how much affect do you guys think taking out a few coyotes has on the deer population? my thoughts were always if you only took out a couple, the ones that were left would have a surplus of food and over-reproduce, having larger and larger litters until they filled the gap made by the hunting, and if you were lucky to get all of them from an area, which would be very difficult to do in the first place, wouldnt they only be replaced by packs and loners from surrounding areas? especially if your area gets to a point where theresa high deer population and low predator population? also, eliminating the yotes from an area might open the floodgates to something even worse, wolves. just a thought, what are your guys opinions? i dont mean to hijack the post, if you want i can start a new one, just tryin to get some feedback
You're annology is some what accurate in that coyotes will have larger liters if there is a food base to support them. And yes, if you remove a few coyotes, others in surroundings areas will probably fill the gap that you created. BUT if you don't remove any, then they still will continue to breed and populate, only eventually they will run out of food available, in otherwords, once their food source runs out, then they will move on. SO, by killing a few, you're really only helping keep mother nature in balance. Also,coyotes feed on more than just deer. They'll eat about anything from grains such as corn,fruit such as watermelon,insects, reptiles, grass, small rodents, etc. SO, it's not just deer that they feed on.
And maybe I missed your original question as to the effect that coyotes have on deer populations. It will greatly depend a lot on how many other food sources are availble to the coyote. During fawning season, you can bet that a coyote will eat a fawn if givin the chance. And during deep snow periods, once that snow gets crusty, a deer is very vulnerable to coyotes. BUT it comes down to how many other food sources are available to coyote.
If wolves want to move into an area, coyotes aren't going to stop them.