Wyoming Coyotes

[Irrelevant]

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/14/7300...-as-effective-as-once-thought-researchers-say

I'm sure there are plenty of people who will disagree with it, but there sure seems to be a lot of mounting evidence against shooting them for "control"

 

[NR_Hunter]

I think it can be done but it’s gonna take poison, trapping and maybe even aerial gunning over a large area for a long period of time, at a cost that may not be worth it. The government is good at spending money tho.

 

[bullbugle]

https://www.npr.org/2019/06/14/7300...-as-effective-as-once-thought-researchers-say

I'm sure there are plenty of people who will disagree with it, but there sure seems to be a lot of mounting evidence against shooting them for "control"

There's little doubt in my mind anymore that were unable to control coyotes through any reasonable means, or possibly at all. We've shot, trapped, aerial gunned, poisoned, introduced biological agents, etc... and theres more coyotes and in more places than when Europeans arrived on the continent. I don't care if people want to harvest furs, or to try and kill coyotes during the fawn drop or during calving/lambing seasons, but to pretend that you're controlling coyotes overall is complete ignorance at this point.

My favorite coyote stupidity moment is the commercial for one of hunting shows where the guys says something along the lines of, "it's more important now more than ever to manage our predator populations." He then goes on to say "EHD and other diseases are ravaging our deer herds," and then cue the coyote snarling in the background. Every time I watch that commercial I want to bang my head against something. I guess EHD isn't as density dependent than what many might think, but a heck of a lot of deer diseases are very density dependent, and I don't see how killing all the predators are going to help with managing disease.

 

[Slick307]

Read the book Coyote America by Dan Flores. Its Fascinating.

 

[bullbugle]

Read the book Coyote America by Dan Flores. Its Fascinating.

That is a good read. American Serengetti is good as well.

 

[MITCHMO]

So they offer no evidence of their claims? Seems odd that coyotes are able to “breed more” when you kill more of them? Maybe I didn’t read that right but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t make any sense. I guess the animal right nuts would just rather we let them over populate and die of mange.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I think it can be done but it’s gonna take poison, trapping and maybe even aerial gunning over a large area for a long period of time, at a cost that may not be worth it. The government is good at spending money tho.

Decades of poison and government trappers weren't able to do it and they managed to eradicate wolves, lions, bears, etc. from most of the west.

 

[NR_Hunter]

Decades of poison and government trappers weren't able to do it and they managed to eradicate wolves, lions, bears, etc. from most of the west.

I def think coyote numbers can be reduced to very low numbers but at a cost that’s not really worth it, especially considering their replacement biology. The reduction effort isn’t really worth it when populations seem to bounce back in only a few years. I don’t really see why we need to spend government money trying to control them tbh.

 

[Sterling Archer]

So they offer no evidence of their claims? Seems odd that coyotes are able to “breed more” when you kill more of them? Maybe I didn’t read that right but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t make any sense. I guess the animal right nuts would just rather we let them over populate and die of mange.

I can see more pups surviving do to less competition for resources.

 

[Poke 'Em]

So they offer no evidence of their claims? Seems odd that coyotes are able to “breed more” when you kill more of them? Maybe I didn’t read that right but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t make any sense. I guess the animal right nuts would just rather we let them over populate and die of mange.

Did you read the study they linked?

 

[MITCHMO]

Nope lol

 

[bullbugle]

So they offer no evidence of their claims? Seems odd that coyotes are able to “breed more” when you kill more of them? Maybe I didn’t read that right but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t make any sense. I guess the animal right nuts would just rather we let them over populate and die of mange.

I hear this argument all the time. It's true that a dead coyote won't breed, obviously, but it's been demonstrated that the reproductive rate, or offspring per litter, of remaining coyotes goes up significantly under intense trapping or hunting. That combined with their early reproductive age, short time between litters, short gestation period, and incredible ability to colonize makes it extremely difficult to reduce their numbers in an area for any significant length of time.

I see this in action on a ranch just north of town. I work with a guy who kills 60 plus coyotes a year off that one property, and he's not the only one killing yotes out there as much of the ranch is deeded state land that's accessible. Despite all the coyote killing that goes on out there, it's literally the most coyote ridden place Ive ever seen. I usually see 5 or 6 just driving the county road during the daylight.

 

[bullbugle]

This topic was discussed with my wildlife mgmt. professor and a big coyote hunter we had in class. He was a really smart kid and didn't even bother to argue that he was making a population level impact. He just said, well, there'll be even more for me to kill then.

 

[88man]

If the population of coyotes goes up when your killing them its pretty simple and no study is needed your just not killing enough of them.

 

[one ate E grain]

Robert Wielgus made a career out of conducting studies to show the same thing. I think he started on some African canine, then went on to wolves, cougars, and coyotes, I'm not sure but maybe black bears too. The trick is to find that magic point where you kill just enough of the breeding pairs but leave enough of the pack to make the numbers increase. He was accused of scientific misconduct when a statistician found funny things with his numbers but he beat it. Also lied about a rancher and it generated death threats to Fish and Game officials. Eventually I think the University paid him to go away despite tenure. Poser.

I mean it's not like Wildlife Services hasn't been killing yotes for longer than half a century. It's just a question of how much you want them gone, and are you willing to invest the effort to keep populations suppressed. Ranchers often look upon it as a lifelong calling.

 

[Poke 'Em]

Nope lol

I strongly recommend informing yourself before forming an opinion.

 

[El Jason]

Scientific Data

Changes in estimates of pack size and coyote density, plus the number of animals removed, indicated the coyote population was reduced 44-61% and 51-75% in the removal area during 1987 and 1988, respectively. As expected, annual survival rates declined significantly for coyotes in the removal area compared to coyotes in the non-removal area. Removals brought about a drastic reduction in pack size and a corresponding decrease in density. However, both pack size and density rebounded to pre-removal levels within 8 months post-removal. Home range size did not change in response to changes in exploitation.

Litter size significantly increased in the removal area 2 years after the beginning of exploitation. However, changes in litter size were confounded by changes in the prey base. Litter size was significantly related to rabbit abundance, while rodent abundance was less of a factor influencing reproductive effort. Accounting for both changes in prey abundance and coyote density, litter size was significantly related to total prey abundance/coyote. With increasing prey and reduced coyote density, mean litter size doubled in the removal area compared to pre-removal levels; females in the non-removal area also increased litter size in response to increased rabbit abundance. Litter sex ratio favored males during years of no exploitation, changing to a preponderance of females during the 2 years of exploitation. Reproduction by yearlings increased from 0 % in years prior to exploitation, to 20% following 2 years of coyote removal.

 

[MITCHMO]

Too late poke em, I run on instinct, 50% of the time I’m right every time.

 

[RockinU]

It's a pretty well researched and proven thing at this point. The more you kill mature coyotes, the more the younger ones breed. The more coyotes you kill, the more prey is left for the remaining coyotes to eat, resulting in more/larger litter size. I'm an avid coyote hunter, have been for a long time, and I don't mind people wanting to "control" them, as it leads to more opportunity for me, but I'm under no illusions that I'm actually controlling anything. Targeted control of local populations who have become habituated to livestock can work, by killing the offenders, but population level control is a difficult thing for the long term.

 

[Aussie_hunter_JD]

Are there any places where coyotes aren't hunted? Monitoring their population and dispersal should give an indication of what doing nothing results in.

In australia with the introduced red fox (different but still) we have had ongoing poisoning, shooting, bounties etc. Has minimal effect on them, still lose lambs every year and still see as many foxes.