Unfortunately I guess I score deer much better than I catch yotes…,…

Tony, in the end it doesn't matter whether we hit or miss.
Either way we have a heck of a lot of fun doing it.

This female wasn’t much to look at but she sure had some game.

She hit the same gang set three days in a row.

She was caught on day four at the only set out of the group that had yet to make a catch.

That was probably not a coincidence.

This coyote had a creepy stare that was hard to ignore.




She found out that Flat Sets were hard to ignore as well.

Yes sir! I sure ain’t paying bills doing it up here in NY but having a good time and taking out some predators.

Yep, she looks like she is really hating you and that flat set right there!

How old do you think she was James?
Canines still look good

"Wise for her years" I would think.

I’m interested to know what you base that conclusion on about previous visits. Not being smartlecky in my question, I truly want to know why you think that.

Good question bogio!

In this case, I base my conclusion on daily recon combined with limited coyote numbers.

After snagging quite a few coyotes and killing most in the immediate area, the coyote traffic slows to a trickle.
This happens because new coyotes have to fill in the void from further and further out.
At a certain point, I get a steady string of singles in most cases.

I closely monitor both set and site traffic every single day. This insures my recon is only a few hours old, not days.

When Gumbo the Catahoula puts his nose to the wind, no coyote is safe. He trails and marks over Wile E. like he stole his last fresh deer carcass.

If one set of tracks enters ground zero and one exits leaving several worked sets in their wake, I know it is the same coyote.

When entry & exit paths match along with the same brace of sets being hit on consecutive nights in a row the odds are more than good it's the same coyote.

When you make the catch and the location suddenly turns into a ghost own overnight that is all the proof I need to close the case.

On this particular occasion, the gang set went quiet for four days straight following the catch above.

You bet she’s young. I would guess around two years give or take.
They don’t have to be a senior to be savvy. They just have to be around a good instructor.

I’ve heard it said that a coyote that works a set is not educated.
I have not found that to be the case. Certain 4-5 year old females are notorious for repeated mayhem. That is not blind luck.
A nanny that runs with an“A” game female will most likely adopt & pass along that behavior if she survives the early years.

“This coyote had a creepy stare that was hard to ignore.”

Man you can just tell this girl has bad intentions! Look at those eyes and look! Great work James!

Thank you for that response.

Makes realistic and logical sense.

Brian

I’d like to revisit this post referencing the importance of the ditch coming in. Is it the travel way out from heavy cover/bedding area? Maybe a low area offering concealment when crossing from one area to another?

You are exactly right bogio!

It leads to a very secluded drainage bordered by extremely dense brush and prickly pear.
It is a wall of pain consisting of virtually every thorn, sticker, and needle known to mankind.
Nobody in their right mind wants to go in there unless a wounded deer is involved.

Coyotes traditionally bed there to escape the high daytime temps and human interaction.
This general location is also a safe haven where coyotes like to hold up when the pressure is cranked to ten.
Wile E. is a master at finding little secluded pockets where there is no intrusion.
Pinpointing those isolated spots while avoiding encroachment can pay big dividends.

You bet she’s young BT. I would guess around two years give or take.
They don’t have to be a senior to be savvy. They just have to be around a good instructor.

Great info, Tejas on how to narrow down if it's the same coyote that's been visiting. That's very informative, thanks.

You're welcome Wild!

It requires a little more work, but I find it well worth the effort.

There is knowledge to be had for those that take the time to look.

The written record is key to putting those pieces together.

Here is a question for the Coyote Killers.

Has anyone noticed that catches tend to come in certain groupings?
Do you see trends or parings when making catches at the same location?

I noticed early on a definite link between adult females and jips.

Below I took a five-night catch sample to illustrate the adult & sub-adult female correlation.


A five-night run produced fourteen coyotes at a single location.

Out of the fourteen coyotes caught, ten were females.

Of the ten females, five were adults and five were younger individuals.

One night alone produced three adult females and one yearling.

Of those ten females, three adult/yearling pairs were caught together on three of the five nights.