Eastern coyotes have not "coexisted for thousands of years" with eastern whitetails,at least not in New Brunswick.Coyotes are a relatively new predator here,and eastern yotes in particulair are a relatively new predator period,evolving as much larger canines than their cousins to the west in the blink of an evolutionary eye.The first confirmed coyote ever recorded in NB was in the 1950's,and by the 70's they were well established throughout NB and NS.They've since migrated to PEI and NF on ice flows,where in the latter it is beleived they are most likely responsible for the recent crash in Woodland Caribou numbers.Trapping pressure and a strong fur market kept their numbers in check throughout the 80's,but thanks to pressure from the bunnyhugging antis,fur markets crashed in the early 90's and coyote numbers exploded here with nobody trapping.
NB imho has possibly the worst shape deer herd in North America at present?While deer numbers expand throughout most of their range in NA,our herd in NB is at it's lowest level in decades,from a peak of 250,000 in the mid 80's (when coincidentally coyote populations exploded)to a mere 60-70,000 head today.Coyotes are not the only factor,but coupled with bad forestry practices that destroy winter yards and harsh winters,it's a 1,2,3 knockout combo.
Anybody that thinks coyotes can't have a great effect on localized and regional deer populations likely hasn't hunted east of Ontario imho.They key in on Deer Wintering Areas(DWAs/deer yards)and can decimate the local herd in tough winters.They relentlessly stalk DWAs and pick off the weak and old first,then run the healthy deer to exhaustion when they are most vulnerable in the dead of winter and eat them too.Eastern Coyotes are also responsible for over 50% of fawn mortality here,followed by black bears and bobcats as the next most significant causes.
Please don't compare your cute little,mouse munching "prairie dogs" to the bloodthirsty,venison craving,wannabe wolves we have in the east,they are not the same critter. 80lb coyotes don't get to be 80lb coyotes by eating mice and grasshoppers.[/QUOTE]
Well said. It is exactly the same here in Cape Breton. We hunt the same private land now for over 30 years, 1000's of acres to our selves, no wood removed etc..
In the mid 80's it would be nothing to count 30 plus deer in the fields and if you didnot get your deer opening day you didnot try.The end os the opening week our buck pole would be full end to end.
Then we started seeing the odd coyote. The last 4 years here we have not had winter to speak of . Very very mild with early warm springs perfect for fawns. We hunted for years in the 90's and would not even see a deer.
This year one buck for 6 guys and seven coyote shot one almost 70 pounds.Plus in the 80's most of the boys were working full time and only getting saturdays in vs today being retired and hunting almost the entire season.
We are just starting to see the odd deer in some of the old spots so it is taking them 20 plus years to rebound and have a long way to go.
Mainland nova scotia yes seem to be coming back much quicker but not here.
NB imho has possibly the worst shape deer herd in North America at present?While deer numbers expand throughout most of their range in NA,our herd in NB is at it's lowest level in decades,from a peak of 250,000 in the mid 80's (when coincidentally coyote populations exploded)to a mere 60-70,000 head today.Coyotes are not the only factor,but coupled with bad forestry practices that destroy winter yards and harsh winters,it's a 1,2,3 knockout combo.
Anybody that thinks coyotes can't have a great effect on localized and regional deer populations likely hasn't hunted east of Ontario imho.They key in on Deer Wintering Areas(DWAs/deer yards)and can decimate the local herd in tough winters.They relentlessly stalk DWAs and pick off the weak and old first,then run the healthy deer to exhaustion when they are most vulnerable in the dead of winter and eat them too.Eastern Coyotes are also responsible for over 50% of fawn mortality here,followed by black bears and bobcats as the next most significant causes.
Please don't compare your cute little,mouse munching "prairie dogs" to the bloodthirsty,venison craving,wannabe wolves we have in the east,they are not the same critter. 80lb coyotes don't get to be 80lb coyotes by eating mice and grasshoppers.[/QUOTE]
Well said. It is exactly the same here in Cape Breton. We hunt the same private land now for over 30 years, 1000's of acres to our selves, no wood removed etc..
In the mid 80's it would be nothing to count 30 plus deer in the fields and if you didnot get your deer opening day you didnot try.The end os the opening week our buck pole would be full end to end.
Then we started seeing the odd coyote. The last 4 years here we have not had winter to speak of . Very very mild with early warm springs perfect for fawns. We hunted for years in the 90's and would not even see a deer.
This year one buck for 6 guys and seven coyote shot one almost 70 pounds.Plus in the 80's most of the boys were working full time and only getting saturdays in vs today being retired and hunting almost the entire season.
We are just starting to see the odd deer in some of the old spots so it is taking them 20 plus years to rebound and have a long way to go.
Mainland nova scotia yes seem to be coming back much quicker but not here.
