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Author
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Topic: drought and predator numbers.
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6mm284
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1129
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posted October 23, 2007 04:19 AM
Is any one else finding the desert in severe drought to be very short of wildlife of any type. Nevada desert seems to be extremely short of rabbits,mice,chukars etc and very short of coyotes ,coyotes sign and extremely lack of call response as opposed to the past years.What might be going on. I have a hard time believing dryness in an already dry environment would have such a depressing effect.While predator numbers are proportionate to prey base, it just seems the predator numbers fell disproportionately. ??????????????/
Posts: 198 | From: N46 06 E91 11 | Registered: Feb 2007
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DAA
Utah/Promoted WESTERN REGIONAL Hunt Director
Member # 11
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posted October 23, 2007 04:42 AM
What I am finding are large stretches with less wildlife than I've seen in those areas for a few years. Typical drought stuff. But then too, huge areas that were good coyote hunting for the last however many years, that are like moonscape now, after the fires this summer.
But what I've also found (as much by luck as anything else), are a couple pockets where apparently all the coyotes missing from the larger surrounding area have concentrated for the winter. Looks to me like they'll run out of rabbits and mice before spring. But the calling has been great in these little spots (so far...).
I was talking to a guy that is involved in air gunning near some of my hunting areas. They did some gunning this summer, to shoot areas near some of the large fires. The DWR was wanting to try and mitigate the potential damage caused by the fires for the deer, antelope and game birds. By doing some "emergency" predator control in the areas where the animals had been displaced to by the fires. Anyway... They have to keep accurate records of this stuff, so it's not like he was just pulling numbers out of his ass (and I later confirmed his numbers by obtaining a copy of the official report). He told me that they found coyotes bunched up in very small areas where they were taking total advantage of the displaced game animals. Said that they killed over 500 coyotes, in 10 days of shooting, but that most of the 500 were killed in three separate but very small little pockets. Said they would fly one of these pockets one day and kill a bunch of coyotes, then come back to the exact same spot a few days later and it would be like they had never flown it so they would kill a bunch more.
So, I'm thinking I might have stumbled accross something similar, on a smaller scale, in that I've had a couple really good calling days recently, but only after covering a lot of unproductive ground and then finding the coyotes kind of bunched up, it seemed like.
Then again, I honestly don't know a dang thing about this, and might be completely wrong. After all, I just go out there and drive around calling where it looks good, and hope to get lucky, and sometimes do.
- DAA
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"Oh yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom, but they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." -- George Hanson, Easy Rider, 1969.
Rocky Mountain Varmint Hunter
Posts: 2676 | From: Salt Lake City, UT | Registered: Jan 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted October 23, 2007 07:25 AM
An Az G&F spokesman stated on TV last month that because of 13 years of drought in Az. there are now more coyotes in urban and suburban areas than in the desert.
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Lonny
PANTS ON THE GROUND
Member # 19
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posted October 23, 2007 08:06 AM
Pretty much the same story here. Gamebirds, mice, voles, etc... seem to be way down due to the driest year I've encountered in my lifetime. We are right at half the normal amount of moisture this year and until recently, we had almost no rain since mid-May. For whatever reason, our population of ground squirrels has been on the slide for the past 15 years. Places that used to provide hours of shooting are now barren. That really sucks!
One thing that has surperised me is the lack of fat on deer and elk I've seen killed this fall. The forage drying up so early must have made putting on fat tough for grass eaters.
I'm kinda thinking the lack of prey might make the coyote hunting a little better, at least for this winter.
Posts: 1209 | From: Lewiston, Idaho USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Tim Behle
Administrator MacNeal Sector
Member # 209
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posted October 23, 2007 06:35 PM
All of my coyotes seemed to have moved North into little pockets in Utah. I haven't hardly seen any all summer, and only heard two recently, and one of those just turned up as roadkill. ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take
an ass kickin'.
Posts: 3160 | From: Five Miles East of Vic, AZ | Registered: Jun 2003
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TA17Rem
Hello, I'm the legendary Tim Anderson, Field Marshall, Southern Minneesota Sector
Member # 794
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posted October 23, 2007 10:13 PM
I hunted with Randy, Geordie,Patrick and steve from NM. up to northern Az. Some areas we called in where full of rabbits and bugs, and a few stops along the way were a little empty, just a few rabbits or none.
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What if I told you, the left wing and right wing both belong to same bird!
Posts: 5064 | From: S.D. | Registered: Jan 2006
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furhvstr
Knows what it's all about
Member # 1389
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posted October 24, 2007 07:48 AM
Most of my desert is void of rabbits and such. Last fall and for three years pryor it has been full of small stuff and game birds. No rain since last winter and everything is gone.
Have not been scouting since the spring but I expect to find low survival rates on kittens and pups. What animals I do harvest will likely be mature and fewer of them. Some of the higher elev stuff like out towards the Nv border generally carry through the drought periods better.
I have been scouting closer to town as a result of all the phone calls on mostly bobcats in yards and a few coyote. Last drought period had plenty of phone calls but this year is extrordinary. Between my friend and me around ten cats sighted in last two months in backyards and such. One just two blocks from me. Seems like the cats follow the remaining prey right into town more readily than the coyotes or just as.
So just like the last drought I will run closer to town and give the tough ones out in the hills a break.
Posts: 144 | From: California | Registered: Apr 2007
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coyote whacker
Knows what it's all about
Member # 639
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posted October 24, 2007 03:30 PM
DAA I don't think one can take into account a fire moving coyotes around with drought as much. Yes drought makes it tougher for all wildlife, but fires burning 1,000's of acres can really move coyotes and if there is limited cover then the densitys will be higher for sure.500 in 3 pockets what where the size of those pockets?
Drought can be tough on coyotes with parvo,less prey,etc but EHD in ungulates results in more scraps for those coyotes, we have had pockets of EHD this fall due to very dry conditions as is usual for this, and many landowners reporting dead deer in decent numbers, leading to a food source for those coyotes.Mange has had the most impact in this area and even with a drought I think because we have stressed coyotes numbers from mange the drought impact isn't as great as it could be.
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This is done on my time and my dime. My views may differ from those of others!
Posts: 376 | From: USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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DAA
Utah/Promoted WESTERN REGIONAL Hunt Director
Member # 11
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posted October 24, 2007 05:38 PM
"500 in 3 pockets what where the size of those pockets?"
I don't know, exactly. The guy that told me about it didn't say, and the report doesn't say either. Double checked the numbers in the report again though and 500 in 10 days is a bit overstated. The official report says 494 coyotes for the whole operation - 101 hours of flying (which I'd guess is more than 10 days). Not all of those 494 would have come from just those three spots. The report doesn't break it out exactly, just says that there were three places that the coyotes were filling back in behind the plane that got flown repeatedly.
I did say "smaller scale", on the pockets I've found. Also said I could be just flat ass wrong. Wouldn't doubt that I am.
- DAA
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"Oh yeah, they're gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom, but they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." -- George Hanson, Easy Rider, 1969.
Rocky Mountain Varmint Hunter
Posts: 2676 | From: Salt Lake City, UT | Registered: Jan 2003
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