Coyotes are cunning predators. At a time when fawns are defenseless, they can decrease your deer herd population, especially when eastern coyotes can weigh as much as 50 lbs.
Calling is one way to eliminate a dog or two from the pack, but these elusive animals are quick to learn and will soon become call shy.
Trapping is the best means to control coyote numbers in the East, especially on timbered tracts, where they move like ghosts among the trees and brush. The Quality Deer Management Association offers a very detailed approach to coyote control. If you’re serious about reducing fawn mortality, read on.
On a crisp, clear November night at deer camp, the conversation around the campfire subsides for a moment as you add another log to the fire. Just as you ease back into your camp chair, the silence is broken by a long mournful howl. Its maker is soon joined by what sounds like a dozen other coyotes, each making their own yips, barks and howls.
This scenario, once unusual or even rare across much of the eastern United States, has now become common. As deer hunters, it’s natural for us to want to do something about it.
Given our current knowledge of coyote predation on deer, when is coyote control justified? The answer depends on where your current management program is in relation to
the Four Cornerstones of QDM.
Herd Monitoring
Often, the initial reason we want to remove coyotes from places we hunt is purely the product of a logical chain formed in our mind. We know coyotes kill deer, thus more coyotes kill a greater number of deer, and therefore decreasing the number of coyotes will result in more deer.
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