Coyotes getting established

We’ve enjoyed many years of no coyotes to contend with. Great red fox populations made it easy for a fox trapper to really stack some numbers. I’m afraid these guys are here to stay. About 6-7 years ago , there were sightings with very few killed. Every year the sightings grew, and the deer hunters started to kill one here and one there. Now , the butt sniffers are becoming more and more prevalent, and the surprise of hearing “I saw a coyote!” is over. Take it or leave it, they are here to stay, and our ecosystem will adjust to their presence.
Two weeks ago I put this deer camera out , on the farm I grew up on. Trapped this ground since I was 9 years old, where I caught a pile of red fox. Few years ago (25 years later) I caught a coyote in a fox trap, and it was a surprise. When I pulled the card out of the camera yesterday, this is what I got. About every other day these guys show up, one pic has 5 in it. Guess it’s time to swap out for double stake swivels , beef up my fox trapping gear to accommodate the coyote.

Welcome to Wisconsin 40 years ago.

Welcome to Wisconsin 40 years ago.

Yes, same thing happened here as well. Sorry about the luck. On the other hand, that is a nice photo.

Kill em all!

Granted that I don't get out as much as I used to, but nowadays I see more red foxes in town than I do when I'm out hunting.

Same here in 1970 Illinois say bye bye to the red fox

I saw my first Ohio coyote in 1984 in the Springdale suburb of Cincinnati. It was in the woods across the street from my parents house. It was sitting looking through a fence, with its head on its paws. I though it was a rabbit, from a distance, until it stood up. I followed it down the path for about 200 yards, until it kicked it into high gear. It had little fear of me. It ran down towards a nursing home. We later found out the residents of the nursing home were feeding large numbers of coyotes. The residents called them wolves. 20 plus coyotes would come at a time for the residents to feed them their scraps from dinner. They would take food from their hands. Several years later, the city started trapping coyotes, because they were killing lots of dogs and cats. They caught 37 at the nursing home in 2 weeks and 68 total out of the woods.

All the red fox, which were previously common too see in yards and the woods disappeared.

The last few years I have been seeing a lot more red fox again. I think the remnants finally adapted to predation by coyotes. Coyotes still catch some of them. A few years ago, I posted a picture of a male red fox, the coyotes caught and partially ate on my farm. An old very large, stinky male fox and a small adult female fox, both disappeared within a week or so of that. Before that I would see them nearly daily. The old male would come within a few feet of me to eat eggs at my egg dump. The other two would get within about 15'. The pair denned for at least a few weeks a year on the bank below my barn. Their pups were fun to watch.

I've got some new fox on my farm now. They have been stashing a lot of eggs. They are still skittish of me.

Keith

And those coyotes are healthy. Probably got bellies full of red fox.

Cherish the photos and experiences of running those fox lines and seeing reds bouncing in your sets. Those days are, or soon will be, over. They’ll come back slightly but never recover to pre coyote levels.

If you don't mind sharing, what county on the Shore?

Grew up my entire life in SWGA. Dabbled in trapping as a very young kid in 1980 with a buddy of mine. Along with coons, red fox were our main catch, along with a few cats. For a few years every winter two kids were bringing home more than their dads selling green furs every other weekend. Reds were literally everywhere with an occasional Grey.
I remember our first coyote. We were confused at first thinking it was a German Shepherd, but then realized we’d caught a coyote, an animal we thought of as a Western animal. There was no value for coyotes down here so we released it not knowing any better.
Now 40+ years later if we see a Red it’s talked about. My son and I both let everyone know any Red caught will be released. Caught 3 over the last 6-7 years.
Enjoy your fox while you still have them, I have a feeling their days are numbered for you now.

Sorry to hear it. Like others have said, say goodbye to your red fox. The county that I live in has one of the highest coyote populations in the state. And the lack of red fox to prove it.

We have both red fox and coyote. The grey fox are in decline. No expert on the subject though.

All of them.

They will take a toll on your red fox as Kieth said.

Osky

Truth

There some on my land that Sing me asleep..

