Hey folks - I posted two nights ago that I heard coyotes in my area for the first time. It was a real thrill for me. Now today, I went for a walk through a field that abuts my yard. The field is a few acres of grass and trees. It is owned by a Church that lets the public walk, hang out, picnic on it, etc... There are rarely people there except for on Sundays. Not thirty feet from my yard, I found a deer carcass. It was an adult doe, rather large. It was missing its two front legs, and the carcass had been stripped clean. There is no hunting allowed in that area, and I really doubt that anyone would hunt there (the town police chief lives two houses down). About a hundred yards from the carcass, there was a large area covered with hair that looked like it came from the doe. I also found the doe's bottom jaw bone about fifty feet away. Does this look like the work of coyotes?
Coyote kill in the backyard?
- Thread starter Bluegill
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IdahoSpud
Scout
We have coyote packs here and it is not likely that the pack took the deer themselves although I suppose its possible. Coyote in this area tend to go after smaller game and are scavengers for the most part. I suspect that the deer was already downed by something else. Any tracks around the kill that you could identify? If there where coyote tracks around you wouldnt be able to miss them.
Peacelovingirl
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coyotes do hunt deer
Whitetail Deer vs. Coyote Standoff Trail Cam - YouTube[/url]
it definately sounds like a predator kill..... it is more likely to be wolf or mountain lion.... they are the most common predators for deer..... just as long as its not a mountain Lion ... those Cats scare the tar out of me.
Did you find any tracks in the area.... were they K9.... or cat.... how big?
Whitetail Deer vs. Coyote Standoff Trail Cam - YouTube[/url]
it definately sounds like a predator kill..... it is more likely to be wolf or mountain lion.... they are the most common predators for deer..... just as long as its not a mountain Lion ... those Cats scare the tar out of me.
Did you find any tracks in the area.... were they K9.... or cat.... how big?
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WestrnBushcrft
Guide
I have coyotes in my neighborhood not to unusual...
I've found coyote-killed deer in the woods behind my house that appeared just the way the OP describes. It looked like the deer exploded outward in all directions w/ about a 30' radius. Just a big circle of hair w/ random bone scatter. Seeing as the carcass was relatively fresh and it was not during hunting season, I can only deduce that it was a kill and not a scavenge.
Coyotes around here are definitely large enough to take down a deer.
Coyotes around here are definitely large enough to take down a deer.
I looked around for tracks, but could not find anything definitive, just some messy holes in the mud that could have come from a dog or anything else. If it weren't for the mass of hair so far away from the deer, I might think that the deer just died and got scavenged by the local dogs and ever-present vultures. It does seem strange that the deer would just die in a field. I guess they have to die somewhere, but there are woods all around; and I don't expect that they spend a lot of time in the open field. There are sightings of a mountain lion around here lately. I am thinking of calling the Game Warden to check it out.
IdahoSpud
Scout
IdahoSpud
Scout
Without definitive tracks to go on it could have been anything really.
mccaw69
Scout
It's not uncommon for coyotes to extend their range into populated areas.access to free meals(garbage cans etc...)will make them come to urban areas quite often.These type of "yotes" have very little fear of people,because most urban areas do not allow hunting,and thats when the danger begins.
Coyote do hunt deer, but I second that this one may have been weakend already due to illness or some other. Maybe set up some trailcams over a bait pile, if that is allowed. That's a good way to see who is in the neighborhood, though It wouldn't necessarily single anyone out.
Peacelovingirl
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I hear you thats why I said " it is more likely to be wolf or mountain lion.... they are the most common predators for deer"Didnt say they didnt just said not likely.
Antig
Scout
Sounds exactly like coyotes, especially the missing legs but I'm not very familiar with the fauna in your area.
leaf and lightning
Guide
eastern coyotes are bigger and more wolflike than their western counterparts... during the summer months around here, they are primarily scavengers/small game predators, but sometimes, more often in the winter, they do group up to take larger prey, like deer, and occasionally livestock...
Aha! Found it!
A co-worker of mine sent this to me a couple of years ago. It's from a trail camera from a friend's property about 12 miles from where I live here in Northeastern PA. The photo is from the general vicinity of White Haven, PA.
And yep, that's a new, juicy deer leg in that 'yotes mouth. Pretty cool pic actually.
A co-worker of mine sent this to me a couple of years ago. It's from a trail camera from a friend's property about 12 miles from where I live here in Northeastern PA. The photo is from the general vicinity of White Haven, PA.
And yep, that's a new, juicy deer leg in that 'yotes mouth. Pretty cool pic actually.
I'd believe it was coyotes. There has been deer killed by coyotes by my place in a bush area that is surrounded by houses. I've heard coyootes yip and call as they walk down the street at 3 AM. Neighbours have had them follow them down the street when they were out walking their dog.
Closeness to houses means nothing to coyotes. They will simply get bolder with time.
Closeness to houses means nothing to coyotes. They will simply get bolder with time.
IdahoSpud
Scout
Awesome pic and those woods look great.
I talked with the Game Warden today, and he seemed to think that the deer might have been hit by a car and run to where it died in the field. Then dogs and others moved the bones around. That could be the case, but there is no way to know because there was nothing but bones left. I still don't see how that could explain the pile of hair several hundred yards away. I could see a dog carrying off the jawbone or leg, but how could a dog carry a pile of hair? It looked more like a fatal fight took place at the site of the hair, and then the deer walked from there to lay down and die. The game warden and I sometimes cross paths at work, and we have gone back and forth (in a good natured way) about coyotes and mountain lions ever since he started working here. He initially thought I was making it up to give him a hard time. Therefore, I am not sure how seriously he took me. The story of the boy who cried wolf comes to mind.