Part 3

Removing Whelps from Dens

The digging necessary to capture pups depends largely on the nature of the soil and the location of the den (fig. 2, B). Some dens are so shallow that little digging is required; others cannot be dug out; and some burrows lead straight into a bank or under a hardpan ledge. Much work can be avoided by running a shovel handle or long stick as far as possible into the hole to ascertain its direction and then digging a pit down to the den instead of following the burrow. Where digging is extremely difficult, the animals may be disturbed and induced to move, frequently to a den from which they can be more readily taken. Usually they move from a quarter of a mile to a mile away and can easily be tracked. If pups can be seen back in a den but cannot be reached in digging, a forked stick or a wire so twisted as to catch in their fur has been employed to save labor; but if the den or burrow branches and turns, such an instrument is never wholly satisfactory, as some of the whelps are likely to be missed.

Before digging is begun, the den entrance should be blocked to prevent the escape of the mother coyote, should she be inside the den. When the pups are of suckling age she is often in the den with them, but when they are old enough to play and be fed outside she seldom goes into it. It is difficult to tell her whereabouts by her tracks, as she backs out of the den unless disturbed and the tracks all appear as if made in entering.

Pups are wobbly on their legs when only 2 or 3 weeks old, so that if a pit 18 inches deep is dug just outside the mouth of the den they fall into it when they attempt to crawl out and are easily captured.

Smoking the young out of the den is not satisfactory as a rule but is sometimes successful. A good smoker can be made by soldering a half-inch hose coupling to the spout of a bellows-operated bee smoker and using sulphur and pieces of burlap as fuel. A piece of garden hose about 10 feet long can be attached and worked down into the den close to the pups, preferably behind them. The operator should stand back from the mouth of the den, armed with a good club to dispatch the pups as they come out. Throwing a handful of calcium cyanide into a den and stopping the hole with dirt is an effective method of fumigation, but this chemical must be handled with extreme care--as a rule by experienced workers only--as it is also dangerous to man.

A small dog trained to go into dens and bring out the whelps is useful. Such dogs are scarce, but with careful handling, the proper breed (wire-haired fox terrier or other terrier) soon learns and enjoys this work. Any dog, however, is a great help, as the parent coyotes become much alarmed if it nears their den and often set up a howl or series of barks and yelps, thus betraying the fact that a den is near. A dog that runs rabbits and hunts several hundred yards from the hunter is better than one that follows at the horse's heels. A small dog is preferable. Coyotes are likely to give wide berth to a large one, but will sometimes fight and chase a small dog, thus presenting a good target for shots, particularly when they go some distance from the den to fight the intruder. For several days after the den has been destroyed females that have lost their whelps frequently fight or chase any dog that comes near.

A 12-gage pump shotgun loaded with BB shot is good for hunting pups that have left the dens but are still together. They may be found lying under sagebrush or among the rocks and are more easily hit with a shotgun than with a rifle when they start to scatter.

Trapping and Shooting Adults

A hunter should leave as few traces as possible of his visit to a den. He should carry several traps, with which to try to capture the old coyotes. It is well to set a few traps "blind"--that is, without bait or scent--in the trails leading to the den, although some coyotes never return to a den after a hunter has visited it. A good set can be made by burying a dead whelp, leaving one foot exposed, and setting traps nearby. Holes that have been cleaned out for dens make excellent places for trap sets, particularly for catching females as they go in or out before whelping. In such a situation, two traps should be set blind, one on each side of the entrance or mound. Other favorable sites are the beds where old coyotes lie, presumably on guard. These beds may be close to the den or on a hillside or canyon rim half a mile away. Directions for trapping coyotes are given in Department of Agriculture Leaflet No. 59.

When coyotes are sighted near their dens they are usually quiet, and some good shots may be possible. A hunter should never dismount from his horse when a coyote stops to watch him, but should wait until it starts moving and then dismount on some high spot and be ready to shoot the instant it stops again. If it does not stop of its own accord, a low whistle will often bait it long enough to offer the hunter a good target.

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U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1937

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C.

Price 5 cents

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Transcriber Notes

Illustrations were moved so as to not split paragraphs.