Wanna Be. Same think at home. Late 80s coyote just showed up. Caught 33 my first year at 15. Then got mobile at 16. I caught like 120 plus coyotes that year. Then 200 a year on coyotes then by my 20s its 300 a year on coyotes NEVER see a red fox. Even the grey are almost gone in Alabama. In central west texas on 107000 acres we have trapped for 22 months. And removed between 350-400 coyotes so far. But. They still keep coming and always will. Place is ALWAYS coyote trackless But 1 week you may catch 2 coyotes in snares. Then weeks latter 1 more. Or 1 week you will have a run. And catch 5 or 6 in snares. Heck Will all the sheep. Coyotes just keep coming from far and wide

Your place John? I be heard them here behind and west of my place. And caught a couple for Dale in Stockton. Routinely hear them down there. They’re here.

We’ve had coyotes here forever. Still have healthy populations of grey fox, kit fox, and red fox. We don’t have the population density of either that you guys back east do, simply because the desert just doesn’t have the resources to sustain high populations like some of the habitat you guys in the east enjoy, and that may be why the coyotes haven’t decimated the fox.

I was wondering how long it would take for you guys to get the coyotes (and lose your fox).

It happened here in 1986-87. Fox galore to none in a years timeframe, once the coyotes took hold. They take over quickly and soon your fox will be a distant memory (unfortunately). 35 years later and we are JUST seeing some (a small percentage of what we had) fox coming back in towns.

Pro tip: When you catch a fox now, you are going to find them torn in twos or threes if the coyotes beat you to them in the morning. Stuff a chunk of that fox tail or hide down the hole and there will most likely be a coyote there the next morning. They always come back to that fox kill...and it's most often that same night.

Yep, time to retool your fox equipment. Go to #3s....not 1.75s or #2s. Took me about a decade to figure that one out. I'm a slow learner.

We have no reds or greys In my area of WI. Don't know If the coyotes are completely to blame but they are a big part of the problem.

We even have some on Long Island now, took awhile but somehow they made it... Not a lot yet but that'll change.

Caught my 1st last year... next farm over had 2 on a cam... being hearing about them around here for years, seeing is believing.
BTW... killed a 43" copperhead a few days ago, only the 2nd one I've ever seen in DE, and the 1st was 40+ years ago... been told that's pretty much as big as they get.

Your ecosystem is unbalanced.
You likely have no wolves,so the coyotes will over run and red fox will be the losers.
With wolves in the ecosystem coyotes will not have a chance to overpopulate,and the red fox do very well following the wolves around.Wolves are a big benefit to all the smaller carnivores especially in late winter.
However,the wolves need to be managed by the trappers or the boom and bust will be excessive.
Wolves and beaver are the keystone species.
Pay attention to the management of those two species on your lines and everything else will thrive in optimum harvestable numbers.
Looking at your location,your habitat is likely too fragmented to be able to sustain a minimal wolf population so you will have to live with what is left there.

find some deer that have been run over on the road if you are allowed to gather up one or two of them, start a gut pile, bait station or whatever its called up that way. Set out a few trail cams on video mode and see where they are coming from. make sets with a Good quality gland lure and also Jamesons Cultered egg bait or one similar. set 6-7 traps and catch the entire lot of them butt sniffers. If you know where some persimmons are that are near getting ripe or have some persimmon preserves, thats what I would use for bait.

Rob/Neal and Mud, this is Worcester County. Between Public Landing and 113. This is the most concentrated area I’ve seen them so far

Wolves in Maryland...that'll balance that ecosystem....

Boco, very interesting thanks for the input. We have no wolves and a small beaver population. Beaver are in pockets, not well spread in my area. Otter are more abundant than beaver, on the rivers/bays/ponds that I trap ( can’t speak for the rest of the Shore trappers ).

Coop, that’s a big copperhead! Glad you saw him first.

Sheepdog I might do that. I will kill every coyote that I get a chance to.

Calvin, why the number 3 rather than a #2 for an all around coyote/fox trap ? Just curious to your opinion.

Thanks