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Increase in Coyote population

5,291 Views | 61 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by txags92
mt3950
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We've seen a fairly drastic increase in our "visible" coyote population at our lease. I'm sure they've always been there, but we've seen more on the stand, and more on camera this season than ever before, by quite a bit.

Anyone else seeing the same thing? We're in east texas near Palestine for reference. We've had this lease since '03. We've never had anywhere near the numbers we have this year on camera, or harvested.
MAROON
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You shooting every one you see while in the stand?
What do you boys want for breakfast BBQ ?.....OK Chili.
mt3950
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MAROON said:

You shooting every one you see while in the stand?


Absolutely. Standing kill order on every one seen on the stand, lease-wide.
Ag 11
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I've seen more on the cameras this year than ever before
joerobert_pete06
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Ya we have a problem as well, hunting over in Aguilares which is 45min south from freer. A yote is getting killed every weekend
Outdoorag011
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We are also seeing a huge increase on camera and in person. We shoot them when we see them, but we will be going after them hard after deer season. We are in NETX
AnScAggie
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Shooting along with snaring/trapping is the only way to keep them at bay. At my place between Freer and Kingsville, I have harvested over 130 bobcats and 90 coyotes in 19 months. Have my best quail numbers and blackbuck offspring survival this year even with the drought.
Shoefly!
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Damn your getting down on them!
Steeltoe05
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Serious question here
In addition to shooting everyone you see, wouldn't another effective tactic be to shoot every rabbit you see?

Rabbits are a lot less elusive and I've always thought they made up a big part of coyotes diet. Reduce food source = reduce population? Or does it not work that simple?
MrWonderful
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Steeltoe05 said:

Serious question here
In addition to shooting everyone you see, wouldn't another effective tactic be to shoot every rabbit you see?

Rabbits are a lot less elusive and I've always thought they made up a big part of coyotes diet. Reduce food source = reduce population? Or does it not work that simple?


Pretty sure that would just make your predation problem worse. If their go to food source is depleted, they are going to move up the chain and go after deer even more aggressively.

One of the ways you can help is by making it harder for yotes to hunt by adding more successional cover, reducing overgrazing, etc.
Apache
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It's amazing to me that any wildlife was able to survive at all in North America with the coyote killing machines running around.


TXCAV
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There have been increased sightings in several places I frequent. They are getting ballsy too. Coming out in the middle of the day. My buddy had a couple come in to his yard, in the afternoon, while he was out side, lured one of his young Aussie pups out to the edge of the yard and was attacked, killed, and drug and torn to shreds. Also lost countless chickens, turkey, and one goat, all in the past year. This property is in the Lindale area, on the edge of town. There is a standing kill order to shoot on sight. We have a shot a few of them, but it didn't even put a dent in the numbers we've seen out there.
Hungry Ojos
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I have them in broad daylight in my back yard in Austin. My wife has two little dogs that we have to go outside with all the time now.

CanyonAg77
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Put me in the "killing predators is dumb and counterproductive" camp.
B-1 83
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Hungry Ojos said:

I have them in broad daylight in my back yard in Austin. My wife has two little dogs that we have to go outside with all the time now.


As bad as I hate to say it, a high powered pellet gun would be the way to go here.
Being in TexAgs jail changes a man……..no, not really
DUman08
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I have killed 6 in my backyard since May. I have seen twice as many as I have shot. This year really has been drastic increase of them.
Hungry Ojos
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I've had mixed opinions on whether this is a mangy coyote or just a feral dog, but what say you OB?
Layne Staley
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Watched a bobcat try to take down a young buck last weekend. It was on the gut pile from the buck I got the night before the next day.

Bit the back ham until it got kicked off.
barnag
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coyote
swampstander
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I live in Palestine but hunt in Oakwood and I too have seen more than usual this year. I saw 8 different coyotes during one sit last week. I typically give them a pass unless I have a reason to shoot them. The last one I shot was harassing the cows so... blam. If the cows aren't eating they're not growing.
Howdy Dammit
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Got my first with my bow this year. Saw three in one sit. More than I've seen in entire seasons combined in broad daylight.
CajunAggie
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Haven't seen any coyotes in a long time, but our jackrabbit population has exploded. They are everywhere.

Assume that means that the yotes and bobcats are not around (or their numbers have dwindled)?

We are in Gillespie County.
phorizt
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I've seen/heard fewer this year than ever before.
CanyonAg77
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CajunAggie said:

Haven't seen any coyotes in a long time, but our jackrabbit population has exploded. They are everywhere.

Assume that means that the yotes and bobcats are not around (or their numbers have dwindled)?.

Yes. Nature knows what it's doing
clobby
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Chased one off the other day, howling at the moon in the middle of Dallas.
water turkey
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They are thriving in suburban environments, where they are basically the top predator (besides people).

