Coyotes in the news

Andrew Colglazier said:
Coyotes can and do pack, but not everywhere. It seems to be a regional thing depending on what they hunt, etc.

Other than that, I agree with everything you say.

Andy
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Can you give me some links or more info, not to say I doubt you I am just curious, I have never seen this behavior and have been a predator hunter for 20 years. I have hunted coyotes in GA, NC, SC, AZ, and TX and have never had more than a pair come in to my calls unless it was a bitch with inmature pups. Chris
 
I hunt coyotes and picked up a bit of a bias against them with having sheep on my farm. They take several lambs each year, they are smart and I have to vary my calling techniques. I have taken many large coyotes off my property, I shoot them on site. Besides I rabbit hunt and they kill a mess of rabbits along with foxes. I have never been in personal danger myself but a farmer down the road has had dogs taken by coyotes(hunting beagles) that he keeps outside.
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
Coyotes can and do pack, but not everywhere. It seems to be a regional thing depending on what they hunt, etc.
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I would be slow to accept an argument of "coyote culture." If this is the case, they would be unique among canines.

I've seen a LOT of coyote, and can only think of one time I've seen more than one together: it was a couple of immature coyotes trotting along railroad tracks.
 
runningboar said:
Can you give me some links or more info, not to say I doubt you I am just curious, I have never seen this behavior and have been a predator hunter for 20 years. I have hunted coyotes in GA, NC, SC, AZ, and TX and have never had more than a pair come in to my calls unless it was a bitch with inmature pups. Chris
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I watched a program a couple of years ago on one of the nature channels that documented a year or so in the lives of a "pack" of coyotes in one of the northern states, I want to say Wyoming or Montana.

I found it fascinating because I also, growing up in KS raising sheep and hogs, had never seen or heard of coyotes moving around in more than mating pairs or a bitch with pups.

This documentary presented a true "pack" of coyotes that seemed to be very similar to a wolf pack with similar hiearchy, etc. I don't remember exactly how many were in the group, but a half dozen or so.

The bilogists studying the pack theorized that they were in such groups because of the size of the animals in the region (elk, mule deer, moose) which they didn't actively hunt but rather were able to scavange, and the more plentiful meat supported larger groups.

That's all I can remember right now! It does seem to be rare behavior.

Andy
 
Barrabas,
No flames from me I love to coyote hunt, it's just that there seems to be a bunch of media induced hype concerning coyotes that isn't based in fact. I think a lot of it has to do with coyotes moving into areas that they have not lived before. They WILL kill pets especially cats and beagle size dogs and smaller and farm animals, but other than that they are pretty much harmless. Their numbers need to be controlled and I don't know of any farmers or ranchers that don't shoot on sight, which is understandable, but compared to whitetail deer coyotes cause almost no damage, but for some reason deer are considered to be good animals. I guess if something tastes good then it is a good animal. Chris
 
smokelaw1 said:
That's right where I'm talking about. I live in West Hartford. Are you talking about the Resevoir up on Avon Moutnain, or the one out on Farmington Ave almost to Farmington? The Avon Mountain Resevoir (#6) is reacheable through the woods from my house with only one road crossing.

6 feet is pretty remarkeable for an Eastern Coyote. I have no doubt that one can do it if "pushed" by stress like in that case. 5 feet will not stop a determined coyote, but will discourage one that is just slinking around looking for an easy meal. I watch the dog when she is out by herself at night for this reason. The fireplace tools are only 12 feet away.
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Heading north on Farmington Ave, north of Oakland Gardens before the entrance to the Resevoir. I thought that was the area you were probably talking about. :D

Since you live near there, you tell me if I am exagerrating about the height of the fence. I believe it was at least six feet. If I am wrong don't hesitate to say so.

KR
 
barrabas74 said:
I hunt coyotes and picked up a bit of a bias against them with having sheep on my farm. They take several lambs each year, they are smart and I have to vary my calling techniques. I have taken many large coyotes off my property, I shoot them on site. Besides I rabbit hunt and they kill a mess of rabbits along with foxes. I have never been in personal danger myself but a farmer down the road has had dogs taken by coyotes(hunting beagles) that he keeps outside.
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When I was in college we ran a flock of about 700 ewes, and we lambed outside.

For the first couple of years we had no losses due to predation, then we started losing one or two a week.

We had neighbors who hunted coyotes heavily with coyote wagons and greyhounds all around our farm.

We were told by the game warden and an animal control officer that coyotes are territorial, and have their own hunting patterns and habits.

Some animals like to scavange more than hunt. Some prefer to hunt, not scavange. Some like to hunt larger animals, some are happy with mice and rats.

Coyotes that have learned to take sheep and other livestock have to be eliminated, but once they are gone, new coyotes moving into the empty territory may not kill livestock, and don't need to be killed.

Our problem was that with the neighbor's constantly killing the neighborhood coyotes, we constantly had new animals moving into the area. When the coyote hunters left the farm, we lost fewer animals, go figure!

