Trapped coyotes observation

Although i don't trap coyotes a lot i have noticed something. If they are basically laid down and looking at you they are mostly female. If they are up and ready for a fight they tend to mostly be males. Anyone else notice this ?

You mean like this? Too many years ago, I don't remember the sex....

Very few of my coyotes are up and ready for a fight. Most try to get away a little then just lay down like those in pick. Rarely do I get an aggressive on.

I had one the other day that was a talker. He was an older small male. Most of mine are pretty shy but you get the occasional feisty one

The more feisty ones for me seem to be the younger ones.

Nastiest coyote I ever caught was a small female that was blind in one eye. Growling, snarling, lunging at me, nasty lil SOB



In fact the nastiest fox I ever caught was also a female, she had a big long scar across her muzzle all the way up to her eye.

Meanest coyote I ever saw was a midget. Seriously. A dwarf coyote. It was full grown and not much bigger than a gray fox. It's like his body was all out of proportion. Short stubby legs, broad chest, small head. Real strange looking. Boy howdy was that thing mean! Lunging at you, snarling, just wanting to eat you alive. I figure he had to be that mean to survive in the wild.

My meanest coyote was a scar faced old male. Personally I think it has to do with past experiences and or if they are top of the pecking order vs male/female.

I wonder if those animals that have scars, deformities, or mutations have a harder life and are even shunned or attacked by others of their species.

Yes I have had both but don't remember if they were male or female.

The old mature males and females are the worst about attacking you. Young of the year, not so much, but you can never draw a line and say that this is positively the way it is. They all have a personality, just like humans and all critters.

I don’t think I’ve ever had another coyote that wanted to eat me as bad as this old round toothed dude . Caught him on a flat set with urine that had only been freshened once in a month . I was not able to get that dispatch tool of Lee’s over his head as my nose tapping tool was not long enough, lol .

I have noticed some were much more aggressive than others . Most just lay down and submit. One point of interest, I have read where reputable trappers have said that only males will bark or howl and that is absolutely not true.

Imo adult females are the worst year around adult males Feb to May the rest are pretty docile,,, I have put a dog collar on one ,,,, I turned loose in the spring for fun.

95% of my coyotes are docile. Of course on the initial drive up they all jump up and try and get away. They quickly realize that ain’t happening and just lay there and accept their fate, so much so that my wife feels sorry for them.
Now Greys and Bobcats are an entirely different story. They want to KILL you!

No usually a female is the most aggressive, if they lay there and glare at you and they are large, they are probably the dominant ones

The more vocal ones I’ve caught seem to be mostly males but have had a few females bark and howl at me too.
I can only remember a couple that were on “my end of the chain” when I walked up and both of those were big Wolfy looking males and neither seemed to show fear or submission.

One of those times I had a female in one set nearby and she was cowering, all bit to (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) and large chunks taken out of her hind end. He was in other set, one of those bigger Wolfy looking males and he was on my end of the chain and growling and barking at me the whole time I walked up to him. Got him in a post set and her in a dirt hole. Was one of those times I was glad to have good welded chain and a good trap on him. He was dispatched first of course. The Sets were about 30 paces apart. I’ll never know for sure but I believe he attacked her when she was already in the trap and caught, she was helpless at that point, then he got caught when he tried to mark the post set nearby. Like I said I don’t know for sure but that made most sense to me.

I think animals are a lot like humans sometimes you get a few that just aren’t “wired correctly” like the rest of the group and turn out to be just jerks and show they are true predators.

Jim