We Had A Scare And Buck Was There

David Martin

David Martin

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This occurred less than a week ago. A day last week my wife called me all shook up. Saying we had a coyote out back that wouldn't leave. It was lapping out of the trough, laying around and walking stagger. I had her get our dogs in the house and I headed home it being late afternoon. When I arrived home the coyote didn't take off running. Just walking/ staggering away. At my shooting he did even run! After this was over I removed him to a safer area. Then thinking about it over night, I called our Veterinarian Diagnostic Services the next morning and discussed the matter with them. They ask I send them the head right away. So, the next day I procured this sample, packaged and shipped it for analysis. We now have had enough time to get results. That's why I held off writing this. The
sample came back negative for rabies. A good thing. They suspect Distemper was the cause. Just a word of caution to you folks who live in rural areas to be on the lookout as this can happen around you and endanger your livestock or humans. My wife took these photos of me procuring the samples. DM
 
Packaging it up for shipping. Not a pleasant under taking but we had much at stake. Neighbors needed to be considered or warned and much livestock to be observed. As it turned out it was only a scare for my wife and animals. DM
 
Great info Dave, good thinking on getting the vet services involved.
 
David Martin said:
Packaging it up for shipping. Not a pleasant under taking but we had much at stake. Neighbors needed to be considered or warned and much livestock to be observed. As it turned out it was only a scare for my wife and animals. DM
Click to expand...

Right on! Fish and game encourages hunters and shooters to take any coyote they see when in the field.

Since the popularity of coyote hunting in the last ten years our antelope and deer herds have improved.
 
Thanks gsea. There is much to consider when something like this happens. It's not just about me and my livestock and farm. Many are at risk. DM
 
Eastern NC has been dealing with rabies outbreaks over the last decade; it flairs up and dies down, but is tied to the movement into the area and establishment of local coyotes. You are right, it is dangerous and it is about everyone - we are preparing for a coyote (and feral animal) shoot at one of my hunting clubs. All stands with shooters over bait. OH
 
I've been seeing more and more yotes around here in the last 8-10 years. None with problems thank heavens! The smart buggers never come around when I have a rifle though.
 
David - I had a similar instance where a coyote did not seem afraid of humans. I noticed him a half dozen times in a field close to our place either standing or laying down about 30 yards from the road. Only when I got out of my car to take a few pictures of him did he get up and walk away. One day while in my old barn I noticed a movement just on the other side of the back wall thru the cracks in the siding boards and figured it was one of the deer that are always back in that area. When I peeked thru one of the cracks I noticed the coyote about 5 feet on the other side. I quietly walked away back to the house, got my 22, went back out there, peeked thru one of the cracks and noticed he was still there. I than stepped out into a side opening where I was not about 15 feet from him and he just stood there and looked at me until one of those 22's knocked him to the ground. I never though about contacting anyone but did figure something was wrong with him. He was a huge one. Maybe one of the biggest I have ever seen. He seemed in great shape. Nice and heavy. Been eating good and his fur was nice and thick. I just buried him out in the woods behind my place.

Years ago I was walking at the edge of a large field with the sun directly behind me close to sunset and noticed a coyote ahead of me had just stepped out from the brush and into the edge of the field. He just stood there looking at me about 50 yards or so away. I figured he had a hard time making me out since I was in direct line with the sun. As I walked closer he moved off into the brush. After passing the spot where he went into the brush by about 30 yards I looked back to see him out in the field again walking my direction. I kept walking away and the coyote kept following me for probably 100 yards before I finally stopped and yelled at him at which time he
went back in the brush where I never seen him again. You never know how a coyote will react. I have seen them running away with all they've got to stand and look at me to going back and forth slowly coming closer in curiosity. I have only shot 2 but have trapped close to 100.

Great job ridding the area of a possible problem.
 
It is a good thing you shot him. I am surprised your wife didn't. I am sure she can. My wife is from a country where guns are not legal for the serfs. The first thing I did was to teach her to use my .22 rifle and a handgun. I never worried about her being alone.
 
Thanks gents. It is serious and not something to be taken lightly. I have been bitten by a animal that tested positive (a fox) and had to go through the shots. I wrote about it in our Collectors Newsletter in about 2007. The shots are very expensive and make you sick. A small consequence should you get it as it's about 99.99% your toast. I'm not wanting anyone to over react but just be prudent when accessing a animal in the wilds condition. We all like to be out in nature and chances are you'll never see such but should you, be mindful and cautious. DM
 
Excellent work David. I am moving to your neighborhood as soon as I finish typing this sentence. I will not bring my coon skin cap, however. Thank you kindly for taking the time to put it down for all of us to learn how to handle such varmints.

I was in the old neighborhood in suburban NE Portland in the early 1950s running for all I was worth just ahead of a motivated frothy-mouthed matted-fur wild dog heading for my tract home. Luckily I reached home and driveway where the family passenger car was parked, one of those rounded ones, just ahead of the mid-sized monster quadruped and scrambled up onto the hot car where the dog couldn't follow. I stayed there until help arrived. I was pre-school age but knew what a rabid animal looked like, how they acted and what to do. I got lucky that day.

