Coyote hunters/trackers around?

[bigfish1965]

I am going to try and find the den of the yotes living in the park behind my house. I am going to wait for snowfall to make is easier. I have included a map of the park below. Any suggestions on likely starting areas?I have been reading and studying urban coyote behaviour reference material for the last few days and most of what is available on urban coyotes is based on info from the southern US where I assume the den selection would be different due to climate.I am only interested in watching and photographing these animals (anything else would be illegal), and since they appear to be here for good, its best I learn as much about them as possible. Any help appreciated!!

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[troutologist]

I suspect that thin strip of trees to the left of the inverted V (or the SE coast of the Florida looking open area) would be a travel corridor, as they could stay out of the open, while going from A to B??? Not much help...

[dave524]

Quite some time ago I used to hunt them with a loosely organized group, drivers and blockers, when fur prices were high. Later, individually, with a predator call or driving a vehicle and glassing , then a short stalk. It has been my experience they only use a den when they have pups. Often in the winter on a sunny day they will bed down in an open field in deep snow, glass dark bumps for telltale fur. I feel they like to have good visibility when they bed down. One corridor for movement that I have seen here is the set of railroad tracks running through town, I also suspect that they might use the railway embankment as a den site. Groundhogs are quite common in these embankments and coyotes usually enlarge existing burrows for their own use. if you want pictures, I would suggest getting a predator call, it will work for a while but they will get smart to that quickly, they are not stupid.

[anders]

There den could be anywhere where there is wooded area and cover. best to get a starting point and go from there. You said it best..when there is snow it will be much better to locate the den.

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

not sure about den selection but if you would like to sit stationary you could draw one in with a feather.

 

an old trick to bring in predators like coyotes and big cats is to tie a few feathers to some string and let them flap in the breeze. It simulates an injured bird. They might not come RIGHT up to the decoy, but they will check it out and maybe give you a clear photo op.

[Reelpro]

Be wary of the big ones!!!

 

I also live on a railway coridor in Central Ontario. Last winter I met a group of hunters on snowmobiles that were working with a pack of hounds. They were local farmers and had been given permission to hunt the packs of coyote in the area that had been getting their livestock.

 

It was early Feb. and they had been hunting since early Dec. They had shot 72 coyotes in the area and told me 4 of them were over 60lbs.

 

They said these animals were definately mixed breed with domestic dogs and they believed almost all the animals they had killed were a mix to some degree. This makes them more dangerous as they definately can be much bigger than a typical coyote, and they also seem to have a little less fear of people.

 

In the area I live in domestic pets have been targetted by these packs of coyote/wild dogs for the past few yrs. They will lure dogs from their property and get them to run with them, and apparantly sometimes breed with them, or sometimes just kill them fo rfood.

 

In the summer they are passing by our property almost every night. yippin and howling. My 2 dogs unfortunatly chime in with their own howls and barks just to make sure us dumb humans are aware that there are predators close by, while we were sound asleep.

 

I've never seen them in the day, but I have found a couple of pretty big ground hog burrows back by the tracks. Does anyone know if they would be in there in the daytime?

 

GL in your research.

[bigfish1965]

Daytime pic of the big boy

[richyb]

Check the sides of hills for the den. Any den i have seen has been in the side of a hill.

[Paully]

The under cut of any small cliffs can be good den areas.. I know a few coyotes call the rouge valley home and i've seen a few "holes" in undercuts from the various cliffs in the area. Also old large tree roots make good areas for dens...

 

I found this cool site with coyote calls... the guy tells a pretty good story..

There's a few different calls at the bottom of the page..

 

http://varmintal.com/coy5-20.htm

Edited December 9, 2009 by Shore_Lunch

[kingjames_2nd]

Hibernating bears and cougars usually try to choose a den on the north side of a hill or mountain.

As the north side is generally colder and in more shade, the snow accumulates and creates more

insulation keeping the den warmer than it would be on the south side. If you have any hills a den

might be located on the north? Or maybe they want less snow so they can hunt more easily and

they would be on the south!