Post by bluedot on Aug 16, 2019 11:38:13 GMT -5
I received an e-mail from the Wi. DNR about their deer survey that they did in the southern part of the state and I asked them if they did one in the Northern part of the state. They did not but sent me a link to one the state of Mi. did in the UP, which is within walking distance of where we hunt. While the study was done on the Eastern side of the UP, I still think the facts are amazing.
Cliff notes:
Coyotes kill 3x as many does as hunters do. 36% vs. 12%. Wolves kill 16% vs hunters 12%.
Fawn mortality is just as surprising (to me) but the numbers are a bit different. I'm assuming they are considering deer under a year old as "fawns" because they have hunter harvest listed as 14%, and that probably is higher than the doe harvest because of the youth season and liberty season which starts the middle and end of September. Coyote kill is just slightly less than does at 31%, but Bobcat kills increase to 16%.
Those numbers to me mean that controlling coyote population is vital to the size of the deer herd. I have heard Dr. James C. Kroll say that numerous times both in person and on the internet, and I have heard of a trail cam put on a coyote den here in Indiana that showed Mom & Dad bringing (IIRC) 80+ fawns back for the pups before they all left the den.
Coyotes kill 3x as many does as hunters do. 36% vs. 12%. Wolves kill 16% vs hunters 12%.
Fawn mortality is just as surprising (to me) but the numbers are a bit different. I'm assuming they are considering deer under a year old as "fawns" because they have hunter harvest listed as 14%, and that probably is higher than the doe harvest because of the youth season and liberty season which starts the middle and end of September. Coyote kill is just slightly less than does at 31%, but Bobcat kills increase to 16%.
Those numbers to me mean that controlling coyote population is vital to the size of the deer herd. I have heard Dr. James C. Kroll say that numerous times both in person and on the internet, and I have heard of a trail cam put on a coyote den here in Indiana that showed Mom & Dad bringing (IIRC) 80+ fawns back for the pups before they all left the den.
I am making it a goal this year to start trapping coyotes on the properties that I hunt. I think that will also help the turkey population too. In addition, the coyote traps should catch any other canines that are out running around without supervision, which I've seen in previous years.