Coyote Impact on Deer

State game department to study coyote impact on deer


The only good coyote to study is a dead one. What are your thoughts.

Interesting. Looks like we need to hit them in June and July before the fawns start dropping in August and September.

I think the coyotes effect the deer population more than some think.

I talked to a biologist about having an effect on coyotes, and he told me that, I would have to hunt coyotes harder than I hunt deer, to make an impact on their population. He also said the biggest problem for predation of young deer and fawns is local dogs.
He went on to explain that coyotes kill to survive, and will consume the entire kill. Where local dogs kill for sport and fun, they may eat some of the kill but mostly play with it, and then go try to find something else they can chase, because they are getting fed by their owners.
I wish AL would put a bounty on them like some counties in the State of Texas. http://texassportsmansassociation.org/coyote.htm
The main reason they have these types of bounties is because of the goat and sheep farming, but I have hunted places in Texas where coyotes or bobcats were not to be found, because of the bounty.

Shoot coyote so it will run off and be weak. the rest of the pack will kill him and eat him. Keep em away from your deer two ways...

+1 for the bounty idea. I bet they would raise the license fees to pay for it though.

and when they have pups . i have no problem with the pups starving .

No

Dogs are a huge problem but nobody wants to get into that.

You also have to take some things biologists say with a little skepticism. Just about every study done will have another study done a few years later that contradicts it. There are biologists that post here that have said in the past that you can never shoot too many does. Most would disagree with that now as well.

I have no doubt coyotes have a significant impact on the deer population and I also have no doubt that all the hunting in the world won't curb the coyote numbers. A statewide trapping effort would be the main effective method of controlling their numbers.

Just a personal observation here.I have lived in Kansas and Texas.These two states had and still have large coyote populations..They had them long before we ever had them in Alabama.Both states have enviable wild game populations.Kansas has a great deer herd and more game birds and game bird species than we will ever have.

I'll put that on my bucket list.

I bet coyotes have less of an impact on the deer population in AL than most think.

We see a ton of coyotes and shoot everyone one we can. We still have very high deer numbers

I bet they have more of an impact than you think.

I had 2 does, on 1 camera the first week of bow season. One had 2 twin fawns, the other a single fawn. I got pictures every day for a week, then 1 picture of a coyote. No deer for 3 days, then, the doe with twin fawns came back and only had 1 fawn. The other doe returned with zero fawns. The fawns never showed back up, so I assume the yote caught them. Other than deer, I think they deplete the rabbit population. I used to see 8 or 10 rabbits every morning driving in before daylight. Now that coyotes are everywhere, I might see 3 rabbits all deer season driving into the lease, and hardly ever see rabbit turds in the pine rows anymore.

I bet it depends on your habitat.

A buddy owns land in illionis. His neighbor that joins his proptery said he found a coyote den on his place and put a camera on it. He claims the coyote brought a fawn a day in the den for 12 days in a row. Then pics of pups coming out of den before he killed em. Now this is just what he told me so I don't know how true it is.

x2 Almost every night I get a pic of 2-3 yotes cruising through. Ive also had 2 fawns go missing this year. Yotes get the blame from me.

the auburn study on ft rucker 2013-14 over half the fawns drop were killed by hog or yotes.

That would be pretty close with what happened at our place. 4 dropped 2 left.

Consider yourself fortunate that you have 2 left.

Doubtful

Is Tuscaloosa a planet? . . . . . . . you don't get out much do ya?

I get out a little bit.

I personally think habitat and available food sources have a larger role in deer population than predation. That being said once you've done all you can do to improve habitat and increase the carrying capacity of your property then it's time to manage predators.

Not here but can easily happen.

Coyotes kill horse

coyotes suck

Over half the fawns that were collared on Ft Rucker died...true.

We did not document any wild pigs killing fawns...but it has been documented as happening...although it hasn't been documented often.

The reality is that every deer population (no matter how healthy or how few predators) has >50% mortality of the fawn crop each year. Does on average will produce 1.7 fawns each year (100 does will drop 170 fawns). Extremely high recruitment rates (fawn:doe ratios when the fawns are about 6 months of age) are around 0.7...meaning only 70 fawns are around for every 100 does. This means that 100 ourt of 170 fawns die (just shy of 60%). Marginal recruitment rates are about 0.5 (50 fawns/100 does...70% mortality rate).

