Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons/Justin Johnsen
Just as the sun peaks over the hills and legal hunting hours commence, a lone coyote answers your call with a howl of his own. The Wyoming plains slowly come to life as the predator comes into view. As he wanders within range, you prepare to claim the first coyote of the competition.
Although these hunts are not as glorified as some, many hunters in Wyoming choose to partake in coyote calling competitions during the winter months. Due to the predator status given to coyotes by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, these animals are able to be harvested year round and do not require a designated license. However, hunters must still follow basic hunting regulations outlined by the Game and Fish.
Rules of the Competition
During coyote calling competitions, teams of two hunters are given two days to harvest as many coyotes as they can during legal hunting hours. Once the competitor chooses a spot, they begin their “stand” where they attempt to call in coyotes. These stands last from 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the response the hunter gets from the animals. Once a stand is completed, the team relocates and repeats the process.
“The best stands are spots with high vantage points,” Krista Willis, an avid hunter from Lander, said. Willis and her father often team up for the competitions.
“The higher spots allow you to see into the draws and see the coyotes coming in. It also helps if you hunker down in the sagebrush, so they can’t see you.”
Daniel Burget, a recent graduate from the University of Wyoming, says he always tries to get in at least 15 stands in a full day of hunting.
The winner of the competition is the team with the greatest number of coyotes retrieved. If two teams present equal numbers of coyotes, the winner is decided by the total weight of the animals.
Many contests offer prizes for the top hunters. These range from cash, new calls, guns, camouflage items and, sometimes, trips for exotic hunts.
“Usually the host of the event will pay out 75 percent of the entry fee to the winners. Sometimes, this is up to eight places.” Burget said. “The hosts will give the other 25 percent to the Game and Fish, local charities that educate youth on hunting safety and conservation efforts.”
Families in the Field
Aside from the enticement of the prizes, hunters also experience other benefits from participating in the hunts. These hunts provide a full-body workout outside of the gym and it keeps the competitors in practice for the next hunting season.
“Coyote hunting is a fun sport that promotes great exercise, practiced marksmanship and skills with a coyote call. Coyotes have better eyesight and sense of smell than most other animals that are hunted, so it requires a much higher skill level in my opinion,” Burget said. “Coyote hunting is, in my eyes, practice for hunting larger game, but I will still show a coyote the same respect as I would an elk or a moose. If I cannot take the shot with confidence and ethically, I will not take the shot.”
These morals and ethics also are taught to younger generations in the field. It is not an uncommon sight to see fathers and mothers bringing their children, who have successfully completed a hunter’s safety course, into the competitions. They also are typically successful in their endeavors. Husband and wife teams also are common.
Giving Back to Landowners
“I also like being able to help out local ranchers” Burget added, “They view the coyotes, as well as other predators, as a threat to their livestock and livelihood.”
Although coyotes are small in stature, these animals have been dubbed ‘the most adaptable predator ever’ by Jan Loven, USDA Animal Damage control specialist.
Ranchers and landowners benefit from the harvest of coyotes by the decreased predator pressure on their herds. Coyotes prefer prey upon smaller animals such as calves, sheep and goats and that directly impacts the profits of the livestock operation.
According to the National Agricultural Statistic Service, an estimated 17,500 sheep were killed in Wyoming by predators in 2011. Of those sheep deaths, 10,900 were due to coyotes.
These high predation numbers have prompted Wyoming to launch a coyote bounty program that pays hunters $20 per coyote brought in. This reward can be collected outside of designated hunts until the delegated money for the project runs out.
Coyotes also are harbingers of disease and carry mange, parvo virus and rabies. These animals are smart, reproduce quickly and look after their own, which ensures strong population numbers. These traits have created problems in other states besides Wyoming with predation and transmission of diseases.
Hunt Year Round or Sign Up
In Wyoming, competitions take place during the winter months — December to February — but frequency and location can vary depending on the organization sponsoring the hunt.
Hunts are sponsored by different states and organizations so hunters always have a good selection. More information on events in the area can be found at the forums at Predator Masters, Coyote Hunting Today and National Predator Hunting Association.
Regardless of the time of year, as long as the hunter is in possession of a hunter’s safety license, these animals can be harvested. Hunters do not have to wait for competitions to get out into the field.
“It’s nice to just get out into nature. It is always fun to get there and call them in,” Willis said.
I would like to thank the Branding Iron for this highly disturbing article. The vast majority of the section “Giving Back to Landowners,” is borderline propaganda. Here are the facts:
1. The National Agricultural Statistic Service’s method of determining predator kills is to simply survey the livestock producers and relies on unverified reports by ranchers to get their numbers. A rancher could make up any number he wants to. So that 10,900 is number is probably an overestimation to an extreme degree. For instance, in 2010, NASS received reports of 585 cattle killed by wolves in Wyoming. In fact, USFWS, who actually investigates predator-killed livestock rather than relying on unsubstantiated reports by ranchers, found that only 26 cattle were killed by wolves in 2010. This represents a 2,250% difference between NASS figures and the actual figures. Using these numbers, we could estimate the number of sheep in Wyoming killed by coyotes to be closer to 484, not anywhere close to 10,000.
1. Researchers have shown time and time again that hunting coyotes does not lead to fewer coyotes, and probably increases the population. Coyotes are highly adaptive animals and are able to alter their behavior to make up for losses. When coyote populations face pressure, more females will breed, litter size and pup survival increases, and coyotes will come from all around to fill any territorial vacancies. Furthermore, there is suspicion among scientists that by indiscriminately killing coyotes, we are selecting for the most cunning, wary, and intelligent breed of coyote.
3. The reality on the ground supports this idea. Coyotes have been of the most persecuted animals in the world, facing an endless barrage of guns, traps, and poisons and yet we can never seem to make a dent in the population. Since coyote reduction programs began in earnest around the middle of the 1800s, coyotes have expanded their range three-fold, now ranging into the eastern U.S., south into Central America, and north into Canada.
4. In the words of highly respected ecologist and coyote researcher, Dr. Robert Crabtree: “There is little, if any, scientific basis to justify control (reduction) programs that indiscriminately target adult coyotes.” He continues: “In conclusion, it is my opinion based on decades of field research that the common practice of reducing adult coyote populations on western rangelands is most likely ineffective and likely causes an increase in the number of lambs, fawns, and calves killed by coyotes.”
Believe it or not, coyotes are more than “harbingers of disease” and a shooting target for bored rifle recreationists. They are an essential part of our ecosystem and our natural heritage and frankly, they are a pretty darn cool animal. Sadly, this article makes no mention of that. To see the coyote in all it’s glory, click on my name.