect that the fluctuating levels of deer in VA is due more to food sources and cover. Bath County agriculture may have declined and the natural mast crop not be enough to sustain the previous levels.

 

[extrakt0r]

We have plenty of deer here, so whatever they are eating, if they are eating deer, it isnt impacting the population. This is the third sighting we have had since we moved in June 2013.

Right now I dont mind, but in the spring we plan on getting some chickens, and if they start disappearing we will need to figure out what. We plan on keeping them in a chicken tractor, so hopefully it will not be a big deal.

 

[kw22614]

Deer population around here has boomed this year. We've had lots of rain this year so lost of mast. My area was rural 16 yrs ago, then a developer came in and built 17 large houses seemingly in my back yard, no deer seen in my yard in all those years till now. Haven't seen or heard coyotes but have read they're in the remote area. Before the houses were built hunting was just about out my back door, since I've had to travel to bag a deer. Maybe I'll pull out the pellet gun or my old childhood slingshot and sit in the yard - sure would be nice!

 

[DieselnHooters]

In WA we have a decent amount of wildlife, I like it but I admit seeing cougars in the game cams gives me a little worry - they hang around where there's deer. I see lots of coyotes and they don't bother me in the least. For some reason they don't make any noise in my woods.

If I was a coyote and there were cougars around I'd be very quiet too lol

 

[Sodo]

Wow, coyotes are FAST and they're wiley too, you think they have to be quiet for cougars? In 3+ years at my forest property I've only heard them once, and I am there a LOT.

I used to hear turkeys but not anymore, now I see a lot more coyotes than turkeys. This year I am seeing maybe about 5x more coyotes than last year, an astounding increase. And they look healthy, not the mangy miserable sad-sacks I used to see. Maybe I will become anti-coyote now.