The coyotes of Lapeer County have earned recent notoriety among southeast Michigan locals. Last week, they were accused of taking down a horse from the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Mounted Division. A few days later, another coyote-horse attack was reported. Though neither attack was able to be confirmed by DNR officials, the incidences have many Metro Detroiters wondering if their animals could be next.

Through the power of social media, Scott Parr of Brown City, MI was recently thrust into the same limelight as the Lapeer County coyotes when he posted this picture of himself on Facebook last night.

A local news station picked up the picture, and – as it goes with local news stations – the facts became fiction as the story spread across the Metro Detroit area and beyond.

I tracked down Scott for some salt-of-the-Earth truth behind the picture, and to give us his perspective on the coyote population in Michigan’s thumb region.

So, tell me about this picture.

S: “I took that specific coyote on December 23, 2013 with my Ruger M77 Mark II .223. It came out to weigh 52 pounds.

I had put the picture on Facebook the other day, without even thinking about it. That night, the Lapeer County Sheriff’s Department called me and asked for permission to use the picture to raise awareness for the coyote problem in our area. I woke up the next morning, and my Facebook, email and phone were full of people telling me to turn on the news. ABC news had taken the picture and made up a story about it. Then Fox 2 called and wanted an interview. They had recorded my phone call and played it on air, without telling me that was their intention. Other local news stations were calling. NBC wanted to come out and film at the farm.” Read more

By Glen Wunderlich

Last week’s column covered the rationale for recovering Michigan big game through the use of blood tracking dogs.  What follows is an outline detailing one means to retrieve animals and provides an option to access the assistance of trained tracking dogs alluded to in the hunting regulations.

Any hunter can appreciate a clean, ethical killing shot with no measureable tracking involved on a whitetail deer.  However, conditions afield, equipment failures and human error may contribute to a less-than-perfect result.  Of course, those opposed to hunting in any of its forms will jump at any chance to exploit unfortunate circumstances to further their anti-hunting agenda.

Funny how the same “logic” is never applied to automobile or plane crashes.  If it were, we’d all be riding horseback or safer yet, walking.  Instead, we have mandatory seat-belt laws and rigorous airline safety oversight – all designed to minimize the chances of the unthinkable.  Similarly, dedicated sportsmen do everything within their control to make the perfect kill shot, but being human and using equipment produced by humans means things can go awry.

It’s perplexing to comprehend the paradox in a dozen states or more such as Colorado.  There, it is illegal for a hunter to “fail to make a reasonable attempt to track and kill animals you wound or may have wounded” but the use of blood tracking dogs is illegal, as well.  How any of this can be perceived as “reasonable” is beyond me.

On the contrary, in Michigan, common sense has prevailed and such nonsense is no longer the case.  But, what if you or a friend has no tracking dog to aid in the recovery of a big game animal?  Answer:  Michigan Deer Tracking Dogs.

For a negotiable fee, certified dog trackers, such as Rob Miller of Linden may come to your aid.  Rob and his dachshund, Sypris, have recovered over 90 whitetail deer over the past few years to the delight of hunters within a one-hour radius of Linden.  Others within the organization throughout Michigan have had similar results recovering all manner of big game, although for numerous reasons, successful recoveries cannot be guaranteed.

Each tracker sets their own rate, typically based on the distance they must travel and $100-$150 is a general starting point for local tracks (within a half hour drive), and it will go up from there.  Success varies from 25 to 50 percent based on myriad variables.

Typically deer are recovered within two hours but if there is significant positive sign (i.e. good blood, or a visual on the deer and it appears severely wounded) the tracker will proceed.  They will keep tracking until the deer is recovered or it is determined that signs indicate a deer is not mortally wounded.

Without a certified tracker, Michigan hunters can still track game animals with a dog, but no firearms or bows can accompany them on a retrieval mission (day or night), thus preventing what may appear to others as illegal hunting activity.  Under Michigan regulations relative to certified trackers, law enforcement must be notified when a recovery effort begins and ends, regardless of the outcome.  But, only with a certified tracker, can an animal be dispatched on the spot, if necessary.

Fortunately, contradictory terms in Colorado need not apply to Michigan sportsmen and women seeking to finish the admirable job of game recovery.

For more information on tracking dogs, the website is www.michigandeertracknhounds.com.