Coyotes pack hunting

[marlinman93]

In recent years we see more and more coyotes hunting in packs around here. They used to be singles and occasional mating couples, but now they run in packs of 4-6 often like wolves have done forever.
My nephew just told me a story of such a pack they witnessed up close during their elk hunt on his 240 acre small ranch. Their group of 6 hunters had spread out opening morning, and were sitting and waiting for elk to possibly move through when they heard the crying sound of a deer. He described it as "blood curdling" and said it went on for nearly 10 minutes until they all decided to go investigate the sound.
Following the continuous screams of the deer, they came over a hill to see a young buck on the ground with 5 or 6 coyotes tearing it apart as it was still alive, and in distress. They ran the coyotes off, and dispatched the small buck to end it's suffering. He said they'd torn the gut open, and were pulling it out, and had begun to tear open the lower neck, and front shoulder.
It was my great nephew's first hunt, so they showed him how to remove the back straps, and bone out the hind quarters, as he said they couldn't see leaving the meat for the coyotes return. It brought to our minds those times some animal rights people have talked about how inhumane hunting by humans is. I wonder if they've ever witnessed, or even wondered how inhumane hunting by predators is, and what a slow, painful death an animal goes through when taken by predators? Certainly no kill by a human could come close to what this buck went through with a pack of coyotes eating him alive?
Just a side note. They said they expected the backstraps of a young buck to be very tender, but seems the way he died put so much stress on him that he said they were tougher than any he'd ever eaten before.

[jeepnik]

Even in my suburban area coyote numbers have blossomed in recent years. There is no hunting allowed and all efforts to control their population by the government are fought by sierra club types.

Mostly we see young individuals, mated pairs or family groups. Since we have no large prey animals they don’t pack up.

I’m on a canyon and my property extends down into about the center of the defile. It is legal to trap if you follow the rules. Since a number of coyotes use the canyon as a regular route I have kept the number down locally. Still, until the bleeding hearts realize predators and humans can’t live in close proximity, nothing will change.

[.45colt]

They are a big problem here as well. Behind My house is a couple thousand acres of woods, swamp and second growth from the Amish loggers. there were several Guys running big Walker hounds with GPS collars about eight years ago. One of the Hunters told Me they killed 130 yotes in a year back there. He said when the dogs caught up to the coyotes they would kill them. By the looks of Him and the dogs I didn't doubt it. Not long after I was flagged down by a Game Warden on the road who was trying to find these Guys. New people from the city had built a few houses and were having a fit about the dogs running thru their property. by law the hunter have to have written permission for each parcel they cross.
Goodby Hunters .....lots of coyotes now.

[ollogger]

i had noticed in over 23 years of cutting logs that where the small game was scarce the coyotes had
mostly deer hair in the scat, if alot of small game & mice around they seemed happy with that
Where i live know the deer herd is very small & a fawn that makes it a few months is rare, i shoot every coyote i can
& spend alot of time using a preator call on them


ollogger

[GunnyMack]

Coyotes around here seem to be on a down turn, hardly hear them now. Used to be every time one of the fire whistles would go off the packs would sound off one by one.
They like the deer have learned to live with mankind in the burbs and even cities.

In those areas where they can't be trapped or shot legally the old fish hook in a hunk of meat ( road kill ) trick should do. I haven't done this but supposedly the hook perforates their gut and they die a slow painful death from peritonitis. I refuse to make an animal die that way.

[Griff]

I used to have them run thru my pasture all the time, but the neighbor has a small herd of goats and 3-4 guard dogs... no coyotes. Mostly what I used to see was 1 -2, occasionally an adult with a few whelps.

[Walt]

New Mexico's Valles Caldera is a dormant volcano which created the Jemez Mountains in which Los Alamos is located. It is home to large elk herds which inhabit the 13 mile wide former crater, now covered with grassy meadows. When I plan a trip there by car or motorcycle I always take a spotting scope because the herds are frequently way out there. Now a National Park, the rangers will tell you that during elk calving season, the numbers of coyotes, bears and mountain lions increase dramatically. One spring day my son and I set up my spotting scope, watching an elk herd numbering in the hundreds. Several hundred yards away was a cow elk standing all alone. The grazing herd had slowly moved away from her. It became apparent that something was causing her to bolt one way and then another. There was a coyote creeping close to her and she would charge at it. Then I saw another coyote on the opposite side of the cow and each time she charged one coyote, the other would come in and attack the newborn calf that lay by her in the grass. She would turn and charge at that one and the process repeated itself until she realized her efforts were in vain. She finally held her head up and slowly made her way back toward the herd. In moments there were four more coyotes on the scene, their necks and chests bloody from tearing at the calf. Yep, sad to see but that's the cycle of life. Nature is cruel.

[TraderVic]

Made wood up at deer camp about three weeks ago. Trail cams showed a significant increase in coyotes in the pics. Friend said there's a noticeable decrease in whitetail doe and practically no fawns. One fellow had a pic of a coyote carrying a dead fawn in its mouth.
Well, we're all voluntarily not shooting any doe this season, just bucks......and coyotes !
Hoping the 6.5 gets a workout.

[jdad]

We live in semi rural suburbs bordering ag land. Plenty of coyotes around here and hear them at night quite often. I've run into a large pair while on a walk, but I have a 120# Great Pyrenees that made it clear if they FA they would FO.

If people would keep their cats inside instead of letting them be coyote bait outside, we probably wouldn't have so many hanging around.

We were in San Diego a few weeks ago and my niece had a spiked "coyote vest" for her little dog. She said daytime sightings were very common and no-one wants to discharge a firearm in a neighborhood of $2.5 million + homes.

[marlinman93]

We live in the city, and houses are close together on 50' x 100' lots. Yet we have coyotes here that are only seen on my security cameras, or if I have some reason to be out in the middle of the night. I've seen small groups of 3 at the most, but usually 1 or 2. The cats aren't disappearing here, as I see them on my cameras also, and always the same couple, along with some racoon families.

[Bronco]

NATURE: Red in tooth and claw !

[JimT]

Back in the 1980's I called coyotes a lot ... in Arizona. I have had 3 come in at once but never more than that. Usually it was one and sometimes 2. I got into wild dog packs in the mountains that had 15 to 20 in them. If coyotes are packing up that cannot be good.

[jeepnik]

Wild dogs are no joke. Often they have no fear of humans. They seem to kill sometimes just for sport and in doing so destroy the balance. I've hunted them up in the San Jaoquin Valley. They are very destructive to cattle and sheep, especially during calving and lambing. I stopped a little over ten years ago. I had a hunting partner that got the whole thing started via ranchers he met through his work at the VA hospital. When he passed, while I cold have continued, it just didn't have the same appeal.

Got some nice pigs on those ranches as well. Again, pigs can destroy habitat and geneally make a mess.

[coyote nose]

Unfortunately the coyotes are declining in my neck of the woods in NE Ohio. Used to love hearing their serenades at night, and loved seeing one go by while squirrel hunting. Now it is nothing but loose dogs and loose cats. Deer and Turkey are WAY down due to these house pets roaming free. And yes I have seen cats go after turkey poults.