The RoadRunner has nothing on this guy!

[Tim Hancock]

A friend sent me this pic, no story came with it, but man that is a lot of coyotes. I guess they are becoming a problem in many areas.

[Overpaid Slacker]

Holy freaking Hell. I want to say "PhotoChop", but I just can't...
JP

[many944s]

Mmmm, thats going to smell great when the weather warms up!

[Jeff Higgins]

Real deal; not a photoshop. The guy was in the VHA mag awhile back. Not just coyotes, if you look closely. There are bobcats and foxes there as well.

Way back when these hides were worth some decent money around here. We used to get $50 or more apiece for just the raw, whole animal, not dressed out or anything. The guy we were bringing them to would get $150-$200 each after he cased them out and patched the hole(s). Then the whole anti-fur thing hit and he was only getting ten bucks apiece, so it wasn't worth anyone's effort anymore. We still hunted them, but would just leave them lay when we shot them. It's not that tough to kill half a dozen or so in a day. If the photo represents a season's haul for some one trying to make money at it, that really isn't that many. I hear prices are on the rise, so maybe it is worth it for these guys to put some effort into again.

One of the best ways to get access to a guy's land around here during deer season is to shoot the coyotes in the off season. We are simply over-run with the damn things. Hell, I see them in my now suburban Lynnwood. Too bad lighting off the old .220 Swift gets so much attention...

[stevepaa]

WOW, I have rarely ever seen coyotes. Only up in the mountains.

Jeff, are there no natural predators of coyotes or competitors in your area? What food supply is fostering their growth in numbers?

You are in Lynnwood, and looks like suburbia from the maps. If you are overun with coyotes there is a real problem there.

[Joeaksa]

Good shot!

[Jeff Higgins]

Steve, they have no real competition nor does anything really prey upon them. I guess I could have been clearer in my "over-run" statement; our state is over-run with them to the point that I see them in Lynnwood. Lynnwood isn't over-run itself, although some folks would really be surprised at just how many we do have. I had to laugh the other day when out walking my dog in one of our newer neighboring developments; some one had posted signs reading "warning: coyote in your neighborhood". It had some long-winded description under the "headline" that described how the guy had seen one in his yard. I got the impression he truly believes there was only one, and that it was an anamoly. I see several a month at least, but I'm up and about at the same early morning hours they are.

Coyotes are truly wonderfull and interesting creatures. I studied them and their habits a great deal when I was still hunting them. They can live anywhere and eat anything. From the smallest prey to elk sized animals, nothing is beyond them. In a semi-wooded, moving towards full-fledged 'burb status areas like mine, there is plenty of food for them. Mice, rats, squirrels, ducks, geese, possums, racoons, cats, dogs, dumpster contents, etc. They have no trouble finding food. They are perhaps the ultimate predator/scavenger.

The only thing that really keeps their numbers in balance is food supply. With no real natural predators controling their numbers, it's all about food supply. Cougars and bears (we actually have a few of those in Lynnwood as well) might snag the occasional coyote, but they hardly make a dent. Wolves go after them with enthusiasm, but wolve populations in my state are pretty low and in remote areas only.

Coyotes are pretty unique in the natural world insofar as their ability to regulate their own population, base upon food supply. Litter sizes are directly related to that food supply. They can have as few as one and as many as fifteen or so. I can't remember off hand if they drop seperate eggs, or if one egg divides upon conception, but the gist of it is that number is decided by the health of the mother like no other animal. A fat and happy momma has huge litters; a starving momma may only have one. It's really pretty remarkable. So, in suburbia with a ready food supply and no enemies, they really can thrive.

[stevepaa]

Great post, thanks

[porsche911girl]

Nice! That's quite a collection!

[Superman]

That's an excellent and accurate description, Jeff. Where I come from (no, I have not always lived in the Big City), farmers are always happy to see you shoot coyotes. Unless you're trying to keep quiet, a coyote sighting with rifle in hand is ALWAYS target practice time. They're in as much danger of extinction as houseflies.

One more thing, for what it's worth. Where I come from, folks that pronounce it "kiyoties" are amusing. It means they've been watching plenty of TV. The word is pronounced "kiyote."

[Jeff Higgins]

Yup; two syllables or you are immediately pegged as a "city boy".