Andy
 
Coyotes which live in northern and western areas of their range display more developed and complex social systems than coyotes found in the southern and eastern areas of their range (Chamberlain et al. 2000). All coyotes travel and live together either in groups of three or more individuals called packs, as mated pairs, or as solitary individuals, called transients (Andelt 1985; Bekoff & Wells 1980; Chamberlain et al. 2000). The basic unit of a coyote pack is the mated pair. The mated pair is always comprised of the alpha male and alpha female, which are typically the only individuals to breed in the pack. To form a pack the mated pair is accompanied by pack associates who can be genetically related or unrelated individuals (Bekoff & Wells). Coyotes may live in packs because they are able to better defend resources such as food caches or carrion (Bekoff & Wells 1980). This beneficial adaptation would allow individuals in that pack to access more resources and therefore give the alpha male’s pups a better chance of surviving to maturity. This also may have evolved in areas with high competition pressures from the wolf before it virtually disappeared from the coyote’s habitat. In general, more coyotes live in packs, approximately 70%, than coyotes that live as mated pairs, approximately 17%. The other 13% accounts for transient individuals.
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From http://www.bio.davidson.edu/people/vecase/behavior/Spring2004/holmberg/Holmberg4.html (just did a quick search, with all the warnings that entails)

I was under the impression that Coyotes sometimes pack as well.
 
I lived in Southwest Montana for a few years and used to see what coyotes do to their prey.Saw sheep with their rear ends almost eaten off while they were alive.bad deal.Used to get $135.00 for a montana prime coyote pelt.would supplement my income hunting them.In1988 killed 155 of them.
Smart too.Came upon six of them on a snowmobile one cold winter daythey Went six different directions killed four of the six but ran out of ammo.shooting a mini14 ranch rifle in 223.Just walked the rounds into them.
had them follow me when I was bow hunting.
Would walk through a clearing and goto the side of the trail and lay down.Thinking they would just keep coming.No way.never saw them.Heard the yipping.Probably a mama teaching the pups about the dumb hunters.
randy
 
kr1 said:
Heading north on Farmington Ave, north of Oakland Gardens before the entrance to the Resevoir. I thought that was the area you were probably talking about. :D

Since you live near there, you tell me if I am exagerrating about the height of the fence. I believe it was at least six feet. If I am wrong don't hesitate to say so.

KR
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I'm trying to think of the area. That's the "other" resevoir for me, I'm up by the Avon mountain area, but I don't doubt that there would be a six foot fence over there at all.
 
I have been doing a bit of research on the web and it does seem that coyotes pack although not as stable as a wolf pack and generally the coyotes in the pack are related. Also the areas that I have hunted the coyotes rarely pack, it seems to be a behavior in northern and north western animals. All in all I find coyotes to be a fascinating animal and a real challange to hunt. Chris
 
runningboar said:
Coyotes don't pack, they are solitary animals that only group together in pairs during mating and the rearing of their young. When people see packs they normal are seeing a male, female and litter of half grown pups.
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At this time of year, this doesn't seem likely, they should be pretty well grown by now. Still, the word "pack" has some baggage and might be the wrong word to describe their behavior. Maybe it's more like a "pack of convenience" of animals under stress.

Some additional info, use your own judgment:
(http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/caer/ce/eek/critter/mammal/coyote.htm)
 
Well, I'll be darned.

I owe Mr. Colglazier an apology.

Sorry! :foot: I guess we don't give them reason to pack around here.
 
Just from my personal observations when I was young, Coyotes do indeed vary in their "pack" behaviour, most are solitary, but I also saw packs of up to 4 or 5 running together on our farm, sometimes even with feral dogs with them. It was rare though, most Coyotes are loners.
 
Watchful said:
O'Hare? Nothin'... Marcinek didn't leave here when this was making the news: we had a coyote living in downtown Chicago. Quite well. The story doesn't cover it, but the City set up this huge cage with steak inside it, and were quite seriously concerned they'd only catch a homeless guy in it.

Coyotes are tough, clever creatures. I find their tracks from time to time out near me, and in 2005, we had a female slinking outside my workplace in the parking lot. And usually we see them "sleeping" by the side of the expressways. They've made a heckuva comeback here in Illinois, and I believe are found in every county here.
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You are correct Watchful, I had not moved back to this fine town when that happened.

I am not suprised by the sightings of them on the side of the expressways. Years ago, as a kid, we used to go along the Kennedy by the Forest Preserve and catch big (for Chicago, 2 feet, easy) snakes.

I read an article a while back, and I can't recall the specifics, and a guy did a long term study of coyotes in the Chicago area. His conclusion was that, if you look long enough, you will see a coyote anywhere in Chicagoland.

Alll of which brings us into PracTac territory, i.e., when the coyotes overrun the subway system, what should I use to defend myself?

The circle is complete.
 
As far as firearms not being safe in a populated area ....you can buy 38 special rounds with birdshot in them....which would fit a 38 or 357. Makes less noise, does considerable damge and doesn't go very far....or subsonic 22 rounds which sound basically like a powerful pellet gun.
 
The NY coyotes do indeed pack .While they hunt small animals alone , for biger animals like deer they hunt as a pack. And yes eastern coyotes are bigger some reaching 70 lbs ! The 'pack mentality' even in dogs can be very dangerous.There was a case some years ago of a pack of feral dogs eating a poodle right off a leash, fortunately the owner was unharmed. The police then killed the pack --letters to the editor called the cops mean ,evil people !!! This was in Goshen NY.
 
I have seen as many as 8 in a pack together. At night they really group together. I have killed quite a few at my house with a marlin 22 mag. I carry a Beretta 92 9mm for coyote dispatching.
 
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