Hunting the hunters

Livestock predators are an unwelcome fact of life for many ranchers, particularly where coyotes are active. Unlike wolves, these year-around hunters can work in packs, in pairs or singly, making wholesale killing raids on poultry flocks and on herds of sheep, goats and young cattle. Their numbers and the number of costly attacks they make on livestock in eastern North Dakota’s Red River Valley appear to be increasing. John Paulson, supervisor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services in Bismarck, N.D., says coyote predation is at least partly to blame for the reduced number of deer fawns sighted by hunters this year. Also known as the American jackal or prairie wolf, the coyote is a canine predator found throughout North America and Central America. It evolved in North America, unlike its cousin, the gray wolf, which migrated from Europe and Asia. Coyotes are found all over the Lower 48 states, Alaska and about a half of Canada. Nineteen different species of coyote are recognized, 16 of which live in the U.S. and Canada. Typical coyote packs are made up of six closely related adults, yearlings and young. They generally are smaller than wolf packs. Coyotes are thought to be mostly nocturnal, but often can be seen during daylight hours. They once were diurnal or daytime hunters, according to research, but have developed more nocturnal hunting behavior since faced with human competition...read more