Are coyotes affecting local fawn recruitment?

Amid reports of coyotes lurking throughout every county and even on the outskirts of our towns, hunters in Ohio and throughout the Midwest have seen deer populations decline over the past several years.Wildlife managers have been forced to reduce antlerless deer harvest here and elsewhere.Over the past 100 years, the Eastern coyote — a unique genetic mix of 90 percent coyote, 10 percent wolf and a little sprinkling of dog DNA — has greatly expanded into the eastern U.S. and Canada. Some researchers have noted that coyote range expansion followed the re-establishment of deer populations in the respective states and provinces.Lately, some sportsmen are wondering if the population increases of coyotes have begun to affect fawn recruitment. With the recent popularity of trail cameras, images of coyotes carrying fawns provide indisputable proof that they take advantage of their availability while most abundant in June, July and August.Another viral video showed an apparently healthy buck being hamstrung and eventually killed during the winter by a small group of coyotes.Unfortunately, there are only a few scientific studies that have been completed on the subject. However, in some states with a longer history with robust coyote populations, their poor fawn recruitment may foretell some future outcomes here.In South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Texas there have been controlled studies by their game departments using radio-collared fawns showing mortality rates as high as 79 percent.In a South Carolina study area, coyotes were aggressively removed for three years by trappers. Survival rates of fawns jumped from 22.8 percent before coyote control to 51.3 percent the first year, back down to 20.2 percent the second year and again up to 43.1 percent the third year.However, Mother Nature abhors a vacuum, and surrounding coyotes moved in after the coyote removal effort ended. By the next year, coyote populations had recovered to the pre-control numbers.Compensatory reproduction results when coyote densities are low and prey levels are high. They breed younger, as yearlings and litter size and pup survival rates increase.Coyote control was most effective in the winter by limiting the number of surviving pairs available to repopulate the area that following spring. However, they concluded that coyote control was ineffective in the long run and expensive to maintain.The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources predicts that coyotes will have a greater effect on deer populations in the higher elevations, where deer densities are lower than what is found in the rest of the state.A report in 2014 led by Penn State University concluded that when coyotes are present, no additional management is necessary if deer are at target levels. However, as deer populations drop below target levels, doe tag numbers may need to be reduced or eliminated to accommodate the combination of coyote predation and hunting.In Southeastern states, wherever fawn recruitment was under 25 percent, deer populations dropped even in the absence of antlerless harvest.The Ohio Division of Wildlife has not presented any results from formal studies on the subject yet. An Ohio State University study done several years ago showed deer made up as much as 22 percent of coyote diets, but could not reveal the source of the prey, which could have included road killed animals.An Illinois Natural History Survey study found that coyotes killed 20-to-80 percent of the fawns at different study sites near Chicago.Clearly, as coyote populations continue to grow and hunt fawns all spring and summer, we can expect to have fewer deer. Hunters need to try harder to eradicate enough coyotes to keep up with their population growth.Of course, the anti-hunting crowd prefers to let nature take its course and is content to allow the coyotes to be left alone — until they begin eating their pet cats or attacking their dogs.Everyone can help by insisting on real coyote fur, instead of fossil fuel-based, acrylic faux fur, which are both offered as trim on winter garments.Even if hunters cannot reduce coyote populations over the long run, it trains them to avoid interactions with people. This behavior is important to maintain, to further reduce the already rare chance of an attack.Sportsmen can learn some coyote hunting and trapping skills at the ODNR, Division of Wildlife District 2 office 952 Lima Ave. in Findlay from 6-8:30 p.m on Jan. 31.They will be discussing coyote life history; calling set-ups; proper guns and ammunition; trapping techniques; and laws regarding their pursuit and harvest. Pre-registration information can be obtained by calling 419-424-5000 — and is required by Jan. 27.