Coyotes eating Watermelons?

Iowa Songdogger

New member
Has anybody heard of coyotes eating watermelons? I had a farmer ask my hunting partner and I if we would thin down the coyote population on his farm. He claims they destroyed 1 1/2 acres of his watermelon crop this year. I did see one of the melons and it did have tooth punctures all over it.

I will ablige his request of course. Just not sure what a watermelon in distress sounds like!
 
They will indeed eat watermelons. Something was eating mine and the only tracks around were coyote tracks. Also, something was getting into my sweet corn, and the only tracks left behind were coyote. I would think it would take quite a few coyotes to eat and acre and half of melons. Maybe they are vegetarian coyotes.
 
Coyote will gnaw a hole into watermelon and eat them out. Coyote damage on watermelon fields is definitely something heard of.

Watermelon in distress sounds alot like Rosie O'Donell.
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Tony
 
I agree with you kymailman98. That's alot of melons. The guy claimed they would just puncture the rine the first night and if he didn't pick it the next night the heart of the melon would be ate out. All he could find were coyote tracks around the melons.

Pretty smart coyotes here in Iowa I guess. Checking for ripeness!
 
They'll go after most of the melon family from what I've heard. Locally they seem to like pumpkins from the complaints I've heard from farmers. I guess a little dessert is in order after a fawn or rabbit dinner.

Tony, you'd have to use a tow strap for the lanyard on that Rosie call
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I watched a coyote one Winter day as it was hunting a picked corn field. Coyote stopped out in the field. Then started messing with an ear of corn on the ground. Coyote held that cob with its front paws. Then peeled down the husks & started eating the corn off of ther cobb. 1st & only time I've seen a coyote do that in many yrs of hunting.
Seen a Red Fox do that very thing only once as well.

Some say a coyote is unable to reason or think on it's own. Without ever having a positive or negative experience.

I don't believe that for one second.
 
coyotes can be very hard on a melon patch doing just as described. They can be hard on cantaloupes too, as well as coons and turtles and in recent years wild hogs.
 
I have thrown out quite a few watermelons by my trail cam and have yet to get a picture of a coyote messing with them. Usually the racoons. I do have a pic of a coyote running off with an ear of corn from dinner.
 
At last years World's, I was hunting up north and was not haveing a lot of success. I noticed in their scat, juniper berries. I have also noticed that during certain times of the year in AZ that their scat turns purple from them eating prickly pear.

Gotta give it to them, they are adaptable.
 
Generally, if a dog will eat it, so will a coyote. Just because coyotes tend to hunt and feed on carrion more then their domestic cousins, doesn't preclude them from sharing many of the same bad habits.
 
Here is one I shot a few year ago that had been working a watermelon patch. The rancher told me that had been working it, and I set up a few hundred yards off.

He came hard to lightning jack, and when I dropped him, he left a pile of watermelon poop.

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That's a heck of a picture Yellow Hammer. Yes they do eat watermelon. I have a dog that is mostly Coyote and she'll chew watermelon right down to the rind when I throw them out. And she isn't hungry, she's got food in front of her all the time.
 
They will eat anything that doesn't bite back and some things that do. Aparently, they will travel a good distance to feast on watermellon. A few years ago, I noticed undigested watermellon scat on a S. Tx. ranch which was typical mesquite brush.

Finally found a watermellon field adjacent to one of the outer ranch fences at least 3 or 4 miles from where I first discovered the watermellon scat and it became more plentiful as I neared the mellon patch.

Regards,
hm
 
I have a buddy that farms for Dole and he just opened up some of his land to me. Apparently, the coyotes are getting really bad and eating the melons.
 
Thanks for the info everybody. It's a little late in the year now for melons but I'm sure they are still around his farm. You can bet I will be making some stands on this property.
 
Originally Posted By: Iowa SongdoggerHas anybody heard of coyotes eating watermelons? I had a farmer ask my hunting partner and I if we would thin down the coyote population on his farm. He claims they destroyed 1 1/2 acres of his watermelon crop this year. I did see one of the melons and it did have tooth punctures all over it.

Years ago I read of a farmer complaining that coyotes could tell by smell which were the ripest watermelons and they'd eat them the night before the farmer planed to pick them.
 
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