Way to go Tejas! If it wasn’t for my funnel I think I could shoot my self out of yotes in a hurry and have a dead bait.
Another thing I have really noticed here is the relationship between crows and yotes. Many many times I’ve seen a bait in an excellent location not hit for days. When the crows start working it the yotes are there that night. I’m convinced that in our wide open terrain the yotes pay close attention to crows from their day bed. Then after dark they go see what all the commotion was about.
Also I rarely kill any possums and never any foxes on the bait. These varmints are my advertising. The yotes back track them right to the bait. I have personally shot three yotes chasing foxes over the years.
Yotes always give a guy something to learn. From what I’ve seen they will show you where they want to die. Just pay attention.

I've noticed the crow relationship with draw stations too. They have a certain caw they call around big food sources. Coyotes and foxes know what it means.

The Cara Cara is the dinner bell alarm here.

They fight a lot, and eat even more.

With this competition for carne comes a great deal of racket.

The coyote knows he better get there quick if he wants a piece of the pie.

This is a good example of what happens when food hits the ground during daylight hours.

The rib cage only had an hour or two soak time with the birds. This carcass was one of several.



The Cara Cara would eat the sinew strands if they could get them off.

I don’t see that kind of damage. They look intense.
If I get buzzards on mine they eat me out of house and home. But it usually takes a couple days. Used post holes one year because they were so bad.

I do get the laziest red tails in the county on my bait all winter. Lol

What does everyone prefer at a bait ? It’s deer for me , beaver may lay around for two weeks sometimes around here.

A friend usually uses smaller dead cows from producers than loose them. He does pick up road killed deer when he can and says the coyotes prefer the deer and usually hit it right away. Usually takes a good cold spell before they hit the beef.

Deer here.

Cattle work well, but they rot quickly if you don’t zip them open so the scavengers can get at the goods.

You have to be on a dead cow quick around here, just like the Cara Cara and coyote.

The big bait has great drawing potential, but the window of opportunity is very narrow.


On this particular night, Old Tripod (pg. 18), defended the top spot for eight hours straight before heading home at six am.

The six remaining adults were on the heavy side, but they couldn’t match the fight Old T could dish out.



Around fifteen of his competitors met their fate here in just a matter of days.

Great pic Tejas! Looks to a winter time pic with the heavier fur on those ‘yotes.

Awesome pic Tejas.

Thanks fellas.

MChewk , that photo was taken in late March.

Fortunately, we don’t get that nasty looking mange or lice too often here.

I’ve often heard trappers say they're not catching because Wile E. is full from all the gut piles and/or wounded deer left by hunters during season.

After watching them in the chow line over and over again, I don’t believe that a full belly is to blame for lack of interest in most cases.

It may even prove to be beneficial if your location has more meat hit the ground than the other surrounding farms or ranches in the area.

Most adult coyotes I’ve seen won’t think twice about going back for a second or third helping if it's available.



Folks might keep that in mind when hunting season rolls around this year.

Geez, that coyote looks like it's about ready to burst!

Great stuff.

Mac

I used to trap a dead pit for hogs . The fact that I’ve caught many coyotes over the years that we’re packing a lunch when I caught them says they don’t have to be hungry to get they’re attention.

Tejas, do you think that the coyotes that are going back for a third helping are actually eating that much or caching some of it?

I’m assuming regular pigs not feral if that makes sense? Just curious cause our coyotes won’t touch feral hogs.

It’s amazing the amount of meat 4 or 5 yotes can pack off in one night. But I don’t see that behavior on placed baits very often at all. The times I’ve seen massive amounts of damage such as an entire deer eaten in one night has always been on wounded or unrecovered deer. Don’t know if this is a competition thing between yotes or just because it’s fresh. They have to be eating and then going and burying it I would think. Twice I’ve seen deer that were wounded and left till morning for recovery reduced to a skeleton by dawn.
I’ve also caught a few yotes that brought snacks with them to the set. This one had his lucky rabbits head with him. Also had one with a fist size piece of deer once.