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June 14th and coyote pups are grown killers already...
The dog was on the deck after dark last night when I went out to retrieve something out of the car and a when a few steps off the deck a pack of coyotes started sounding off CLOSE, probably less than a hundred yards away... Caught me off guard and stopped me midstride... The deck light was on and am sure they seen me coming out, and that's not the first time that has happened to me... That's pretty aggressive barking and yipping at a human like that, gives me the willies... My dog knew they were there too and seemed a little anxious... It's kinda scary, and made me feel vulnerable being unarmed that close to my back door without a weapon in hand.... I don't trust them, they seem to be pretty bold towards humans at night here, and teaching the pups too... Gonna start carrying a piece to walk outside at night...8^) In all seriousness am glad all my grandkids are old and big enough to be in school now and not worry so much about them playing around the house... When they were younger I wouldn't take my eyes off them when they were out in the yard cause I knew there were coyotes around....
What prompted me to bring this up a buddy of mine lives 20 or so miles away and just texted me there's a pack raising Kane up and down his valley tonight... I hadn't told him about my experience yet of last night... Just seems strange they're that loud with big pups this early in the year... It's hot and muggy, but heck it isn't officially summer for another week yet...
I texted my buddy back - "Wonder how many fawns they've killed already".... His reply - " Lots"...
The coyotes are here to stay. The best thing we can do is to manage them. Trapping, snaring, calling them into the range of an accurate varmint rifle. Hunting them with hounds is also becoming popular. If people don't have the time or means to do these things themselves, they should allow an ethical preditor hunter/ trapper on to their property to do it for them. Good luck and stay safe.
Coyotes howling and yipping again close behind the house this early AM...
Watched a mature doe stroll across the yard the other day without a fawn in sight... She way too skinny to still be pregnant, so my guess she lost them.... Coyotes in the back yard and a bear over the hill, haven't seen a fawn out back yet this year...
How hard is it to snare them?
Not very hard. Just takes a lot of time and work. That makes it unappealing to most people.
Finally seen a set of twin fawns the other day in the back field, so the predators haven't gotten them all, at least a couple fawns have survived so far... At their half grow age now, they're pretty quick, when I let the dog out she barked them out of the field and they boogied pretty good...
Man, these coyotes around here are aggressive... Caught one on my backyard trail-cam day before yesterday just yards from the house, and then last night while calling for my dog they started yipping and howling less than 200 yards away... It was a calm night and crazy how I'm kinda yelling in the stillness and that sounds them off... Kinda like a shock gobble of a turkey...
Only one so far on a deer lost by my new neighbors a couple weeks prior. There hasn’t been a lot of coyotes around this year.
These coyotes are driving me crazy, they were back at it again raising cain last night and caught this one on my backyard trail cam... Big sob, afraid for my dog... The way the land lays they were just out of my deck light range probably about 60-70 yards away...... Very aggressive, was yelling at them and they'd bark back... Wouldn't think a coyote would be that unafraid of humans giving me an uneasy feeling...
I hunt a 3/4 mile long narrow woods with a creek running thru it. Once crops are off , it seems as though the deer move to the south ,behind a small subdivision. Hunted this farm 16 years . Same every year . Took walk yesterday and had way more coyote pictures than deer . 3 doe pics ,all nocturnal. All 5 cameras had multiple coyotes. In bow season ,it is common to hear coyote howling in multiple directions at dusk. Now is time to start my coyote hunting . Will start snaring in January . In my walk yesterday I never ran across one set of deer tracks ,on the field edges ,where it is muddy either. I am convinced the coyote are my issue,with limited deer sightings . The one nocturnal doe pic had 2 coyotes ,going the same direction as the doe 6 minutes later.
Feel for ya Ogok, same here... Have had a backfield trailcam running since September and not a single buck over a 1-1/2 has showed and know coyotes are the main reason... Thought about snares and/or traps but thought better of it... Too close to neighbors and wouldn't want my name in the paper...8^) Although if any show within shotgun range...8^) I may get one of those coyote size cage traps, thing is will probably daily catch my dog...8^) Be tough to clean them ALL out though, there's at least a half dozen from the sounds of their howls and growls...
I have not had one single coyote pic in weeks - since I killed that one a few weeks back. Amazing how few coyotes are in this area. I do have on big-ass bobcat that is bold as hell. Walks around in broad daylight. Really wish OH would open a Bobcat season.
That'd be kinda cool seeing an Ohio bobcat Pat, got any pix?
Don't know, but would imagine be a long time before they'd establish bobcat or a bear season, at least not in my lifetime... I haven't seen one yet in Ohio, but buddies have treed them with hounds while coon hunting and caught them on trail cams, but from the literature read on their website they seemed to be all smiles about the bobcats return and probably wouldn't want to interrupt the comeback until they're well established which probably take a few more decades, I think their reproduction is low and slow... Don't know the survival rate of bobcat kittens, but would think the mortality rate would be high and with small litters of only 2 or 3 and only half them being females, one female per litter to make it to breeding age would likely be a success... Would have to research it, but don't think females breed until they're two...
Yeah, females breed during their second year, found this:
https://ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/bobcat/reproduction
" Reproduction Sexual maturity
Males About 1.5 to 2 years of age (Crowe 1975a; Fritts and Sealander 1978; Winegarner and Winegarner 1982; Larivière and Walton 1997) Successful breeding may depend on ability to hold territory
Females (Crowe 1975a; Fritts and Sealander 1978; Larivière and Walton 1997) Physically mature at 1 year of age Begin breeding during 2nd year"
After reading a little, seems bobcat populations are on the rise all across the country...
Morgan County is loaded with cats.
Morgan County is loaded with cats.
