Not a surprise....

[VixChix]

Maybe this will open some more hunting opportunities for us?

http://news.therecord.com/News/Local/article/452109

Strong coyote population leaves livestock at risk
April Robinson, RECORD STAFF, WATERLOO REGION

Jim Magee has a few wiley predators on his hands.

Last year, 10 healthy calves vanished from his beef farm near Drumbo, southwest of Cambridge.

He only found the ravaged remains of two.

Livestock evaluators said the three-month-old animals were killed by coyotes.

"They devour the animal," he said.

To find a dead calf after months of ensuring a newborn gets a good start is heartbreaking, he said. "It's just very, very frustrating to me."

The coyote population is healthy across southwestern Ontario, the Natural Resources Ministry says.

But farmers say the animal, which usually hunts groundhogs, rabbits and mice, has a growing appetite for livestock and even pet cats.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture says municipal payouts to farmers who lose livestock to bears, wolves and coyotes have surged over the past five years, last year passing the $1-million mark, up from $600,000 in 2003-04.

"For farmers, especially sheep producers, (coyotes) are a major problem, and it's not an easy one to solve," said Peter Jeffery, senior policy researcher with the OFA in Guelph.

The increasing coyote population in Blandford-Blenheim Township, just west of North Dumfries, had some councillors wondering if a bounty, or reward for hunting coyotes, would be the answer.

Huron and Bruce counties don't have a bounty, but a "remuneration program." If a farmer can prove a coyote killed an animal, the Ministry of Natural Resources allows the farmer to hunt, or invite a licensed hunter to kill the coyote, within a set time span. The farmer then receives a $50 payment.

Municipalities that use bounties must receive approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

But bounties -- which don't require proof of lost livestock -- are generally rare and frowned upon by the ministry, said spokesperson Bill Murch.

Kenn Howling, mayor of Blandford-Blenheim, said hunters kill around 75 coyotes in his township per year. But he continues to hear about farmers losing livestock, and he's worried they could be a risk to pets and even children.

"We could possibly lose some of our young folks."

Most farms in Waterloo Region aren't affected by coyotes because they focus on cash crops or other animals safe in barns, said Mark Reusser, a regional director for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture who farms chickens in Wilmot Township.

Brad Cober, a beef farmer in Wellesley Township, said coyotes haven't killed any of his calves, but he hears them howling late at night.

In Goderich and Bayfield, residents have started losing cats and small dogs to coyotes, said Bob Trick, an animal control officer in Huron County.

"I've seen a big-time increase," he said of coyotes killing livestock. "And high on the appetite list is cats."

Anecdotal reports show a growing coyote population, Murch said, but they are a natural part of the ecosystem and an important part of the food chain, because they eat rodents, rabbits, groundhogs and sometimes deer.

"By and large, most coyotes don't cause any problems," he said.

Like most wildlife, the coyote population is cyclical, based on food sources. Garbage and dog food attract hungry coyotes in urban areas, Murch said. There were a few coyote sightings in Cambridge last spring.

Howling thinks the greater the population, the greater the competition for food, so coyotes might be more likely to hunt livestock. Once they get a taste for farm animals, a relatively easier kill, they'll come back for more.

Magee said he's done raising calves. He's just lost too many.

Instead, he'll buy calves when they're full-grown, and fatten them before they're sent to market.

"These coyotes are educated livestock killers," he said. "They're just too many of them. They're just too bold."

TIPS TO AVOID COYOTE ENCOUNTERS

Keep pets on a leash

Secure garbage and pet food

Use motion sensor lights in yards

Never approach a coyote

[Fox]

Keep your pets on a lease, it makes it easier for the coyotes.

I was wondering how long it took for city folk to realize how many of these things are around.

[wheelie]

ya but city folk would want us to catch them bare handed, don't hurt the poor thing just send it off to someone else and maybe it won;t be a problem

[bigsy]

The landowner where I hunt has pretty muched begged me to take some, and of course i have to help out

[Pydpiper]

There is a rumor going around that Oxford county is going to start offering a bounty on coyotes again, that would make everything a little more interesting for sport hunters.
As it stands now you can hunt them any day of the year, with any weapon you choose provided it fits under the basic laws of small game.
Coyotes are the one animal I will shoot at with whatever I have in my hands, I have taken excessively long shots at them with a bow, even taken a crack or two with a .22.
I have become very good at attracting and destroying the nasty dogs and enjoy every second of the hunt. They are fairly easy to blast when you are hunting, but when you set out to hunt them as your primary target they can be very elusive. Bow is my favorite, they can run a long ways after a pass through, other than that my .204 is always ready for battle, not a real good gun if you intend on keeping the hides though.
Coyotes are my favorite animal to hunt.

[mikej]

a 300 win mag works good too

[bigsy]

Got one with my cement truck

[sipsey]

Vix--Have there always been coyoties in your area--down in my neck of the woods they started showing up about 20 years ago or so--before then no one around here ever saw one--the armadillos preceeded them by a few years.

[VixChix]

Yup - there have been yotes in that area for the 20+ years that I've been here. Seems like more this year than ever before though.

[Hoss]

wish the bounty on them would go up like their population..around here they are only worth about 8-10 dollars..but you can kill as many as you like year round...december started our furbearer season..time to call in some cats, yotes and fox, and coon. Heard coons where suppose to go up to 25 a head but not yet..anyway time for some predater hunting boys..

[maple]

Sipsey,

Around here we never had the problem with coyotes that we have now.

When I was young, oh, about 100 years ago, we had what we called brush wolves. This was in addition to real wolves, red or grey. Brush wolves were bigger than our present day coyotes, and were very reclusive. Nobody ever heard of coyotes. I think there must have been some recent interbreeding between them and more southern coyotes for them to have become so numerous and also somewhat smaller. Many place now have coyotes where there never was anything similar. Prince Edward Island only got them 5 years ago for instance.

I don't think they are going to go away any time soon, so we just have to learn to live along side of them.

Maple

[Cossack]

I hear tell of a meeting in Montana where ht e ranchers were discussing the issue of livestock predation by coyotes. PETA's solution to the problem was to sterile the coyotes. The meeting erupted into laughter when a grizzled ole' rancher retorted: Them 'yotes is EATN' the calves, the ain't F------ 'em!"

[mikej]

thats hilairous

maple we have brush wolves and real wovles here a couple hours west of you. no coyotes but the wolves here are out of control there are hardly any deer here this year probably from the wolves and the hard winter last year.

[Mike P]

I am up to my eyeballs in coyotes here in my neighborhood in southern Ohio!

I hardly ever complete a hunt from the climber without seeing a yote.

They will come in your garage if you leave the door open and will even come up on our deck and smell around the gas grill.

I can't kill them fast enough.

They are gaining on me!

[chris4570]

Where I hunt I think there is a decrease in the coyote population. The previous few years there have always been some coyotes vocalizing in the morning, this year I have only heard them once!!

With the recent snowfalls I have not seen any tracks.