It happened on opening day of the regular firearms season for deer hunting in the Southern Zone on a friend's property, just north of Endicott, N.Y. in Broome County.
It was about 8 a.m. when I heard a blood-curdling whine about 200-300 yards away. I heard it a couple more times, than there was silence. About three hours later, my hunting buddy Jim and I found what I had heard. It was the carcass of a 5-point buck that had apparently just been killed and savagely ripped apart by a pack of coyotes. Heck, the tip of its nose was even chewed off.
My hunting buddy, Jim Spencer, with the 5-point buck that was attacked and killed by a pack of coyotes.
After seeing this grisly, upsetting sight, I thought: "Could I, should I shoot a coyote if given the chance? If for nothing else, to protect the deer on my buddy's property?"
Or, was I just being too emotional. Was I overlooking the fact that coyotes are a much-needed, predator of a growing deer population that according to many estimates exceeds the population levels of pre-colonial times when wolves and mountain lions roamed Upstate New York forests?
Shortly after, I informally polled a number of my deer hunting friends and acquaintances about their opinions on shooting coyotes.
Some said things like, "Absolutely - any chance I get."
Others hesitated. They didn't like the idea of killing an animal for killing's sake, and if they kill anything it should be used for purpose, either for food or the pelt, they said
One friend simply responded, "I don't shoot dogs."
Jacqueline Frair, associate professor and Associate Director of the Roosevelt Wildlife Station at SUNY ESF in Syracuse, has been studying Eastern coyotes for more than 10 years, following their movements with radio collars and examining their dietary habits by dissecting hundreds of samples of their collected scat.
Do coyotes prey on fawns, along with sick, old or disabled deer?
Yes, she said, in addition to the occasional healthy adults - particularly during snowy conditions with crusty snow where the lighter coyotes can move faster on the snow's surface. In fact, the top remaining predators in this state of fawns are coyotes and black bears, she said.
Conservatively, she said one in 10 of every deer carcass she and her fellow researchers found in the wild were the victims of coyotes. Examination of coyote scat samples in the wild, she added, revealed that nearly every single one "was packed with deer hair."
"Deer are an incredible source of protein for coyotes, although the degree to which they're consumed varies over the area and time," she added, noting that coyotes are omnivores and extremely adaptable, surviving by eating whatever is available.
Coyotes are not native to New York, having migrated to this state from the Great Lakes region and Canada after all the state's wolves and mountain lions were killed. The first recorded coyote sighting in New York was in 1926, Frair said.
The coyotes in this state are larger than their scrawny cousins out west. The average adult Eastern Coyote is about 4 to five feet long (nose to tail), weighing 35 to 45 pounds (with males usually larger than females), according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Genetically, they also are part wolf - sometimes as much as 20 percent.
Frair pointed out New York's coyote hunting season is pretty liberal and the longest of any hunting season in the state (Oct. 1 to March 31). One can hunt day or night, use bait and even the use of dogs to flush and chase them is allowed. There is no daily bag limit.
The DEC, at the request of NYup.com, released the following statement:
"Coyotes are a natural part of the environment and should be valued as a component of New York's ecosystem. Simply shooting a coyote because they can and do kill deer does not add significantly to deer survival. An extraordinarily high level of hunting pressure would be needed to reduce coyote populations. Reducing coyote numbers on a large scale is neither practical nor warranted.
"Hunters and the general public would be better off improving herd health through appropriate use of DMPs and improving habitat conditions. Hunters should make a choice to take a coyote based on their desire to use the animal as they would other games species."
Ed Porter, of Grahamsville, N.Y. in Sullivan County wrote: "Arrowed this nice coyote this morning. Saw 3 running together, maybe why I'm struggling to see many deer this season."
"For those wishing to influence coyote numbers at the local scale, regulated hunting and trapping seasons for coyotes provide an opportunity to temporarily reduce numbers while taking advantage of a valued furbearing resource"
Frair noted trappers are particularly effective at capturing coyotes and that landowners can be helpful in allowing more access to their land.
The incentive for coyote trappers to get out is there, noted a recent story in New York Outdoor News. The story, which forecast fur prices for the current trapping season, said that prices for most fur will be similar to 2017, with a few exceptions.
"The brightest spot in the wild fur market today is coyotes," the story noted. "Coyote is in high demand because of a robust trim market. That fashion trend shows no sign of fading anytime soon so expect strong coyote prices this fall."
Frair said the overall impact of coyotes on the deer population is ecologically significant, but actually harsh winters and resulting lack of food are the biggest killers. Coyotes, Frair said, just slow down their return by their predation of fawns. Over the long run, she said, the deer numbers do come back, she said.
Frair noted that depending on the area, shooting coyotes could have an impact. But like the deer, their numbers will come back as studies have shown that as coyote numbers dip the females tend to have larger litters. In addition, she noted that if their population gets too big such things as rabies, mange and other diseases will take down their numbers.
In defense of coyotes on the landscape, Frair noted when it comes to such things as deer carcasses, coyotes act as nature's "can openers." They enable other scavangers that are incapable of opening up the carcass, such as ravens, foxes, martens, fishers, etc., to get at the dead deer's insides and get what need to survive.
Quoting Alfred Lord Tennyson, Frair said "nature is red in tooth and claw," and that many urban and suburban dwellers are not used to seeing a deer carcass ripped apart by coyotes.
The bottom line is coyotes and wolves remind us of dogs, Frair said, which we can control. Wolves and coyotes we can't.
"They bring out more hatred and passion in us than any other animal species," she said.
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