The sickening trueth about coyotes and deer yards up here in Maine. The worst predator of all for us folks up here is the eastern coyote! The eastern coyote here is a hybred between coyote and wolve. In the winter months coyotes hunt in packs alot of the time just like the wolves do. Our deer when heavey snow comes around will yard up just like most places do. The coyotes watch these deer yards for an opportunity to kill. I know this is supposed to be that way but, for all the non beleivers that think that they only kill for food. What I am about to show should change your mind on this predator.
The coyote here is ultimate killing machine mother nature ever handed us. They will watch these deer yards until the right moment arrives and when possible they will push all the deer they can onto the ice. The deer due to their pointed holves can not run and are doomed. If they can not push the deer out they will take what they can anyway they can. Normally one will enter while the herd is surrounded and sure enough when one comes out it is food for them. This would be the best wayIMO if all was to work like that. However here, things are different as they take all they can. Here is what they will do to a deer yard if they can get the chance. I hope this opens up a few minds as to what is really happening up here in the northeast and I truely hope it doesn't come to that down there or where ever you folks are at.Thank you for looking at this. The canoe in this picture was used to move the deer around and also to get a couple out of the water that had died there.

when did this happen? thats a lot of deer..

The winter of 2004-2005 as 2005-2006 was a mild winter and we hope this winter will not be as bad as they didn't start yarding until mid Feb. If the warm weather gets here in time the deer will move out of the yards earlier as our snow isn't all that deep. We can only hope another mild winter will help bring them back. Most of those deer were pregnant does.

thats really too bad.

it doesnt look as though a lot of meat was taken off of those deer. could be just for the picture though.

No they ate some but, most was just killed on the ice.

Welcome to nature!

Interesting story and pics, I cannot say that I agree with all of it, maybe because I Don't know everything about coyotes and coyote behavior.

I didn't think coyotes were pack animals or even hunted in packs. I know they have family groups but they are dispursed regulary. And I thought coyotes hunted in Pairs, not big groups.

Are you sure that this isn't the work of Wolves?? Being in Maine, it isn't out of the question, there are wolves in Vermont and we have them here in NH alot.

Also, coyotes don't kill for fun like cats do.
Now, I am not doubting you but am saying that this sounds like a scenerio that I am not used to hearing or have never learned about.

I would put my money on Wolves before coyotes. This story has me wondering, I will like to learn more about it, can you give more info on it?

Yes this is the work of coyotes, here in Maine we have a few wolves but not many. Here coyotes hunt in packs during the winter months. Also as I had mentioned these coyotes are part wolf. I had posted a pic of one earlier that was trapped on the other side of the river from where this had happened. It was not very far from here and I had requested a photo of this from one of the people that was on the scene of this. I had just recieved this today at work. So I put it up for folks to see what they can and will do if they have a chance to. Last year our deer herd here had a small rebound as a result of the mild winter and that the deer did not yard up. We hope they will continue to rebound as well.
The coyote is our biggest threat to our deer herd and in an area north of this around 25-30 miles the same year they took down a four point moose. This past year there was a decline in the coyote population so we are hoping for another good year for our deer. But, as you can tell it wouldn't take to many years like this to wipe out some pretty good deer areas. Well I have to get going as I will be working in tha A.M. Thanks for your questions and if anymore I will try to get back to you later on.

Thats sad that they weren't eaten. Wolves in WI do this. We found three killed and just left. We could see the tracks running the deer and killing them.

What do you mean when they yard? Is this when the snow is too deep in the woods/mountains and they come to civilization, hence yards?