The Dueling Duo: The War on Coyotes

The War on Coyotes
Do any rules of engagement apply?

More years ago than I care to remember, my cousin married this guy who was reportedly quite the coyote hunter. “He got seventy of them last year,” I was told.

Wow! I needed to meet this guy. “What kind of call does he use?” I asked innocently.

“He don’t use no call. He runs ‘em over with his snowmobile.”

That was in 1968. To this day, I’ve never met this cousin-in-law, but I’ve talked with plenty like him. All kill lots of coyotes, but none are coyote hunters.

Call me old-fashioned, but to me the definition of “hunter” means someone who reads sign, follows tracks and trails, learns the calls, scent markers and behavior patterns of his prey and then uses his knowledge, experience, insights, creativity and woodsmanship to gain a clear shot. The only role mechanized transportation should play in the hunt is getting said hunter into the hunting grounds. Gas-powered machines should not be used to stir up, flush, or chase the prey. Not even the lowly coyote.

The infamous “brush wolf” of the West has long labored under the weight of considerable animosity, much of it deserved. Coyotes really do kill and eat lambs, fully grown sheep, mule deer, pronghorns, pet dogs and nearly any other living thing they can get their fangs on. But, so do humans. I don’t blame ranchers and other aggrieved parties for hating coyotes, but that’s no justification for every sportsman to despise the species and condemn it to annihilation, fair means or foul.

In hunting camps and sporting goods stores across the country I commonly hear things like this: “Rotten, stinking, murdering coyotes.” “Thieving, vicious, worthless sons-of-bitches” (technically, all coyotes are sons and daughters of bitches, but that’s not exactly the intended sentiment). “Useless, rapacious sons of Satan” (that from the more poetic crowd). And worse.

As with any prejudice, kids pick up the refrain and the partial myth of the evil coyote is perpetuated. What’s the harm? Despite a hundred years of ceaseless warfare against them, including aerial gunning and widespread poisoning, coyotes have not only survived, but thrived. The sportsman/hunter image, unfortunately, has not.

In a time and culture in which “primitive blood sports” are condemned, hunters need to be conscious of their effect on non-hunters. Forget the radical anti’s – like any zealots, they’re convinced they have a direct link to God. The bulk of Americans, however, are open to reasonable consideration of the facts. If the facts are that hunters unfairly chase coyotes with motorized vehicles, the very act of hunting falls under additional suspicion. It’s difficult enough justifying the shooting of animals whose flesh we don’t eat. If we don’t even hunt them fairly, we’re dead in the water.

Here are some of the ways we can justify coyote hunting:

1) They are extremely common, abundant, widespread and spreading farther.
2) They are a valuable resource, providing 100-percent natural, biodegradable, non-polluting hides and fur perfect for winter wear without the need for oil drilling, shipping, spilling or refining.
3) They are wary, elusive and a challenge to hunt.
4) They often severely deplete deer and pronghorn populations in certain areas and/or prevent recovery of these species in suitable habitats.
5) They often ravage domestic livestock and must be controlled.
If we are the “true conservationists” and guardians of the natural world we claim to be, we should start treating the coyote with respect. This animal plays an important role in our natural world. This is a remarkably resourceful predator which, against long odds, persists, going about its business of cleaning up carrion, testing and stressing prey species to keep them wary and genetically superior, and preventing the overpopulation of certain species – just as we prevent the overpopulation of coyotes.

Admire the coyote for its cunning and toughness, for surviving in high mountain snows, deserts sands, windy grasslands and fetid swamps. Respect this wild dog for its ability to survive. And hunt it, fair and square.

Why is it that so many in our society, hunters included, feel that it is okay to manage certain species and not others? Please let me explain. I grew up shooting ground squirrels in the spring and jackrabbits in the winter. Like clockwork, every spring, my big brother Steve and I would head up to Monte Cristo as soon as the snowplows allowed us to do so. There we would spend the day with a couple of cartons of 22 long rifle shells, honing our rifle skills and creating our own version of “Red Mist.” Once winter gripped the desert country, we would unleash the same relentless furor on what seemed to be a zillion marauding rabbits. You think “marauding” is a bit harsh? Ask a farmer what a herd of jackrabbits can do to an alfalfa crop.

Today, seeing a ground squirrel on Monte Cristo is almost like seeing an elk in Tennessee ten years ago. And the marauding jackrabbit? They do exist, however, nothing like forty years ago. So, what do we attribute the difference to? Those were the 60’s when the bounty on magpies was 25 cents, red tailed hawks were shot on sight and mountain lions fell under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As a result, all wildlife populations were held in check.

In today’s world where too many have learned their ecology from Walt Disney, shooting a magpie or hawk could land you in the county jail for a short spell and smoking a wolf could get you a life sentence. What is wrong with this picture?

We, as humans, have an obligation to all wildlife, not just certain groups. In order to manage one species, we must manage all that roam, swim and fly above the earth. Enter the coyote, one of God’s most incredible creatures. The old Indian saying; “A feather floated to earth. A hawk saw it, a bear smelled it and a deer heard it hit the ground and the coyote did all three – first,” is not an exaggeration. The coyote is an opportunist and a survivalist, as well as one of the most proficient hunters on the planet. The tools he uses to accomplish his task make yours and mine look pathetic. We, you and I, kill coyotes for basically three reasons: money, sport and to protect other wildlife or domestic animals. Putting food on the table is not in the equation when it comes to killing killers, so why attach words like hunter, respect or fair and square to the pursuit of such an outlaw? As far as I’m concerned, all is fair in love and war and when I’m out eliminating coyotes from deer fawning grounds, I consider it war. And I believe any legal means of collecting pelts should be used, including planes, trains and snowmobiles.

I am a hunter when pursuing game birds and animals and a killer when I’m eliminating coyotes. The feeling I get when I smoke a pack – of oyotes that is, is unlike any other I get in the field. And, like a drug addict, I pull out all stops to satisfy my needs. I make no apologies for it.