Results 21 to 24 of 24
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October 10th, 2021, 07:31 PM #21
Re: Good article on Eastern coyotes and PA deer herd
A transitory wolf near the Canadian border doesn't take a leap of faith to believe. Canada has Gray Wolf populations. However, kt is interbreeding between the two species that allows for some damn big coyote hybrids up north. I believe that Maine has recorded Eastern Coyotes in the 90 lb. range. And, if you weren't aware, Eastern Coyotes are all hybrids with varying percentages of western coyote, gray wolf and dog. In fact, if I recall a study that I read a couple years ago, genomic testing has shown that the only true wolf in North America is the gray wolf. All others are wolf/coyote hybrids.
Sed ego sum homo indomitus
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October 14th, 2021, 06:02 AM #22
Re: Good article on Eastern coyotes and PA deer herd
My belief is that the predation rate on fawns by coyotes is going to vary by area, driven mainly by small game and rodent numbers. You have an area that has a healthy small game population, I'm thinking the coyotes will leave deer alone as smaller bunnies and squirrels will make easier meals. When the food supply starts to get stretched, is when they'll start taking down the bigger, harder to catch/kill animals. Face it, most animals only want to exert just enough energy as necessary for survival.
As for the deer population, I think the biggest issue is deer naturally gravitate to areas of less pressure. Suburban areas are literally no pressure with their biggest threats being cars, not hunters. Where there's more undeveloped acreage, again, they'll gravitate to areas of less pressure (such as private property). If a food source is near an area of hunting pressure, they'll adjust their schedules and move through those areas in the dark. Spend enough time in the woods. And you watch their patterns, you'll see it.
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October 14th, 2021, 07:03 AM #23
Re: Good article on Eastern coyotes and PA deer herd
There are certainly natural swings and predator driven swings in the herd, but many people fail to see the swing caused by the economics of agriculture. Just like the change in no-til farming drove pheasant number towards 0, the loss of the small family farm on small rural plots across PA has reduced the availability of the *fast food* that drove the numbers up when our parents and grandparents hunted (We all know an acre of corn or beans supports multiple times the number of deer an acre of woods does). The amount of farmed land in PA has dropped substantially in parts of the state, as agribusiness has moved west (and north) to 10,000 acre plots, and trucking and rail become more economical for food movement. With yields consistently increasing, there is a decline in total acreage needed too.
Based on the understory and crop damage, I*ll say we*ve still got an over abundance down here, but we have very few coyote and plenty of active farmland.
As a parting thought, I once read there are four times more deer on the continent now then when it was settled. Go get a few!!Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.
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October 14th, 2021, 07:47 AM #24
Re: Good article on Eastern coyotes and PA deer herd
I wonder if there have ever been any studies done on how mountain lions affect the deer and coyote populations in PA.
Accuse your enemy of what you are doing as you are doing it to create confusion -Karl Marx
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