Coyote attacks deer

[JSwan]

Warning - some of you may find the video alarming.

I just saw this link on FOL and thought I'd post it here. Pretty good video of a coyote taking a doe down, and an interview with a livestock owner and warden.

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/20580850/index.html

It would be nice if they stayed with deer and didn't take so much livestock!

[pAin't_Misbehavin']

Was that cool or what?:cool: I'm excited that research is showing coyote may provide a top-down control on deer and Canada geese populations. See, e.g. http://urbancoyoteresearch.com/

I've been mounting a campaign in my neighborhood to try and persuade people to stop shooting at coyotes. Cause so far I haven't had a coyote try to rogue my garden, but I can't say as much for the deer and rabbits.:lol:

Although I suppose my pro-coyote stance may change if I ever get my flock of guineas. Have you had a big problem with coyotes taking your chickens?

[egontoast]

I'm not going to watch the video because I don't enjoy watching that sort of thing. Same with nature shows. I can't watch the lion killing the baby whatever.

I also have trouble watching my barncat torture a mouse but that's what they are wired to do. I don't judge them but I don't enjoy watching it.

[awm]

The deer gets away------

I really liked the land owner's attitude!
She lives in the country for a reason & she tries to fit in!

[JSwan]

Have you had a big problem with coyotes taking your chickens?


The coyote around here seem to prefer livestock and pets, not venison.

[wendy]

coyotes here eat cats. and small dogs. Foxes eat rabbits and chickens. deer run amok their only natural predator being the car and starvation.

[harveyhorses]

I think the deer around my place could take a coyote down with one hoof behind their back. They fear nothing. (except my electric fence and sprinkler)
The coyotes I've seen look pretty scrawny in comparison. Ain't suburbia grand?

[wendy]

ours are huge. I think they are some kind of wolf-dog-coyote hybrid. But they sure don't eat the pesky deer. Apparently cats are easier to catch. I think there are more deer than people in our suburban neighborhood.

[trubandloki]

I think the deer around my place could take a coyote down with one hoof behind their back. They fear nothing. (except my electric fence and sprinkler)
The coyotes I've seen look pretty scrawny in comparison. Ain't suburbia grand?

The deer that hang out in my area are much larger than that one shown too. I can not see the coyotes I see taking down the deer.

Your deer actually feer your electric fence? The deer near me have it all figured out. They seem to know that one strand is not hot and know how to walk thru the fence and not touch the hot strands. They barely slow down when doing it.

[Belle-aphant]

Hah.. my cat attacks deer!! (and dogs (especially barn corgis and doxies), and goats, ponies.. etc... shes a devil) She is a 3yo flamepoint siamese cross. and we rescued her about 2 yrs ago.

At our last apartment we lived on a horse farm and Shelby was alowed outside (she had her own kitty door). Well we had a deer trail in front of our apartment and every evening 3 does would walk across the driveway and over towards the pastures. Shelby learned very quick. She would stalk them. One day the largest deer saw her and turned and charged her! Well Shelby being stubborn, she didnt move. The deer was flailing its little hooves at her! Shelby got up on her hinds and launched at it!!! (now shelby has a triple paws..not double, so shes kinda intimidating) and the deer took off... and there went the cat.. and chased them down the paddock! This happend 2 times before we started locking her in. Didn't see the deer too much after then.. hmm wonder why!?

Well We just moved recently and started letting her out again... the poor neighbors shepherd is'nt too thrilled (shes gotten her too!). But gotta luv my kitty! At least there will be no deer in our new garden! :)

[pAin't_Misbehavin']

I was really surprised to see that video. Our coyote are small creatures and I'd never have thought one would be able to take down a deer. I understand that in the Northeast the coyote are much more robust and grey in color - here in the Carolina's we have the small reddish critters. Like the one in the video. I've always been fond of them, personally.

JSwan - have you considered a Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) of some breed? They're good at scaring away coyote.

[magnum]

I want to see the video of the deer-herding cat! :eek::yes:

[horsetech21]

I found a half eaten baby deer carcass in our back hay field...knowing that coyotes are plentiful in the area, I'm betting that was the predator.

[JSwan]

JSwan - have you considered a Livestock Guardian Dog (LGD) of some breed? They're good at scaring away coyote.

My M-1 Carbine is better and I don't have to feed it. :winkgrin:


But I only use that as a last resort or to help out a neighbor. I'm pretty much live and let live.

[sid]

For the first time in 23 years, I've had my first resident coyote...and I'm only about 5 miles from Manassas. Last year one killed a nesting Canada goose. Saw the scat and nary a bone left except the breastbone picked clean. No fox can do that. Then I saw it early one morning by my pond. Big thing!! Since then I would never let my dog out after dusk without me.

Several months ago I woke up to horrific goose screaming and splashing in the pond -- sounded like an elephant floundering around in there. It went on for some time and it was really horrible to listen to it. Didn't realize it would actually get in the water to get prey.