If you can keep your mortality rate less than 70%, then you are probably OK. Mortality rates >70% is where we are likely getting into trouble.

Keep in mind that fawns die due to LOTS of things other than coyotes and other predators. Malnutrition, abandonment, accidents, parasitism, disease, and others are all significant factors of mortality in even healthy populations...but obviously worse in overpopulated herds.

The point is, just because you see fawns disappearing, or you know that coyotes are predating some fawns doesn't mean that your herd is being negatively impacted. It's only when that predation starts to cause overall fawn mortality rates to exceed 70% that you start run into problems.

so its kinda like they don't kill most calves they just find them dead ??? it looks like they killed them ???

That plus 2 doe a day limit for years equals a negative number.

I'm not sure what you're seeing...I'm not there. But, I can tell you that counting dead fawns doesn't tell you anything, because you don't know how many you started with. The top deer minds in the country are all saying that fawn recruitment rates are the best information you can collect regarding your fawn crop. And...it can be done with game cameras...which most people have.

Shoot the yotes when you can but trap 'em year-round or let someone do it.

Hunting them is fun. Trapping them is more effective and beneficial in the long run, just like with hogs. Do both.

I can't believe we're discussing this again

Good luck Dr. D...

sorry i think you took what i said wrong .

what i'm saying is like most calves, they die and coyotes find it and it just looks like they killed it. why you see so much deer hair in the sh!t .

ok , what i'm getting at .

Steve Ditchkoff,, NightHunter , Matt or who ever .

do you think coyotes or more of a scavenger or a predator when they utilize deer meat as a diet source .

Thanks for keeping me on track

When it comes to deer, coyotes are much more of a scavenger than predator.

all they do is studies, never do anything constructive.

I don't think they are as bad on mature deer, but I'm sure they are detrimental in the early fall on fawns.

However, they are devastating on turkey and small game like rabbits.

making the facts clear is constructive

I think they have a fairly significant impact on deer, last year I had pictures of a coyote killing a full grown buck. Some of you may remember, I posted it. It was 2 coyotes at first attacking the deer. But one finished him off, rite in front of my camera

Guys they got these dogs that are from yotes cross bred w/dogs & wolfs .coydog & coywolf there bigger & more aggressive a GW said we don't have coywolf but we do have coydogs. bigger chest & round ears thin legs .I have not seen then yete. have you seen or heard about them.

Just found your thread and bumped it in the pics section. Amazing pics.

Thanks chris, its in trailcam pics forum, for those of you that dont think coyotes effect deer that much, or havnt seen it, check it out.

Looks like that deer was in poor health before the coyotes got it.

might be why he had drop the antlers too .

at least it looks like its a he by one picture . looks like a spot on his head is where a horn might have been ???

Yes deer had cast his antlers, poor health? Dont look like it to me, he was fat, looks extremely healthy to me. Amazing how 2 ppl can look at same picture and see something totally different. And dont think casting has much to do with it, several of my bucks cast early last year and looked healthy, he was not the only one. Only thing that looks wrong with him is his rearend, were the coyotes were gnawing on him. Other than that, he looks healthy IMO

That's what I thought.

This has always been a significant debate among wildlife biologists and researchers. Without question, some deer hair (maybe a little...maybe a lot) that is found in coyote scat is from coyotes scavenging dead deer. But, it's difficult to tell for sure unless you can get on a dead fawn quickly. I do know from conducting multiple studies with radio-collared fawns that they die from a large number of causes unrelated to predation, and that this non-predation mortality rate can be as great or greater than predation rates. But, this can vary significantly by location.

Sorry that I can't give you a more specific answer.

I haven't looked at the pictures, and so am not stating an opinion on the condition of the buck in the pictures.

But, bucks shed their antlers based upon hormone levels....specifically testosterone. As T levels drop, the deer begin to go the process of shedding their antlers. What has been found is that bucks that start to approach poor condition due to heavy rutting, injury, heavy parasites or disease, can see a decline in testosterone that can lead to earlier shedding of antlers. These deer may not necessarily look to be in poor condition, but could just be experiencing a significant decline in resources or body condition.

Once again...I'm not commenting on the deer in that picture. Just throwing some information out there.