Same goes for bobcats.
Outdoorag011
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I don't disagree with what you are implying. Nature does know what it is doing, but nature also plays on the long end of time. If coyotes are overpopulated in an area as they are mine, and it hurts the deer numbers, I'm not willing to wait 5,10,15,20 or more years to allow the ecosystem to rebalance and deer numbers to eventually come back. North east Texas already doesn't have the deer population that central Texas has.
CanyonAg77
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As I said, I think going after coyotes is counterproductive, and the research is out there.

I also believe that anyone who fights coyotes is going to lose, so I don't get upset at those who try.
O.G.
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A government hunter once told me that if you see them in the daytime, you are infested. So, thinning them out a bit is probably a good thing.

Personally, the last time I leaned into them especially hard was in the drought of 2011/2012. Killed a ton of yotes and a bobcat or two. The deer were having a hard enough time as it was, and I was seeing coyotes at 10:00 in the morning from my deer stand. I killed 4 in one sitting, ridiculous.
txags92
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O.G. said:

A government hunter once told me that if you see them in the daytime, you are infested. So, thinning them out a bit is probably a good thing.

Personally, the last time I leaned into them especially hard was in the drought of 2011/2012. Killed a ton of yotes and a bobcat or two. The deer were having a hard enough time as it was, and I was seeing coyotes at 10:00 in the morning from my deer stand. I killed 4 in one sitting, ridiculous.
The science showing them to be population dependent breeders says that is incorrect. "Thinning them out a bit" will just make them breed more assuming you were "infested" because you had abundant prey for them. The reason people are probably seeing more of them right now is that we had a very hot dry summer in most of the places people hunt, and prey animals feeding on grasses and low growing vegetation probably had a pretty hard time this summer. Which means that animals that feed on animals that eat grasses and low growing vegetation are having a hard time this fall. As rabbits, mice, and rats move into more populated areas where the water and vegetation they need are, the predators that prey on them will follow. I doubt there are any more than usual. The conditions have just pushed them into areas where you are seeing them more.
Apache
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Quote:

Nature does know what it is doing, but nature also plays on the long end of time. If coyotes are overpopulated in an area as they are mine, and it hurts the deer numbers, I'm not willing to wait 5,10,15,20 or more years to allow the ecosystem to rebalance and deer numbers to eventually come back. North east Texas already doesn't have the deer population that central Texas has.
Deer numbers are up all over the state the past 20-30 years. Do you know for sure coyote numbers are up in your area, or is this your anecdotal evidence? Either way, coyotes have never impacted whitetails so bad as to cause a 20 year imbalance in herds.

I'm not really familiar with NE Texas population, but I know in general there are fewer whitetails there.
I suspect that fact isn't due to coyotes, more likely the habitat can't support high numbers period + NE Texas hunters may be a little more "indiscriminate" with regard to things like season & bag limits. (This last part is a guess)

I would suggest not killing does if you want more deer. That'll have more of an impact on # of deer than killing coyotes. Also make sure the fawns have plenty of good cover to hide. Coyotes don't kill adult deer in any meaningful numbers, and once a fawn is a few months old they can pretty much get away from coyotes no problem.

Regarding coyote numbers, my SWAG theory is that 2020-2021 were generally average to wet in rainfall (Depending upon your area) & 2022 has been a rough drought for most. Coyote populations spiked with rain (more rain=more plants/seeds=more rodents=more coyote food)

Now that the drought is on, there is less vegetation which causes:
*decreased coyote food supply (less rodent food=less rodents )which makes coyotes move more to find food
*increased coyote visibility because less grass/weed/brush cover & they are easier to see.
Apache
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Quote:

I have them in broad daylight in my back yard in Austin. My wife has two little dogs that we have to go outside with all the time now.
I'd get a few rolls of this:

Zip tie it to your iron fence & your coyote problems will go away. Or get a bigger dog!
AnScAggie
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CanyonAg77 said:

As I said, I think going after coyotes is counterproductive, and the research is out there.

I also believe that anyone who fights coyotes is going to lose, so I don't get upset at those who try.
The research is out there showing sporadic control of predators does not work in decreasing numbers but not that continuous control does not work. The numbers of predators I have knocked down at my place is an astounding number for sure, but those are not raised on the property coyotes and bobcats they are ones looking to come in and fill the void. If diligent control of predators does not work then we'd still have lots of wolves and bears and more than the occasional jaguar in Texas still. However, our forefathers exterminated them with extreme prejudice every chance they had. When I was a kid and we went out in the pastures there was always a 22 or 222 in the truck or jeep with us specifically for coyotes, later in life that changed to "damn I wish I had a rifle" when we saw coyotes.
CanyonAg77
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Quote:

If diligent control of predators does not work then we'd still have lots of wolves and bears and more than the occasional jaguar in Texas still.
Extermination of native species is not something I'd brag about. And habitat change has a heck of lot to do with it, too.
AnScAggie
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You are correct, I am just saying it is effective.
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