Coyote Control by Austin Delano
We’ve all heard their songs right before dark in the fall, the yips, barks, and howls of the crafty coyote. Now days there is virtually no place in the U.S. where these song dogs don’t roam. Their ability to adapt to urban sprawl and human intrusion is all too impressive. These canines can change breeding habits, diets, and pack dynamics to cope with the situation they find themselves living in. Females usually have a litter of 3-9 pups per year that are generally born in April or May. This coincides with the fawning season for whitetails as well.
Predator populations have changed dramatically over the past century. I’ve heard it explained by an old-timer that said, “before humans entered the picture an area would have 1 wolf, 2 coyotes, 4 fox and on down the chain.” Obviously, these numbers are fictitious, but the larger predators kept the others in check and on down the line. Now days with so many different factors influencing predator populations, I can’t imagine the challenges the states have in regulating harvest quotas and management plans for all game animals.
In my view, one of the major problems that we have had in the past thirty years is the anti-hunting/trapping public. Although they are the minority, they are very vocal. Through the 1980’s and 90’s, their push to ban trapping caused fur prices to plummet. Back in the early 80’s a trapper could get $120 to $160 for a prime “Christmas fox.” Now fur costs are about ¼ of what they were thirty years ago. My suggestions to hunters and trappers are to be more vocal than the opposition and use your vote! Read more
The Department of Natural Resources confirmed a new state record last month for quillback carpsucker. This is the fifth state-record fish caught in 2014.
