Patterning coyotes, really?

kirby

New member
Over the yrs of my observations. I've tried "patterning" the habits of the local coyotes in my hunt areas. At one time I actually thought I was onto something & started to figure? them out.

Such as, predicting their movement from day to day. This was during a wk long time span of hunting/observing daily. These observations were done on a pr of local coyotes. During that time, they traveled/hunted almost the same exact route daily. Well for three days in a row anyway.

The fourth day in a row. They completely changed their hunt/travel pattern. That day it dawned on me, my quest to understand them was very limited. Et not remotely accurate. Randomly accurate, maybe? if I were to grasp for a straw.

In the medical field. There is a medical term used when referring about a human heart rythm. Regularly Irregular. Seems to fit coyote patterns.

I've had other observations that were quite similar in nature. When observing the daily habits of the local coyotes. There was this one adult pr. That when the wind was a stout NorWester. I would most often see them bed on a dip on a high hillside. Out a little past the 1/2 mile fenceline. They had a high wide panoramic view of [atleast] 180 degrees.

I seen them in that spot many times, during a couple yrs time span. But I always passed on them. As I was more interested in observing/understanding rather than killing. I eventually killed the male[guess I can only take so much], which was an old coyote with worn nub teeth.


Another local pair on another farm. That farmer would alternate his crops every few yrs on an 80 acre field. Alternate from corn to beans. When the field was in corn, after harvest. He would make large round bales from the stalks & chaff.

Well, that same field whenever the wind was from a Northerly direction any given day. Et the large bales were still on the field. I would see atleast one coyote if not two, hunting or bedded down out by a bale.

When the bales were removed from the field & stored up by the farm buildings. Rarely would I see a coyote on that field. Regularly Irregular.

A small pattern if you will. When a wind is from a certain direction. Adult local coyotes tend to bed in specific areas, rather than random areas. No doubt coyotes have varied bedding areas. I believe one factor in where they bed. Has to do with wind direction. Seems to me anyway, one factor of local coyote behavior. Is based upon wind direction along with terrain features. Such as terrain that offers a view & either blocks the wind or assists in blocking the wind from upon their body.


There was another local pr. That often would bed on a patch of pasture land. I seen them numerous times most often alone, but sometimes pr'd up. They would lay in almost the same exact spot on different days, dependant upon the same wind direction.
Like the old male I remarked above previously. This other pr would also bed within mere feet[or inches] of the same exact spot. When they chose to bed in that small focal area.

Another observation I've seen many times. Is a coyote will choose to hunt & bed on a field that offers a wind break. Here in central Iowa. That is a harvested corn field. I believe one factor might be. That a hilly picked corn field, offers them a good panoramic view. As well as a good prey area to hunt. Along with offering that coyote a wind break area.
 
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I believe that coyotes are far too smart to hunt the same pattern every day or night. They know that they would soon make a section void of what they need/want. In areas here in Kentucky, farmers on connecting roads all think they are loaded down with coyotes, but what is really happening is a family group is moving from section to section within ther territory.
 
I believe coyotes do/[or can have] a degree of intelligence, although primative in nature, Al.

I believe coyotes will repeatidly hunt an area until & after it is/ or may be void of any prey, including insects, fruits & or vegetation, ect.

I've seen crop fields in Winter for example after a snow. No sign of small vermin. Then a few days later during a warming trend, all kinds of sign. A coyote wouldn't know until it has hunted that area that day.

Brutual Winter days up here, the locals still hunt the same land. Slim pickens after a blizzard, often no sign of life anywhere. Yet they still hunt that land.

As for patterning. The locals tend to mainly hang on or near their core area. Core area, meaning their old den site area. Whether it is active or not. It is a secure area to them.

Their core area is most often located in a small stand of trees around here. As the terrain is mostly open rolling hilled cropland. Coyotes up here, prefer cover over open areas.
 
