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Old 11-21-2014, 08:15 AM
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Nomercy448
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Kansas
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Originally Posted by deers2ward
I do kill coyotes anytime I have the opportunity, but I do believe depending on where you are, they are not to blame for reductions in deer sightings as much as people would believe them to be.
Data from research done in many states would prove you wrong in this case. It's well documented over the last decade the devastating effect coyotes and fawn depredation has on deer populations. The snippet that sticks out for me is that studies done in 5 states, from down east to way up north west proved that in areas with coyote control measures in place, one fawn survives for every 2 doe in the population. For areas in those states WITHOUT depredation prevention measures, it took 21 doe to survive one fawn through the first year. A factor of 10x is pretty indicative that coyotes are a main driver in deer populations.

The simple answer to find out what your coyotes are eating is to grab a stick and go find some scat. You'll find anything from berries and seeds to fibrous plant matter (grass) to rodent bones, fur, feathers, insect carapaces and legs, etc. Dark black scat generally indicates that they're eating more protein, so if you're not finding a lot of small bones or rabbit fur in dark black scat, it usually means they're feeding on larger game (except of course during calving season around cattle herds, where they'll get a steady diet of afterbirth that blackens their scat). If it's dark, yet floats, then they're generally getting a good supply of fatty meats. Berries and some grains can darken it, so don't be mislead by "purple" scat, protein/blood yields blacks, not purples.
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