Two weeks later my elderly cow farm neighbor told me they had shot big, huge male with the biggest canine teeth he'd ever seen. Said he thought it was at least 60 lbs. or more.

But where there is one, I'm sure they're more. Anyway they're BIG here.

[FatPalomino]

[QUOTE=sid;4335579

Two weeks later my elderly cow farm neighbor told me they had shot big, huge male with the biggest canine teeth he'd ever seen. Said he thought it was at least 60 lbs. or more.

But where there is one, I'm sure they're more. Anyway they're BIG here.[/QUOTE]

Wow. Ours are scrawny. Something keeps eating all the barn cats. Our long time barn cat's been gone a few days now :(

[cheval convert]

I want to see the video of the deer-herding cat! :eek::yes:

Me too!

[sid]

When I realized I had a coyote I googled. It's true the Eastern and much larger than the Western...and more aggressive. The bigger size was explained because wolf influence.

[JSwan]

When I realized I had a coyote I googled. It's true the Eastern and much larger than the Western...and more aggressive. The bigger size was explained because wolf influence.

sid - that was my understanding as well - the Eastern is much larger.

The one in the video looks a lot like the one I saw a few days ago. Very ruddy - but the one near me was quite large. I've also seen some that look like very leggy rangy German Shepherds

They're bold as brass here, and have packed up. I can hear them howling at night.

That video wasn't bad - but I do apologize if anyone was distressed by it. I'd just never seen one go after a deer and thought it was interesting.

[Cloverbarley]

The coyotes around my way are also much bigger than the one in the video. The ones here work in packs and they can take down young deer but no way would they be able to take down the mature whitetails.

My neighbours have cattle and last year they lost 2 calves to coyotes. The coyotes dragged the calves from the mothers as they were calfing.

I don't worry about the coyotes coming onto my property though. We have 2 huge Livestock Guardian Dogs and they know their job well. It's very rare that we ever see coyotes these days though. The only ones who come onto our farm are young coyotes who are not familiar with who all lives here! They get a warm reception from my 2 LGDs and my 3 other dogs who all work as a pack and swiftly evict any coyote "visitors".

I enjoy listening to the coyotes at night time, I just don't want them visiting, particularly at foaling time as I foal my mares outside. I have no worries about that though. All my herds have very strong herd leaders and if for any reason the dogs weren't around (they always are) then the herd leaders will do the job of getting rid of any dog-like creature that they do not know.

[Beverley]

I'm a bit astonished that the game official in the video was surprised that a coyote would go after deer. Coyote routinely hunt deer- yes, mature white tails too, a pair or several typically chasing them in relay to the point of exhaustion and then taking them down. Thus was my deer hunting day northwest of Winchester Virginia ruined way back in the late 70s.

Now, the coyote in the video making a solo run- could've been a young fellow making an inexperienced hunting effort. Wise of him to let go before the deer shredded him with those front hooves.

[luvmytbs]

For an awwwww moment:

The Jesusita Fire in Santa Barbara , CA this year,2009, caused these two to take shelter together. The fawn is about 3 days old and the bobcat about 3 weeks.
They immediately bonded and snuggled together under a desk in the Santa Barbara County Dispatch Office for several hours.

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d193/luvmytbs/CAfire.jpg

[wateryglen]

I'm to understand that a large percentage of our Eastern coyotes are not pure coyote but in fact coy-dogs. That after years of breeding with both feral and domestic dogs; there are some significant genetic changes to our coyotes. That's one explanation for the extreme variability of colors and sizes of our easterns. I've seen them traditionally colored, solid black, german shepherd colored, gray/black, husky colored, red fox colored w/black points even, some w/great manes & some without, some w/brown eyes and some with the white iris's of the regular coyotes. Most are blond around here w/a gray variant in winter.

And I wish they WOULD take down deer regularly....:yes:

[pAin't_Misbehavin']

sid - that was my understanding as well - the Eastern is much larger.
.

I believe that is generally true. But SC DNR reports that hunt clubs imported the coyotes in western South Carolina during the 1970's. See? http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/coyote/index.html Cute little rascal, but kind of dainty-looking.

I expect these imported coyotes were from the western US, and I think that might be why our Carolina coyotes are the small western type.

wateryglen - I've always read that the mating behaviors and cycles of coyotes make cross-breeding with dogs unlikely. (See, e.g. God's Dog by Hope Ryden.) Are you aware of any DNA studies confirming cross-breeding?
I ask because I think our carolinian coyotes, which still look as they did when first imported forty years ago, seem evidence that the species don't interbreed successfully.

[JSwan]

Paint -

You didn't direct your question at me but the only studies I can think of confirmed coyote - wolf interbreeding. Timber wolves - not the red wolf. (memory is fuzzy on that so take it with a grain of salt)

And those studies were of animals reintroduced into their old ranges on the east coast.

