I’m guessing that this has been a learned behavior by coyotes and something that they only started doing during some time frame along this progression of them moving east. It may very well just be within recent times of the last decade or so that this behavior has really ramped up. From what I see they appear to be heavily targeting the wounded. A pretty high percentage of the live wounded deer that we get on the next day have signs of yotes getting them up and pursuing them in some form or fashion. There’s times when a wounded deer goes off script so bad from what they typically do that it leaves you scratching your head and wondering if coyotes were the culprit. We tracked a gut shot one day that the hunter and myself agreed to call off because of how far we’d gone. It didn’t make sense and I think it was likely the yotes on that one too but I can’t say for sure.

I think a lot more deer are being taken out this way than what is realized. Keep in mind things may have changed a lot in recent times if this was indeed a learned behavior. I imagine the “rigors of the rut” cause a lot of bucks to become targets…..maybe a doe has complications during birth…..maybe a deer gets sick and weak…..maybe they get hit by a car or break a leg….These deer are all candidates to be targeted and taken out. A coyote doesn’t have anything else to do but to trot around behind that deer until its injury or ailment bring it down. Coyotes don’t have property lines or boundaries to stop them either. I wouldn’t be surprised if some pursuits lasted for a day or two….the yote probably just lays down to rest from time to time and then trots on….he doesn’t have to run them just keep pushing.

A deer’s natural defense to it is to go to a body of water which could very well be just a detrimental to it. We jumped a 3 legged high fence deer this year that had one leg completely disabled. Otis got after him pretty hot and took him about ¾ mile. I saw they were headed for the big lake so I toned him off so I could catch and make sure he didn’t get in trouble. The hunter and guide were coming around in the truck and saw him cutting across a field. They said he was starting to struggle at that point. When I got there the deer had gone off into the lake but was nowhere to be seen. I could hear something that sounded like a deer bellowing 7 or 8 times the direction he had gone in then it went quiet. I just talked to high fence guide a couple weeks ago and he said the deer hasn’t been seen again. He may have very well drowned not realizing he couldn’t swim with 3 legs and his only good front one being worn out. I’m sure this happens with yotes too.