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Around here where I am from I can tell you about what times of day that these coyotes are on the move by the times on my trail cameras.I also know that most of these coyotes are not the same ones because of the times on my trail cameras.
I have been observing these areas for three years now with my 6 trail cameras and I can honestly say there are plenty of coyotes.I move these cameras constantly and have hundreds of photos of coyotes from all year round.I also can say that I have killed some of them that I have on camera.All the coyotes that I have taken has been in the day time.We can hunt at night here but I have my best of times during day light.
 
good stuff Kirby. can't say that i've noticed your observations though
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cuz when i see a coyote, i kill it.. no time to pattern them
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I believe that coyotes that interact with people a lot tend to learn a lot from that contact, and are much smarter. You know how smart domesic dogs can get, but coyotes are smarter. I don't know if you call it primitive or not. It is canine intelligence, some in a particular group's breeding, some learned by experience, but they are sharp rascals around this neck of the woods.
 
We probably are, kirby. I do believe that coyotes and their behavior varies a good deal from one part of the country to another. I hear people describe what coyotes do in their area, and it is completely different from down my way. The kind of layout of the land, the prey species available there, and all that sort of thing changes what they have to do to make a living.
 
No doubt Al, coyotes may act or behave different in differing regions. However, I believe strongly that some inherent behaviors are the same/similar no matter where.
 
coyotes are coyotes everywhere. smart/cunning. however the coyotes where i live are WAY more in tuned to their surroundings that where i hunt out west
 
I am a strong believer in genetics, so the smarter the coyotes are in an area, the more apt their offspring are to be intelligent. They seem to be endowed with selectivity and their offspring tend to have a lot of their tendencies. There is no animal trainer out there to teach them, but still they learn. A lot of guys don't believe their parents teach them anything, but I think they teach them most of what they know. Interaction with humans and other animals teach them some more.

There are two roads that form a "L", total length about 2 miles, with a swift, wide creek bordering the entire area. The farmers on one side of that road swear they haven't had any instances of coyotes killing calves, but the other side of the road doesn't have a farm who hasn't suffered depredation to coyotes. Several years ago, after a lot of effort, I killed the alpha male and female who were directly responsible for the calf killing strain. The female was heavy with pups when I killed her. There has been a noted decrease in the number of calves killed on those adjoining farms.
 
Yeah Al, I have quite afew beliefs about coyotes as well. Another member & I awhile back discussed/disagreed how coyotes learn, their behaviors, ect.

It was brought up, coyotes CAN NOT REASON. Obviously I disagree. Because it would be impossible[IMO] otherwise, for a coyote to figure something out. Only based upon positive vs negative enforcement. Which does not include all possible scenario's a coyote may encounter in it's life.

I seen something last Winter I never had noticed before. Found 3 fresh tracks coming out of a field. They then traveled neandering down the middle of the gravel road early one am. I suspected a pr with a yearling? Around 3/8 mile down the road. Then the tracks stopped & veered to the right to go into another field.

The 3-tracks turned into 2-tracks. I didn't understand intially, abit confusing. Well, what happened was. One coyote was "dog walking" most of the way. Which made it's single track appear to be 2 coyote tracks. I had to laugh at myself.
 
Here in central Iowa. The local pr's of coyotes I have observed & I.D'd. Their territories were roughly 1.5+ miles wide x 5+ miles long. Not exact demensions but averaged out.
Territory boundries typically being longer, than they are wide. Shaped irregular.

I estimated their territories/[core area, bedding areas & hunt areas] through observations over many days & consecative seasons. Open terrain I hunt allows me to see 90+%[est] of all land from various angles.

Core/den areas are not always in the central area of a territory. One pr of coyotes, their den area was near the fringe area of another pr of neighboring coyotes territory. I've only seen them tresspass a handfull of times during daylight hrs.

Sometimes a local coyote will bed down out on it's territory during a Winter storm. Rather than traveling back to it's core area prior to a Winter snow storm[blizzard]. I'm convinced when they do this. They have finished up their hunting in the early am prior to Sunrise.

Otherwise, I've seen them heading back towards their core area in the Sunlight am. Some, will be heading towards a prefered bedding area on their territory. Or already bedded there when I spot them in the early am.