If you like I can look it up. I have seen some coyote that looked like coy dogs but my x ray vision isn't what it used to be so that is just a guess. :winkgrin:

[pAin't_Misbehavin']

Paint -

You didn't direct your question at me but the only studies I can think of confirmed coyote - wolf interbreeding. Timber wolves - not the red wolf. (memory is fuzzy on that so take it with a grain of salt)

And those studies were of animals reintroduced into their old ranges on the east coast.

If you like I can look it up. I have seen some coyote that looked like coy dogs but my x ray vision isn't what it used to be so that is just a guess. :winkgrin:

I think coy-wolves might be more likely than coy-dogs, so that makes sense to me. As I understand it, coyote females are highly selective in their choice of mates (good thing for us divorce attorneys that the same isn't true of humans:winkgrin: ) and only breed during a short period in winter. Then they depend heavily on the male to help raise the pups - which of course dogs won't do. So the pups, even if conceived and born, would be unlikely to survive.

If you know of any studies, I'd love to read them, but please don't go to a lot of trouble looking them up.:)

Our coyote look distinctly coyote-ish, not dog-like at all. I mean, both have four legs and a tail:), but the coyote's gait, it's light bone structure, and especially it's voice, ear set, and facial expressions are very distinctive. I reckon y'all's coyotes must have some other critter contributing to the gene pool.:yes:

[sid]

Does anyone know the breeding cycles/seasons of coyotes? And number of litters per year and what time of year they whelp?

That would be good to know, owning a farm to deal with breeding behavior and hunting needs (solo or lactating for babies) as they are becoming so prevalent and we need to learn how to adapt to THEIR behavior at various times of the year.

Thanks.

[JSwan]

sid -

Here. This may help you.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/habitat_partners/infosheets/coyote.pdf

It's the VDGIF fact sheet on coyotes.

There are examples of tracks, scat and information on breeding, habits, etc.

If that doesn't help - this site is kinda nice.

http://www.enature.com/home/

[pinkme]

I live in a very urban area..right next to a mall and some big houseing developments. My community has been around for a long time and backs up to a small patch of woods with a community on the other side. We have seen the wildlife increase with development, which we would expect. However, we are now having a coyote problem. I am in the mid-atlantic region btw. These coyotes show no fear. We only see them at night, but they stand their ground and will not back down to even a human. My small dog was attacked in my driveway, 5ft from me around 11pm 3 weeks ago. It wasnt untill three adults ran outside yelling that the coyote ran away. My dog had a few bites and scratches but is ok. 3 weeks prior to this my mom came home from working at the hospital early early morning, like 4am and there was one in the yard. It stood and looked at her, even after she honked her horn. Wildlife is fine, but we arnt inthe country, or mountains. Them showing no fear is a danger to all.

[MsM]

While we have coyotes around here, I believe a fair amount of "cotote problems" are really feral dog problems. These dogs breed and pack up and are very likely to attack dogs, cats, livestock, etc for survival. When people see these scruffy dogs (and in our area mostly GSD/Husky mixes) they immediately labelled them coyotes or coy-dogs. Hard for a lot of people to believe that a regular dog could behave this way.
Where I used to live, people would abandon dogs at the landfill or adjacent woods. We eventually identified at least three packs living there and terrorizing pets in the surrounding areas. We managed to capture 8 adults and 15 puppies one summer, but there were more out there...
And then of course there are the "house dogs" that people let out loose at night because "they live in the country" (hey their house sits on an acre, and surely the farmer next door doesnt mind, right?). I have seem some pretty horrific livestock damage done by these dogs with the instinct to attack livestock but not pack training - they tend to tear and rip multiple victims. :no:

[MistyBlue]

The problem with identifying coydogs has a lot to do with the genetic purity of coyotes being a whole lot stronger than dog breeds. You could AI a coyote and a poodle and the pups would look mostly or all coyote...just some slight changes here and there.
Same with breeding wolf hybrids...which is why they're such popular pets in states that allow them. You can breed a wolf to just about anything and it looks and acts more wolf than dog. Same with coyotes.
Our dogs breeds have been so genetically tweaked over so many generations that they don't stamp their get as well as wildlife does.
I've had a coyote/beagle cross for a short time ages ago...looked like a coyote and acted like a hand raised coyote (which it was) and usually sounded like a coyote. Only differences were slightly shorter legs and it could also make that "yo, yo, yoooo" beagle bay when it felt like it. But also had the full vocabulary of the coyote too. And it's bays were higher pitched, it was funny as hell when it bayed.
Many times the only way to tell a coydog from a coyote is either genetic testing or getting your hands under the fur and feeling the conformation for changes or the most common way: watch the behavoir for an extended period of time. Only behavior trait they seem to all pick up is the unrelated pack mentality.