Coyotes can
be both good
and bad for
Texas wildlife
Published on Saturday, 11 October 2014 19:44 - Written by BY Steve Knight, outdoor@tylerpaper.com
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The lonesome cry of a coyote is as
much about the lore of Texas as the
cattle drives
much about the lore of Texas as the
cattle drives
up the Chisholm Trail.
While pushing cattle from horseback
are today reserved only for old
movie and books,
are today reserved only for old
movie and books,
coyotes continue to thrive not only in
rural areas, but within the
boundaries of Texas’
rural areas, but within the
boundaries of Texas’
largest cities.
Without a greater predator, coyotes are
at the top of the food
chain in Texas. A
at the top of the food
chain in Texas. A
non-game species, coyotes were at
one time highly sought
after by trappers
one time highly sought
after by trappers
who received a good payday for
their hides, but that market
disappeared with
their hides, but that market
disappeared with
the declining interest in fur.
There is little pressure on coyotes today.
In the western portion
of the state coyotes are still controlled by
ranchers who blame
them for losses of sheep, goats and young
calves.
In the western portion
of the state coyotes are still controlled by
ranchers who blame
them for losses of sheep, goats and young
calves.
Hunters also randomly hunt coyotes, some
participating in the
participating in the
long-time practice of varmint calling. Others
are convinced
are convinced
that wildlife and coyotes cannot coexist on
the same range.
the same range.
To that point the truth, as the saying goes
, lays somewhere in
, lays somewhere in
between.
troublesome, but certainly not the biggest problem facing
any of the state’s wildlife species.Alan Cain, Texas Parks a
nd Wildlife Department’s white-tailed deer program
leader said, for example, there are individual instances
where coyotes may
where coyotes may
be an issue with a deer herd, but that isn’t the case across
the state.
the state.
“From a statewide perspective coyotes are not an issue.
We have too
We have too
many deer as it is. On localized places where density is
real low and you
real low and you
have low fawn recruitment, yeah, short-time
coyote control
may be
coyote control
may be
necessary. They will take a deer or two, but
they are not going to
they are not going to
expend that much energy to take down a
buck or doe. If you have
buck or doe. If you have
a coyote problem then you probably have
a bigger issue,” Cain explained.
a bigger issue,” Cain explained.
There are states in the Southeast that believe
coyotes are impacting their
coyotes are impacting their
deer populations, but he said in those cases
the states are just now
the states are just now
seeing coyotes for the first time. Cain said
states like Georgia and
states like Georgia and
South Carolina have low fawn density, but
they also have fairly
they also have fairly
liberal bag limits based on the size of their
herd. He believes in
herd. He believes in
both cases the states would be better
served by tighten limits
served by tighten limits
than worrying about predators.
The biologist said he knows many landowners
who use
coyotes to
who use
coyotes to
their advantage in keeping deer numbers down,
something
that can’t
something
that can’t
always be done on large acreage simply by
hunting.
hunting.
Cain said one argument he hears for taking
coyotes is that
they
coyotes is that
they
aren’t selective about what bucks they attack,
potentially
taking a
potentially
taking a
young one that could grow into a trophy.
“In reality that philosophy doesn’t hold up very
well. Also, keep
well. Also, keep
in mind if someone were to try to remove coyotes
to benefit the
to benefit the
deer herd they would have to remove coyotes over
a fairly
a fairly
large area, thousands of acres, to really make a
difference,”
difference,”
Cain said. He added large-scale predator control
can lead
can lead
to a short-term void that could eventually be filled
by even
by even
more coyotes.
Cain said an exception could be small-acreage,
high-fenced
high-fenced
properties with smaller herds and less space for
the deer to
the deer to
escape to.
“If someone was going to try to control coyotes o
r have to
r have to
do it, I would do it in March and April and continue
through
through
July when fawns are most vulnerable,” Cain said.
In recent years quail researcher Dr. Dale Rollins
has held
has held
predator appreciation days across North and Central
Texas. He wants landowners and hunters to know
they can
they can
make matters worse if they mess with the balance
of nature.
of nature.
“We’ve done some studies on coyotes at the
Rolling Plains
Rolling Plains
Quail Research Ranch, and to some degree
the results are
the results are
contradictory, or maybe just illustrating the
complexity
complexity
inherent therein,” Rollins said.
He said one three-year study looked at the
diet of coyotes.
diet of coyotes.
Out of the 1,028 scat samples examined,
there was
there was
evidence of a quail in just one. The remainder
was skunks,
was skunks,
raccoons, feral hogs and even a badger.
He said a companion study on raccoons
tagged with GPS
tagged with GPS
collars showed coyotes tended to keep
raccoons, especially
raccoons, especially
females with kits in the brush and away
from nest sites.
from nest sites.
“That research supported my contention
that there are much
that there are much
worse predators of quail than coyotes,
and that coyotes did
and that coyotes did
indeed work on some of them,” Rollins said.
However, Rollins added that 30 to 50 percent
of quail nests
of quail nests
are lost each summer, and that coyotes are
a common
predator.
a common
predator.
He added that coyote numbers on the RPQRR
near Roby
near Roby
are high, and that management efforts to
reduce their
reduce their
numbers will be conducted next year.
“If RPQRR was a deer research ranch I’d
have already
have already
worked on the coyotes via aerial gunning in
March to
March to
improve fawn survival, as we have a low deer density.
But it’s
But it’s
not, and I don’t mind the coyotes taking the pressure
off the
off the
cooker,” he said.
Where hunters, especially in East Texas, may be
shooting
shooting
themselves in the foot by eliminating coyotes is in
controlling
controlling
wild pigs.
“I believe that the coyote population in East Texas
has
has
positively responded to the increase in pig
populations
populations
over the past three decades,” said Dr. Billy
Higginbotham,
Higginbotham,
Texas AgriLife Wildlife Specialist. “Small pigs
make ideal
make ideal
food items and there are places in the area
river bottoms
river bottoms
like the Neches that it is difficult to find coyote
scat that
scat that
does not contain pig hair. Again, the predation
level is
level is
certainly not sufficient to control the pig
population, but
population, but
they are apparently using the young pigs
as a food
as a food
source extensively.”
Higginbotham added, as do other wildlife biologists,
that the random removal of coyotes has little to no
impact on their numbers
Posts
2 comments:
Though certainly not likely to ever seriously reduce wild pig numbers, I have heard/read where coyote presence CAN be significant in controlling them--but this was in a different locality I'm speaking of--the Great Smoky Mountains(N. C. /tenn.)--where a mostly Russian strain of wild boar got introduced in the early 1900's, and for decades has been considered a destructive "invasive", and much effort within the National Park has been attempted to eradicate them, to no avail. Although OUTSIDE the Park, they are considered valuable big game animals by many(I personally LOVE wild boar, and am glad we have them--and they are not nearly as destructive as that other invasive species--European humans!). The "unofficial" word I've heard involving wild boar in the Smokies is this--before coyotes arrived, only the rare piglet was taken by a bold bobcat or perhaps a black bear now and then--absolutely no impact on the continuously growing population. After coyotes appeared, pairs of coyotes would "tag-team" the sows, one snatching a piglet while the other distracted the outraged sow. Repeating this until they completely or nearly wiped out the litter. Before, sows would raise entire litters with no problem, but since the arrival of coyotes, they are lucky to raise one or two--a significant impact over time! But that's not been "scientifically" studied yet, I don't think. Just the observations/lore of the locals.....L.B.
would be interesting for someone to do a study on coyote impact on piglets......thanks LB
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