I caught my 8 year old last year. Didn't hurt at all. I let him loose cause he hasn't been killing my deer too bad. [img:center]http:// [/img]

All these coyotes , dog hunters and doe days.

I'm shocked any deer are left in alabama to be honest.

Yes, I was being sarcastic

Some interesting findings out of an ongoing Virginia study into coyotes, bobcats and deer:

http://www.alleghenymountainradio.org/vi...in-bath-county/

http://www.research.vt.edu/resmag/2014-summer/s2014-coyotes.html

Home on the range
Based on the first 14 coyotes trapped for the Appalachian study, some home ranges are stable and others are shifting. The average coyote home range in the study area is about eight square miles, but there was a lot of variation.

�A young female coyote had the largest territory,� Morin said. �One season, she ranged 600 square kilometers (373 square miles) every two weeks, moving in between other coyotes� ranges. We think she was unable to find a territory until about a year later, and then settled in West Virginia.�

Overall, female coyotes in the study had larger home ranges than males. Home-range movements for all coyotes are smallest in the spring and summer when they have pups and largest in the fall and winter when they are looking for new territories and mates.

�One thing that interests me is determining what is happening to those coyotes that don�t have stable home ranges,� Morin said.
Typically, coyotes push ahead until they reach other coyotes� territories, thereby creating a stable territory. Coyotes, as well as other predators, often behave like this; the population is regulated by competition with other coyotes and other predators.

But these shifting home ranges suggest something may be out of balance and affecting normal population regulation; it is likely related to the high mortality rate observed in the area. Of the original 14 coyotes collared, only four are still alive, and three of the seven collared in 2013 have already been killed.
When a coyote is killed, it may actually make deer more vulnerable to predation.

It will be important to overlay the bear and bobcat scat location data with the coyote scat and movement location data to learn how the three predators interact.
�What is unique about this study,� said Fies, �is that researchers will have estimates of population density for all three predators and deer at the same time and in the same place. We won�t have to rely on anecdotal evidence. To my knowledge, this has not been done anywhere else.�
A multi-predator approach is an important next step.
�We can tell that the answer to the coyote-deer question is more complex than a two-species interaction,� Kelly said. �We hope to build on what we have already learned and expand the study by including multiple predators � coyotes, bobcats, and bears. That way we can gain a more thorough understanding of the ecosystem, especially in relation to its relative newcomer � the coyote.�

Me and my son went hunting yesterday afternoon. I saw 8 deer and he saw 6 in the plot he was sitting in. I shot one and lost blood so I backed out until this morning. This is what I found, nothing but hide and bone.

I never have understood the idea that killing coyotes or a coyote doesn't make any difference to the coyote population, over my pay grade I guess. Makes me feel better anyway.

I never have understood the idea that killing coyotes or a coyote doesn't make any difference to the coyote population, over my pay grade I guess. Makes me feel better anyway.