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Coyotes Not Decimating Deer Numbers According To Expert
University Park, Pa. -- It's a question that has captured the imagination of Keystone State deer hunters and wildlife lovers: Has increased predation on helpless deer fawns by an growing population of Eastern coyotes resulted in dwindling whitetail numbers across Pennsylvania's rugged northern reaches? The answer is no, according to a deer researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
"It's a cruel world out there for wildlife," said Duane Diefenbach, adjunct professor of wildlife ecology and leader of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit housed in the college's School of Forest Resources, "but it's no crueler in Pennsylvania than other states."
There is no question the coyote population has grown dramatically in the Northeast in recent decades, he said, and everyone agrees that coyotes do prey on fawns, "but our data tell us that coyote predation is not an issue in Pennsylvania."
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I live in carbon county and have seen 11 coyotes running around my development over the last year and a half. You need to do more research and open your eyes a little more.
ReplyDeleteI live in Lancaster County. My cat, a muscular, Flame-point Siamese, survived an attack by coyotes the other night. Have never even heard or seen coyotes around here before that. All of the feral cats have disappeared--there is definitely something different as I now hear them every single night--and there are quite a few responders to the howl. Early evening was when my cat was attacked; I am now officially paranoid and on a mission to get them to leave--one way or another!!!
ReplyDeleteI saw a coyote this morning carrying a piglet in it's mouth, apparently killed at a farm abbot a half mile away. They have killed every outdoor cat in the area and have seriously depleted the wild turkey population. Most of the scat I find contains deer hair. There are almost no rabbits left anymore. They are opportunistic predators that will devastate almost all wildlife. This winter I intend to hunt them every chance I have.
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