Coyotes, deer and winter: a deadly combination

Lyle Kelley of Drummond Island with a big coyote.

The time of the Hunger Moon is fast approaching. It's that period when January and February coyotes and other critters have cleaned up on the aged, dead and wounded deer in the woods.

Right now, the woods are fairly silent at night. We've started the muzzleloader season yesterday. There wasn't too much interest because of the snow, and I spent a good deal of time today outdoors shoveling my deck. We've had a big week for snow, and as of this writing, we've had 22 inches of snow this year, down from 82 inches last year.

Last year there was standing corn in my area where local farmers couldn't get it off before all the snow arrived. This year is different, and deer are having to work for their food.

Coyotes are plentiful across the state except where wolves are present.

I heard four shots this afternoon, and although a neighbor hunted, he didn't see a deerand neither did I. All of that will soon change when the winter woods will rumble with the sounds of coyotes on the move.

These predators are looking for food, and it matters little what is available. Coyotes have learned how to live close to man, and they are not bashful about announcing their presence. It's at times like this, with cold temperatures at night and snow growing deeper by the day, that the brush wolves start to make their presence known.

Twice this week I've seen coyote tracks near my mail box, and out in back where deep snow covers our food plot. The local coyote population has learned to hang close to whatever deer forage is available, and as the snow piles up, they will start pulling down deer.

A coyote has a couple of favorite foods. One is cats. If Tabby is left outdoors at night, and doesn't show up in the morning, it's quite likely the mouser ran afoul of one or more coyotes and won't ever be coming home again.

The same holds true for dogs. Leave a bowser out all night, and one of two things will happen. The dogs and other local dogs will form a pack and start running deer. Or ... they may bump heads with a pack of hunting coyotes, and they too will become fodder for their closely related canine family members.

There is no room in today's society for free-roaming cats and dogs at night or even during the day. Cats are luckier than dogs because they can climb trees unless they get ambushed by the coyotes. The best bet is to keep the pets inside at all times to avoid losing Fifi. Not much is left of a cat or dog that is caught outside by a hungry pack of coyotes.

Keep cats and dogs in a kennel or inside the house at night.

I know some hunters who won't run these animals unless there are two or more big dogs in the pack. Coyotes, especially in February when males and females are about to breed, will team up and kill a single hound dog and it's not a pretty sight.

Small dogs are a favorite coyote food. Fewer dogs are taken than cats, but fewer people let their small dogs run loose in the winter. By all that is right, no cat or dog should be left outside after dark. Cats are every bit the predator that a coyote is, but they tend to catch mice and ruffed grouse while coyotes prefer larger prey.

The coyote is a much maligned animal, and over many years when Michigan paid a bounty on coyotes and foxes, the only thing the bounty system proved was that it didn't work. I grew up in Clio, just north of Flint, and we hunted red foxes all winter.

No matter how many fox were taken by the Clio group, and our nearby rivals, the Frankenmuth fox hunters, there were as many or more foxes the next year. The bounty system was a worthless waste of time and taxpayer money.

But i digress. The upcoming hunger moon of December and January is when coyotes howl and  prowl, and forget about eating mice and other rodents. It's a time when they need food, and lots of it, and it's when coyotes begin picking off the elderly and weakened animals.

There is nothing to match the ferocity of a coyote other than a wolf. Fox were once the most popular canine predator in the state. As coyote numbers grew, the fox became fewer in number. In the Upper Peninsula, where wolves are the ultimate apex predator (other than man), coyote numbers are few and fox numbers even less. Wolves will catch and kill coyotes and foxes at every opportunity.

Listen closely at night, and one can hear coyotes tuning up for the hunt.

Coyotes often hunt in loose packs until the breeding season begins, and right now the coyote pups born this spring are hunting together with at least the mother as they learn how to drag something down and kill it.

It's easy to tell the approximate age of coyotes. Young ones yip-yip-yip, and try to howl. The adults can and often howl as the family members gather for the hunt. It's easy to tell when these animals are on a deer because the howls and yips are steadily moving.

Hunters take some coyotes, and two primary methods produce. The spot-and-stalk method and by calling. Calling is great fun but as more and more people try it, and then move too soon and spook the animal, that coyote gets a fast education. I've had mediocre success calling coyotes.

My favorite hunting method is to drive the roads through relatively open terrain, and spot a coyote. It may be crossing the road, mousing in a field or looking for a spot to bed down. Watch the animal until it circles around before laying down.

Make an upwind stalk, moving slowly and stopping often to keep the bedded coyote in sight, and move again when it lowers its head to nap for a few more minutes. A slow stalk can put the hunter within easy shooting range.

The coyote, much cussed and discussed, is difficult to hunt. Make one mistake, and it will just get smarter and smarter. If it's a challenge you seek, look no further than the coyote. They are plentiful everywhere in the state, including Detroit and its crowded suburbs, but nowhere are there any dumb 'yotes.

A hunter earns every coyote he takes, regardless of the method used.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors