Watched a show that really peaved me...

[XD40coyote]

Last night on Animal Planet there was a show about "wild animal attacks on the rise". The general premise was that there were more and more wild animal attacks in recent years than "ever before". I missed about the first 20 mins and came in to see a segment about urban/suburban coyotes in Chicago. They were following along with some trapper/researchers who catch coyotes using live holding snares, sedate them, put an eartag on, and then radio collar them and let them go. They were saying that the amount of coyotes in Chicago is huge. Then these other "animal experts" were saying this was due to too much development into these animals' territories. Bullhocky!

Coyotes have been migrating to all over north america the last 30 years or so, taking advantage of DEPRESSED FUR PRICES, ANIMAL ACTIVISTS' BLEEDING HEARTS, and very few people hunting or trapping them in many areas anymore, mainly due to fur prices being so rediculously low. And while there has been a goodly interest in predator hunting the last decade or so, it is not enough.

Is there anywhere in PA where coyotes are in large #'s in suburban areas? If the answer is NO, it is because PA still has a buttload enough of trappers ( even in Chester and Mont. counties), and has a very large amount of predator hunters, plus all the deer and bear hunters who shoot coyotes they see when hunting the other 2 animals. I bet NJ has suburban coyote problems, and MD does too- near and actually in DC as well. What do NJ, Chicago, DC metro MD, and DC have in common? Animal rights nuts, anti gunners, and in NJ's case also a ban on foothold traps. Oh and MA has problems too, they can just love themselves for voting in that trapping ban.

Well they can have all these coyotes for all I care. I also wish the fox chasers many coyotes as well, since they are partly responsible for a stupid trapping reg in some counties in MD, and will not allow hunters on many of their farms. Allow deer hunters NOW, and tell them to shoot coyotes too, and these folks can still play their horsey fox chasing games for some years to come. But most of these snotty nosed pricks would never allow hunters. So bye bye red foxes...

[mrnyman]

Coyotes are opportunists, they will take advantage of the easy pickings in Suburban areas to feed, it doesnt mean that they are neccessarily over breeding.

Nymaz

[XACEX]

i enjoyed the show. it was one of like 4 in a row that night that promoted unlimited quotas for year-round python hunting in florida.

hunting man-eating pythons???

how badass is that?!!

[JEFF B]

I don't see how anybody could put a number on how many coyotes we have in suburban areas.We all know there here,but when they're around people i would think they're even more reclusive.I hunt fox at night alot,and never experienced a coyote,but plenty of red fox.Everybody says coyote run fox out of there territory.So does that mean if i see a fox,we dont have any coyote? Pretty tough to figure out if you ask me,it makes my head hurt.

[XD40coyote]

Jeff B you have fox trappers, and yes some trap darn near the developed areas. Fox trappers that know better make sure to use beefed up traps in case of a coyote catch. Fox trappers do catch coyotes where they criss cross through. Now I know of an extreme longliner, he catches an average of about 1000 foxes a season. He also catches 2-3 coyotes a season. He traps Lancaster, York, Chester, and Montgomery counties in as far as I know. There are several guys also in these counties who trap 300-500 fox per season and also get a few coyotes each. So this is the reason why there is not a coyote problem in suburban Philly. Even if across the river in Jersey there are coyotes running amok- that river forms a barrier and only a few coyotes will get across using bridges. PA is one of the states with the most hunters and trappers, and there are alot of hunters also in MD, though far far fewer trappers. The last haven of trapping in MD is muskrat trappers on the edges of the Bay, specifically around Dorchester county. In my area, there are 2 other trappers I know of, and they come down from PA, and seem to trap only for foxes. I have heard that they do catch a coyote now and then, but nobody knows if they caught any of them in MD.

Now to Ill and WI where the coyotes came from into Chicago. In the rural areas of both states there ARE trappers and hunters, but coyotes are worth nothing and harder to catch, so there are not alot who trap just for them. There is no huge # of red foxes for anyone to longline, and then catch some coyotes as well. I think the last longliners there are after raccoons, easy to catch, plentiful, nice and big, and have heavier fur. Once in a blue moon a coyote will step in a coon trap and actually be held.

Coyotes are probably not overpopulated in general- heck they will disperse right into urban areas as their outlet. Some areas are filthy with them though, and the signs of overpopulation are mange and lice on the animals.

