Den Hunting As a Means of Coyote Control

Part 1

Transcriber Notes

Text emphasis denoted as Italics.

Den Hunting

as a Means

of Coyote Control

DEN HUNTING AS A MEANS OF COYOTE CONTROL

By Stanley P. Young, principal biologist and chief of division, and Harold W. Dobyns, assistant leader, Section of Predator and Rodent Control, Division of Game Management, Bureau of Biological Survey

Issued October 1937

CONTENTS

Page

Importance of den hunting 2

Qualifications and equipment of the den hunter 2

Breeding habits and number of young 3

Denning sites and habits 3

Methods of den hunting 5

Activities of whelps 7

Removing whelps from dens 7

Trapping and shooting adults 8

Importance of Den Hunting

There is perhaps no better method of keeping down the increase of coyotes than to destroy the newly born whelps before they abandon the dens to shift for themselves. A little time spent in locating dens in April, May, and June and destroying the whelps will save months of strenuous effort trying to rid the range of the predators after they have reached maturity.

Coyotes are particularly destructive during the denning season because of the need of extra food both for themselves and their young. Lambing bands of sheep on open ranges suffer the heaviest losses. Coyotes that kill lambs during April and May generally have dens, and when the dens are located and the whelps destroyed, the sheep killing usually stops. Some coyotes show great cunning in refraining from killing lambs near their dens and will pass by a band of sheep that is herded right over a den only to raid another several miles distant. They have been known to carry leg of lamb a distance of 8 miles to their young in the den. Contrary to the belief of stockmen and others, the male coyote is as destructive as the female, and special attention to fresh kills at lambing time has shown that the tracks of male coyotes are more in evidence than those of the females.

Qualifications and Equipment of the Den Hunter

The most essential qualifications of a den hunter are keen observation, persistence, and familiarity with the habits of coyotes. He can probably become more skilled in den hunting than in any other phase of coyote control. The denning habits of coyotes are similar in most sections, and the same general methods of den hunting can be applied to humid mountainous sections and to semiarid deserts.

"Den sign" means indications of denning activity and should always be watched for. It may consist of tracks, a well-worn path leading to and from a den, or holes freshly cleaned out. Holes made by the coyotes in digging out squirrels or rabbits should not be confused, however, with those prepared for dens. A good hunter will overlook no likely place and should take advantage of every hint, for dens are often found where least expected. He should look for den sign in every locality where animals are frequently seen. He should keep in mind the places used by pairs of coyotes and visit all old dens known, as sign may often be discovered there at whelping time. Holes may be cleaned out in one canyon and the den be just over the hill in another. Sheep herders on a range usually can give valuable information as to locations of dens.

The equipment of a den hunter should include at least two good, gentle saddle horses, a small shovel, a pair of good field glasses, a rifle of not less than .25 caliber, and a dog. Coyotes are not so much afraid of a man on horseback as of one on foot. A rider, therefore, can get many good shots, and in heavy sagebrush he can more easily see and track coyotes from his vantage seat upon a horse.

Breeding Habits and Number of Young

In the mating season coyotes may be heard yelping much more than usual, and packs of three to a dozen animals may be seen. Later the breeding animals pair off. Some pairs may remain together for a number of years, but as a rule coyotes do not mate for life.

The whelping season varies with latitude. In general, according to studies of a large number of embryos by G. W. D. Hamlett, of the Biological Survey, the season in the northern tier of States seems somewhat earlier than farther south; in Montana, for example, breeding begins about February 1 and lasts throughout the month, the average date being February 15. In Texas, breeding seems to begin somewhat later, although data are inadequate for definite conclusions. In some States, as in Oregon and Arizona, Hamlett found a variation of at least 2 months in the time of breeding, probably because of great diversity in habitat. A study on the spot, with due attention to altitude and other environmental factors, would probably explain any unusual variation.

Part 2

Coyote pups are born 60 to 63 days after breeding. Their eyes open when they are 9 to 14 days old. The average number of young to the litter is normally 7. Although there may be smaller litters when food is scarce, it is not uncommon to find litters of 9 to 12 (fig. 1, A), and some females have been known to have as many as 17 young. The only thing provided in the nature of a nest is an enlarged section of the den, and some dens do not have even this. The pups lie in the dry dust on the floor.

Dens are often found to contain two litters, one consisting of young with eyes not yet open and the other of pups about a month old. One litter may be large and the other small, the latter probably belonging to a young female that, apparently at a loss for a place to den, had taken up quarters with her mother. Young females usually whelp about 10 days to 2 weeks later than the older ones. An occasional den may harbor three litters. At a den where two litters are found there is usually only one male, which would suggest polygamy.

Under normal conditions a pair of coyotes is found with every den unless one parent has been killed. If this happens to be the female and the pups are young, they die. If they are old enough to eat meat, the male parent cares for them, as he does his part in providing food.

Denning Sites and Habits

Coyotes do not select denning sites according to any recognizable rule, but many of them return to the same general locality year after year, even though dens are regularly dug out and the pups killed by den hunters. If the female is killed, the male may bring his new mate to the same den the next season. A dug out den that has not been badly damaged in removing coyotes may remain unoccupied for two or three seasons and then be used again, as was the case with the den in Conejos County, Colo., shown on the title page.

Figure 1.--A, Coyote and a litter of 10 taken from a den in San Luis Valley, Colo., in cooperative predator-control operations; B, coyote den (directly beneath hunter) in a hillside thicket in rugged country, Lance Creek, Wyo.]

Dens may be found in a canyon, wash-out, or coulee, on a bank or hillside (fig. 1, B), in a rock bluff, or even in level ground, as in a wheatfield, stubblefield, or plowed field. They have been discovered under deserted homestead shacks in the desert, under grain bins, in a drainage pipe, under a railroad, in a hollow log, in a thicket, and under a clump of thistles that had blown into a canyon.

As a rule, instead of digging all new dens, coyotes will enlarge abandoned badger or rabbit holes or use deserted porcupine dens in rocky promontories or canyon walls. Usually they start cleaning out the holes several weeks prior to whelping. They generally claw out the dirt in one direction from the mouth of the den, where it piles up into a mound, although some dens have no such mound (fig. 2, A).

The female continues digging and cleaning out den holes, sometimes a dozen or more, until the young are born. Then, if one den is disturbed the family moves to another. Sometimes the animals move only a few hundred yards, apparently just to have a cleaner home, leaving many fleas behind. Occasionally a female that has lost her whelps will clean out several holes before becoming reconciled to her loss. Barren females sometimes clean out holes, but they are not found traveling with a mate. Male coyotes also work at many holes in spring but generally to dig out dead rabbits. The tracks of the male will usually be seen at these freshly dug holes, which have a different appearance from those cleaned out for dens, and dried-up rabbit carcasses will generally be found nearby.

Figure 2.--A, Entrance to a coyote den in a dry creek bank, Morrow County, Oreg.; B, a former Biological Survey predator-control leader at the mouth of the coyote den dug out near Cokeville, Wyo. (Remains of three lambs in foreground, including two skulls out of which the brains had been lapped by coyotes.)]

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