I see coyotes here once in a while. They use the ditches, gullies, stream banks and low places to travel. However, you mostly hear them at night. My place is forested, some old growth never logged, so I can find their trails. Yotes are contemporaries of the saber tooth cats. One of the neighbors saw/counted 18 in a row heading over the hill as the sun was going down. It is awesome when they all sing at once and all dog within miles will answer. I figure that the dogs don't want to fight so they give away their position so that the yotes can avoid them. There used to be professional trappers in the counties but last time I checked only Yamhill had one. For $70 he would set choke traps on trails but dogs/deer and such could be caught and killed. Neighbors are close here. I used rubber bullets once with a 12 ga. to no joy result. I haven't used a firearm for so many years here I can't remember when, decade at least.

Your unusual behavior issue (not afraid of human). Wine grape growers in this neck of the woods use open poison (I have direct personal knowledge of this). We lost a dog to that. This could account for your unusual behavior perhaps.
 
Nice work. Could be a pot grow round these parts. Plenty of nasties around those.
 
Wow David....much different than the pharmaceutical sampling that I'm familiar with!

I have seen this behavior with racoons a few times.
 
One of the neighbors saw/counted 18 in a row heading over the hill as the sun was going down. It is awesome when they all sing at once and all dog within miles will answer.[/QUOTE]

My daughters will argue with that. We have been in the woods deer hunting many times in the evening and hear them sound off all around us. Lol. I tell them they have nothing to worry about, I'm there an w both have rifles.

18 at once is a seriuos problem.

Around here most i know will shoot upon sight but u wont have much time bc they dont hang around.

I was out hog hunting once, while on 4wheeler saw one and stopped to shoot it and it continued to come toward me. First shot didnt didnt stop it and it continued toward me, that concerned me a little, the next one stopped it.
 
David Martin said:
Darn, guys I had not thought of pot growers or poison. So, thanks I'll be careful. DM
Click to expand...

This is also mushroom time of year in this neck of the woods. Some are good eating, poisonous and others have hallucinogenic properties. So it is possible critters can be tripping...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psilocybin_mushroom

Yote not afraid of Canadian man, winter, near his home, some language not for children as yote bites man's boot several times: [video]https://youtu.be/NqVE9qfg7yI[/video] VIDEO

Video, hear call of many yotes at night near home with dog: <strong>[video]https://youtu.be/IjUCS1Qm5_o[/video]

I live out in the sticks in the middle of a forest. However, we belong to the YMCA in town about 3 miles away. Walking on the sidewalk next to the road around the high-end subdivision of big homes with small yards near the Y a three-legged yote was eating strawberries in the manicured yard just ahead. It kept at it until we were about 20 feet from it then trotted away easily toward a gully. Its missing leg looked to my sore eyes like it had been surgically removed and was completely healed with no stump what-so-ever. If I had to guess. And I don't like guessing. I would guess that some folk feed these animals. Even if they don't intend to. Did your cat ever go missing for example? Some of you will probably balk at this but the question remains open in my book: Who domesticated who in this dog and human set?
 
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David, awesome pics for sure,and being considerate of others around you even better.

I had to shoot a Coyote a couple of years back that was acting very strange to say the least (Oregon may be on to something with the Mushroom analysis) The Coyote was not wanting to leave my property and was growling and stalking my Chickens so I had to employ the 7Mag and took him out with one shot. My local Ranger said that the Mushrooms may have poisoned him and that's why he was acting strange and would have probably died anyway.
 
Okay, here is one of my coyote stories. Years ago I was hunting pronghorns and was working my way along the base of a ridge trying to get close enough for a shot at a buck. I happened to turn around and there was a coyote standing about 50 yards away. I looked at him through the scope but decided not to shoot since that wouldn't help with stalking the buck. I kept going, looked around again and the coyote was about 20-25 feet away. This time I tossed a rock at him, but he didn't leave, although the buck did. I kept working along the base of the ridge and the coyote followed, maybe 15 feet or so behind me and a little off to the side. If I stopped, he stopped. If I moved on, he followed. This went on for half and hour or so, then he left. I don't think there was anything wrong with him. He was young and maybe hadn't seen a human before. Later I found out that coyotes will follow larger animals like elk, deer or cattle and use them as a hunting aid. If the larger animals startles a rabbit, mouse or other small mammal, it helps the coyote. I'm glad I didn't shoot him when I first saw him because I would have missed a really interesting experience. I probably was carrying a Buck 102 that day, a favorite of mine for fish and relatively small game.

Bert
 
Here is a link to a story about a young woman killed by coyotes in Maine. I remember watching about it on TV a couple years ago. The written story doesn't exactly tell it like the show which had interviews with witnesses
and much more facts.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/10/29/canada.singer.killed/

I also had a customer a few years ago that dropped his car off with me for repairs and when he came back a few days later had his arm all bandaged up. He herd a commotion on his front porch and his cat screaming out so he grabbed a kitchen knife and went out the front door to check it out. I guess when he opened the door it somewhat blocked in the side of his porch a coyote attacking his cat. He attacked the coyote and started stabbing him with the knife which killed the coyote but not before the coyote got in a few bites on his lower arm. He went thru the rabies shots while the tested the coyote which came back negative.
 
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