[Gene Wilkes]

The state of PA released coyotes to serve as a predator to the animals that no longer have predators and are out of balance. So guess what! Now the coyotes are preying on dogs and cats! They are easier to take down and easy to find in residential areas!

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Of course, once you kill off all the vermin hunters then you have a wonderful explosion of things like rabbits, rats, mice, moles, and other such disease bearing critters. These are the animals that eat the forage for your livestock.

I ALWAYS shoot stray dogs. I will always shoot a sick animal such as a coyote etal. I will never kill a predator just because it is a predator or because I have a prejudice. They just simply don't randomly attack cows for the fun of it.

I don't have what I consider proof positive information as to sheep/goats. Although all the goats on my in-laws place stopped going down when we started killing dogs and they stopped killing the bobcats and coyotes. There was also more grazing as there were fewer rabbits and other such vermin. 2600 acres in West Texas if you are wondering. Uncle started killing off all other animals again recently and his losses due to lack of grazing for the goats keep going up. Simply amazing.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by Groesbeck Hurricane
Of course, once you kill off all the vermin hunters then you have a wonderful explosion of things like rabbits, rats, mice, moles, and other such disease bearing critters. These are the animals that eat the forage for your livestock.

I ALWAYS shoot stray dogs. I will always shoot a sick animal such as a coyote etal. I will never kill a predator just because it is a predator or because I have a prejudice. They just simply don't randomly attack cows for the fun of it.

I don't have what I consider proof positive information as to sheep/goats. Although all the goats on my in-laws place stopped going down when we started killing dogs and they stopped killing the bobcats and coyotes. There was also more grazing as there were fewer rabbits and other such vermin. 2600 acres in West Texas if you are wondering. Uncle started killing off all other animals again recently and his losses due to lack of grazing for the goats keep going up. Simply amazing.

All very true. Things are pretty out of balance in places. The numbers of predators and vermin go up and down dramatically in any given area. Hunting is a very small factor in all of that; we simply don't seem to be able to make a dent in either population. An excess of either will give you trouble.

It has always struck me as ironic to be shooting Columbian ground squirrels and rock chucks on a guy's place in the spring and early summer, after having shot coyotes there the previous late fall and winter. In the end, however, I really don't think we have the impact we would like to think.

I never could bring myself to shoot the stray dogs. Even realizing they are a huge problem in the areas in which I hunt. I guess I have always left that to the locals, who seem to have no trouble doing that. Even if they know the dog's name. I just can't help but imagine some poor kid whose dog got away just this once, and me not knowing who is who in the zoo, shooting some one's beloved pet. The locals seems to have a better handle on the problem dogs, know who owns who and who is responsible, so I'll leave that up to them to work out.

[HardDrive]

Jeff, I just got a Weatherby Vanguard .30-06. Burris 3x9. If you get the urge to go get yotes, give me a shout.

[azasadny]

We have coyotes in the suburbs here. I saw one in my neighbor's yard last summer and it really surprised me. We have alot of bunnies hopping around, so I really shouldn't be surprised. How many bunnies would we have if there weren't any coyotes around?

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by HardDrive
Jeff, I just got a Weatherby Vanguard .30-06. Burris 3x9. If you get the urge to go get yotes, give me a shout.

Very cool. Are you a member of any of the local clubs with decent rifle ranges? I've been a member of the Wildlife Committee of Washington virtually all of my life; we run the Kenmore Range out by Canyon Park. We have a 300 yard rifle range with covered firing points. Unfortunately members only for the 300 yard side, but there is a 100 yard range open to the public. We should get together out there and shoot rifles some time. If you think I have some "interesting" handguns, you should shoot some of my rifles.

It's been two years now since I have been out hunting anything. I can't believe it, after spending a lifetime hunting. I consider it kind of a "sabatical" of sorts. Got fed up with the game department, and other reasons. Anyway, it would be fun to go out and call some dogs again. I have some great spots over by Wenas Lake up on Manashtash Ridge, between Ellensburg and Yakima. Close enough to home to be easily do-able for day trips. Only problem is, I sold my '71 Land Cruiser... might have to abscond with the wife's Scoobie Doo-Baru Outback. Either that, or I'm sure my Bug will get up into wherever we would need to go up there. Nice gravel roads all the way up over the ridge.

[austin552]

Barn insulation?

[nostatic]

sure....now he kills them...

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally posted by nostatic
sure....now he kills them...

He looks like he's better at it, too.