I wish the show had looked at the giant coyotes in NY state and northward. There are some real hogs. I've got a skull off one that is as big as the skull of a leaner bodied dog that weighed 70 pounds- breed mix cattle dog + german short haired pointer. Now, I wonder what that coyote weighed? I've seen coyote hides as big as those of small wolves- tanned hides measuring 70-72" tip to tip, with small feet- wolves have big feet. I've got a 3 coyotes mount here in the showroom. I only know the weight off the smallest of the 3- approx 40 pounds. The other 2 are a good bit bigger than this one. The smaller one is from PA, the other 2 from upper NY state. I mounted a female taken here in MD, Harford county around Fallston, weighed about 36-37pounds, but was big- her hide fit a form for a 40-45 pounder just fine. I've got her skull, hunter didn't want it, and it is not that big and the canine teeth have developed hairline splits pretty quickly. This makes me think she was only 1.5 years old when killed. Imagine had she lived a few more years, what she would have weighed? Another one I mounted was from NB Canada, and that thing looked like it was part wolf, though the skull was all coyote. I estimate it weighed 60-65 pounds. It's skull was not quite as big as that one I have.

I've got some pics of these animals if you wish to see them.

[geoman458]

I was reading an article in the PA game digest about coyotes in PA and it stated that in fact they believe some of the 'yotes in PA have mixed with wolves, they are the northern ones. There is another stream coming in from midwest that are not as large and have not mixed with wolves. Interesting though.

[XD40coyote]

I had a guy from NC trappers association inquire yesterday about buying some tanned red fox skins from me. He said that there were barely any reds anymore due to the coyotes.

I also know this happened in Indiana and Ohio and it went "all coyote" some years ago now. If they get a good foothold, the reds disapear, though you can find them in suburban areas living under sheds and whatnot in both of those states. There are also some HUGE coyotes in IN, but they do not have the wolfier fur of the NE ones. They also tend to have the longer taller ears of westerns, rather than the shorter more wolflike NE's.

I have a prediction- the last place to get the coyote problems will be the Delmarva. The Susquehanna and bay form a big barrier, the other side has the Delaware river and the ocean. The only way in is through that bit of SE PA, which is currently pretty filled up with fox trappers who catch the few coyotes. Some yotes have slipped through though, some of my guys who hunt the eastern shore have heard locals tell of coyote sightings. Deer and waterfowl hunting are HUGE there, so I expect deer hunters to cull some, and maybe a goose hunter here or there hunting fields might nail one depending on shot size and proximity. There are also alot of wild turkeys, so some turkey loads might be able to down a coyote under the right conditions. I have heard of coyotes in other places coming in to a turkey call.

[JEFF B]

My mom lives in Cape May, and there's been yotes there for a while. She sends me newspaper articles about them sometimes.

[Cruiser]

Been seeing more and more here near alrightsville(between that and Jim Thorpe) ran one over the other day with my service truck.. thought it was a dog and slammed on the brakes when I realized it was a yote I switched to the gas and kept going.. right on 380N ramp off 80 west.. its odd,, they have been traveling in packs around here,, thats not a coyote thing but a wolf thing,, they either mixed with that or dog..
I carry when I walk my little foo foo dogs(wife's chow chows) at 4:30 am.. had a few staring out of the woods at us a few times.. a quick shot of the panic button on the car alarm has them gone.. I keep the .45 handy just in case they get brave..

[XD40coyote]

It's a wolf thing for the north eastern coyotes we have right now. Look at the color phases too. Wolves come in black,blue tone black, brownish, standard grey color, and the pale arctics. I'm not sure where the blond coyotes are coming from, could be from dog DNA. I've got a big blond coyote mount here and the animal has rear dewclaws, which is indicative of dogs.

I was just prepping up a WV coyote skull for cleaning, pretty good size for a pup. 8" front to back, and I know it was young as the canines had not fully erupted. It was taken last sept, so had to be from a litter from spring 2009. I'm to make a hat from the hide for the hunter, when I get it back from the tanner. Plus he wanted the skull cleaned.

Anyone ever shoots a coyote ( legally of course) with good winter fur and doesn't want it, don't waste it. I'll take em.