"Most" local coyotes I've ever shot at & missed. Will haul hiney towards their core area. Which IMO, is considered a safe area for them.

 
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I figured they have to hunt a different place every day or two. If the favorite bedding place is near then they probably use it if not disturbed. It seems they hang in a favorite area a day or two then go to other or outer areas of the territory for a day or more.
 
Yeah Tac, I've seen the same here. Any day I go out looking for one bedded. I focus on wind direction as to where I spend most of my time scanning the hills.

As when the wind is from a specific direction.
Is when I expect & see the locals bedded down on some of their prefered bedding areas.

Early am right around Sunrise & a few hrs later. Are the best times to see them heading for a bedding spot. Or else they are already there when I spot them.

I've remarked about this many times. Coyotes in central Iowa will choose a bedding area IN cover 9:1 over a bedding spot out on the open harvested crop foot hills.

This 9:1 scenario is based upon an average of hunting daily for days in a row. I refer to the coyotes I do see bedded out on the open hills & draws. As the 10%'ers.

Not many yrs ago a family group's core area. Was in a thin timber strip adjacent to a rail line. This timber strip has a thick briar patch that runs lengthwise in the middle of a sunken slough in that timber strip.

When the wind was from a Southerly direction. I expected to see one or two. Bedded down on the Northern edge/[down-wind] of that timber strip. I spot/stalked & killed 3 coyotes on different days on the Northern edge. Most days I wouldn't see them. Some days I would. The timber strip edge is +/- 600yrds from the gravel road.

Rarely does a coyote bed down anywhere. Where that coyote doesn't have a view to it's cross-wind & down-wind areas.
 
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That's interesting, Kirby. I haven't done a lot of that kind of research in Kentucky. The ones I have seen bed down seem to be bedding so they can watch where they can't smell, and smell where they can't watch, much like deer do.
 
Al, my hunt terrain is open rolling hilled cropland. On 1-square mile sections, that are surrounded by gravel roads.

After harvest time there isn't much terrain I can put my eye on. As I can drive around the sections & view back into the foothills from many angles. I'd est I can't see maybe 10% or less, of any one mile section.

That estimated 10% hidden areas are either very deep hidden draws or foothill valleys & or a small timber patch. Some timber patches are laiden with sparse timber. Which allows me to see into them quite well. Especially with my spotter scope on Winter snow.

When I hunt, I don't miss much of what is out there any day.

Coyotes & Red Fox, 99.9% of the time. Bed on the down-wind side of structure. With a view to their cross-wind & down-wind areas. Unless they happen to be on "flat-land" They aren't able to see to their up-wind area.

Doesn't matter though, they can scent & hear to their up-wind. Thus they are "covered" 360 degrees. It is all about the wind & terrain features. As they use them constantly to block the wind from their body.

Knowing that, that is my main focus when I'm hunting.

BTW, I agree deer do the exact same thing.
 
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Couple terrain pics. Run...coyote...run
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Pr of coyotes out around 700yrds. [left to right]Fenceline near the top of the page is the 1/2 mile. Male digging a den hole.
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Female from the pr above laying by the entrance hole. Seen her laying there on/off for around a month. Then they suddenly abandoned it.
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BTW, wind both days was blowing right to left. Fenceline assisted in cutting the wind from their body, worth noting. Down-wind, down-wind, down-wind.
 
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Kirby, looking at a picture can be somewhat deceiving as compared to actually being out there. The fencerow you are showing and the den site make a spot they can lay down, "Splitting" the difference so to speak and see a big percentage of the country and use the wind to protect the side they aren't watching. Naturally if you know the country as well as you do, and were attempting to catch them there without them knowing you are around, you'd use the land to your advantage to get within rifle range. If the wind was blowing right to left, I'd bet they paid close attention to the knob area up to the left as far as watching goes, making it hard for you to slip in with the wind in your face without them seeing you. They are seriously slick about using the lay of the land and the wind to their advantage.
 
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