Hello Janet,
Fall is coming along well. Lots of doings with the dogs patrolling properties as usual. We recently wrapped up a 3 week “investigation” into 4 coyote packs who were accused of livestock predation on sheep.
We worked with cooperating landowners, and some biologist students, as well as Ranchers.
This is progress, as historically the answer to sheep being killed is to hunt every coyote within 100 miles. This only leads to the surviving coyote booming in population, and never solves issues or give solutions.
I am proud of my dogs in helping clear accused coyote…though they don’t see it that way.
The sheep ranch sustaining losses is surrounded by a 5,000 acre Quail Hunting Preserve. Coyote have fairly large packs there. 4 distinct packs or family groups. They don’t affect Quail numbers. In fact, they removed feral cats that were affecting Quail introductions.
Proving coyote innocence takes time, skill, and impartiality. We WANT to be accurate and find the raider, who risks all local canids being suspect, ranch dogs, coyote, or wolves.
The Pack and I travel miles and miles and miles along tracks and trails. The dogs mark and leave scent as we travel, advertising our route. Of course, this greatly irritates coyote, but they come along after we move on. The marking insults between dogs and coyote are kept track of and studied.
Scat doesn’t lie. It is irrefutable proof of diet. All 4 packs of coyote, for 3 weeks, countered my pack with markings, scat, and vocalizations. Not a single wool encased scat.
Deer hair (deer hunter scraps or road kills) are in some, but overwhelmingly…all 4 packs show vole and gopher diet. And a few late berries and spawned salmon.
When we finally did locate wool encased scat, biologist students brought trail cams and liberally set up in that area.
Long story short, not a single coyote scat with wool for over 5,000 acres was ever found.
But it seems 3 pet dogs let loose in evenings are our proven suspects. Trail cam and scat proof literally from pastures to their country home.
It’s very easy to suspect coyote in pet or livestock raiding. And it does happen. But most people would be shocked…far more often…its unsupervised dogs killing livestock.
Have a good night.
4 packs of Coyote exonerated.
