Coyotes – A Rancher’s Friend

Texas has a feral hog problem. And do you know what keeps those hogs in check? Read on. The coyote is probably one of the most misunderstood predators on four feet. Coyotes are called chicken killers, deer killers, calf killers and worse. They are efficient killers, but rarely kill a calf that has a good father and mother. And unless a pack is hunting deer, anything but a fawn or injured deer will generally outrun a coyote. Their main purpose in life is to eat vermin.

When I was growing up, ranchers in the area rarely killed a coyote. As the old timers put it, they would often “throw a lot of lead in their direction.” Coyotes, which are members of the canine family, learn quickly about places to avoid. They just need a reminder from time to time, especially when food is in short supply. An elderly gentleman once told me that he shot at coyotes to train them to avoid humans and the area where he lived. His reasoning was that every animal has a job to do. Coyotes, he said, eat mice, rats, skunks, raccoons, rabbits and more. He estimated ten rabbits equaled one cow in how much grass they ate in a day. (This fact is verifiable.) He didn’t want his cattle to go hungry because of rabbits. As long as the coyotes were eating vermin, he could live with them at a distance from the house. From my deer stand in the early hours, I’ve seen coyotes hunting moles and voles, or trotting along the edge of the woods to find their next meal. Since they generally hunt at night, seeing one in the daylight is unusual. A well-trained coyote will avoid humans using their keen senses of smell and hearing.

Despite bounties being placed on their heads, the coyote population across the United States is growing and it’s growing for the same reason as the deer population. People are feeding the coyotes. People typically don’t directly feed coyotes like they do deer, but they leave food trash on the ground, which makes for easy meals. A coyote will take advantage of any smaller animal that is not properly caged or fenced. They eat small dogs, cats, and other pets. They also eat rats and mice that breed when people don’t contain their garbage. Coyotes usually live within a fifteen-mile radius of their birthplace. An alpha male and female will generally keep other coyotes out of their territory. Killing either alpha invites other coyotes in to try and take over the old alpha’s area. So if your resident alpha coyotes are not killing calves, it might be better not to kill any coyote you might see. If food is scarce, most coyotes die within the first year from canine distemper or mange. Rabies can be a problem in the population. A fair number will die in auto accidents on the highways. The coyotes’ natural predators – bears, wolves and mountain lions – are not often found in this area. Humans kill about 4,000,000 coyotes a year across the U.S. And yet the numbers still increase, because they have learned to live close to humans in town and cities without being seen.

I don’t believe the coyote’s reputation is deserved, though I believe that thinning the pack at the right time can prevent a number of problems. When a single coyote is howling I have no cause for alarm. When there are dozens howling for more than a few nights in a row, it’s time to break out the rifles. Coyotes will hunt in packs to thin the area of varmints, but when the thinning is done, they should move on. If they stick around, it could mean trouble for larger animals. Fencing out a coyote from a yard, farm or ranch requires a solid board fence, a net wire fence, or an electric fence with multiple wires spaced every five inches upward from the ground. To get a coyote to avoid an electric fence, put a piece of bacon on a live electric wire. Coyotes learn fast; once shocked, they avoid any electric fence in the area. A good large dog or two will also keep coyotes out of an area. If the dogs won’t stop barking, that suggest a pack is in the area. That might be a good time to break out the firearms.

But here’s the coyote’s real value. Texas agriculture is facing a major problem: feral hogs. Guess which animal kills more feral hogs than all hunters combined? Coyotes. Although coyotes generally eat the slower, smaller pigs, without their help, farmers and ranchers would face an even bigger problem. If there was a single reason not to kill coyotes, reducing the hog population ranks very high on the list. I have never seen hogs in a pasture when coyotes are howling in that pasture. I reckon I’ve become an old timer who now appreciates the job coyotes do for us.

David E. Will is a Schulenburg farmer, rancher, nurseryman, landscaper, and consultant. He can be reached at 830-6299876 or by email at dwill207@satx.rr.com.