Anyone else experiencing crazy high numbers of coyotes in South Texas this year? I hunt in Frio County near Moore and I shot a doe with my bow this weekend and the coyotes got to her before I did. I waited 45 minutes after the shot (Ive had bad experiences with pushing animals shot w bows) and walked up on my doe 60 yards away in the brush torn apart.

Curious if anyone has ever had that happen before and any other commentary on coyotes in South Texas this year.

Not in South Texas but in north Uvalde county, we have very high numbers this year. Shot one already.

I would wait for Ursus or someone else to add comment but I think the favorable year and half we've had has contributed to ALL wildlife numbers increasing. More food available on the ground, more animals to eat it, more animals to eat them.

Just my two cents.

For this Central Texas boy, Uvalde County IS South Texas!!

Get a fox pro and get to work.

yep, seen over a dozen this year vs 5 last year. Southeast of Laredo

Lots of rain means lots of rabbits.

AgLA06 said:

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Lots of rain means lots of rabbits.

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Yep, the same weather that is good for deer is good for the critters that coyotes eat.

Not in Live Oak county. Only seent one so far this year. Did not shoot his nuts off.

Billions in Lee County. Better knock them down some before the fawns start dropping in the spring.

Technically you're right. The topography and flora don't really align with South Texas though. More hill country like, which is why I don't consider it South Texas

One more thing to add:

We threw a game camera on our gut pile this year and it has been a really good investment. It's only been out for a few weeks but after one night (with 30second delay) we had like 350 pictures of hogs devouring the carcass.

I'm sure we will catch some other animals on there once the hogs get terminated.

So if you have an extra camera, might be worth it.

ttha_aggie_09 said:

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One more thing to add:

We threw a game camera on our gut pile this year and it has been a really good investment. It's only been out for a few weeks but after one night (with 30second delay) we had like 350 pictures of hogs devouring the carcass.

I'm sure we will catch some other animals on there once the hogs get terminated.

So if you have an extra camera, might be worth it.

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/cue have AR will travel










Btw....have AR...will travel

Never mind... got it now. Forgot you're the hog killer.

im not in STex, but have seen abnormally high numbers in brazoria county and have heard of an influx of them in wharton county. We have family land in Fayette County and are even seeing them in our pastures for the first time in god knows when.

Brush Country said:

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Not in Live Oak county. Only seent one so far this year. Did not shoot his nuts off.

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Interesting because I haven't heard of many in Live Oak county around our place either.

Seen a few more than usual in Yancey... but not out of control.

anybody in Schleicher county hear or see yotes? we're in Northern Schleicher and in 4 years i've never heard one. supposedly there are a few out there though.

In East Texas here. I've never had a problem with coyotes. They've come around our cows before during calving, but have always been happy just to move the cows and take the placenta. I've never shot at one, or thought about it. But this past week they actually took down a calf. It's the first time they've done so in the 30+ years that we've been on the place. The gloves are off.....

Apparently, they can regulate the number of pups in a litter based on habitat and conditions. If we are seeing higher numbers (I am not in Bee County) it is because conditions are right for them to ave more.

More rain, more rats, more rabbits,,,,,, more snakes, more coyotes. Same in Northern Rolling Plains of Texas.

Did you see it actually take down the calf or just assume it did instead of any of the myriad of other reasons the calf could have died (or got sick) and the coyote just finished it off.

They are density dependent breeders. When there are prime habitat/food conditions, the litter size can bump to 6-8 (or more). During drought years, they might get up to 4.

I'm assuming bobcats are the same way? We've seen a ton this year as well.

Thanks for your input!!

Not really. Their litters are almost always 2-4 kittens (usually 2). But kitten survival rate is highly linked to prey abundance. The more mama has to hunt and move around, their risk of predation goes up. Bobcats are much more likely to move to follow the food. Keep in mind, coyotes are omnivores, so they have a high diversity of things they eat, so they are less likely to move. There are a couple times a year they are borderline herbivores (when plums or persimmons ripen, and when dropped new mesquite pods start to dry out---may make up to 90% of their diet at that time). Bobcats are straight up obligate carnivores. When the rabbit and rodent population starts to drop, they are going to move.

That's awesome! We have a ton of persimmons on our place and I would have never guessed a coyote would be eating the fruit.

As always, thanks for sharing your knowledge! I love learning about this kind of stuff.

Just Google "coyote persimmons", you will find a lot of like about them loving persimmons. If you do a GIS of "coyote scat persimmons", suddenly a lot of random scat piles make sense.

When I'm doing coyote biology lectures, I typically refer to persimmons as "crack for coyotes". They will literally find a way to climb up in the tree to get at the fruit. Again, lots of photos and videos on Google.