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Author
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Topic: Coyote Attributes
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Jay Nistetter
Legalize Weed, Free the Dixie Chicks
Member # 140
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posted July 15, 2003 09:15 AM
What do you believe is the ONE, single most important thing that coyote has going for them?
Ability to communicate?
Eyesight?
Hearing?
Sense of smell?
Timid nature? or is it Tenacious nature?
And please don't say that all of their combined senses make Dr. Coyote the smartest, most challenging critter to hunt, yada, yada, yada.
Surprise me...
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Understanding the coyote is not as important as knowing where they are.
I usually let the fur prime up before I leave 'em lay.
Posts: 1006 | From: Arizona | Registered: Feb 2003
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Cal Taylor
Knows what it's all about
Member # 199
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posted July 15, 2003 09:43 AM
ADAPTABILITY!!!!!
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Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
FoxPro Field Staff Member
Posts: 1069 | From: Wyoming | Registered: May 2003
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Greenside
seems to know what he is talking about
Member # 10
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posted July 15, 2003 09:52 AM
They are omnivorous. Can and will eat just about anything to survive.
Dennis
Posts: 719 | From: IA | Registered: Jan 2003
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pup
Knows what it's all about
Member # 90
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posted July 15, 2003 10:35 AM
opportunistic, which also makes them vulnerable.
later pup
Posts: 213 | From: Oklahoma | Registered: Feb 2003
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted July 15, 2003 10:56 AM
Humans are fortunate that coyotes never developed opposable thumbs, else there might be another species at the top of the food chain?
They are a lot like us. LB
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 31462 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted July 15, 2003 11:00 AM
Aptitude. Not to sound anthropomorphic, but it would be interesting if someone were to measure a coyote's IQ relative to other animals. I've seen many times when the smart ones all but seemed to rationalize their way through tight situations. With a little more brains than your average critter, all the other categories either work to their advantage, or they're better able to process the information gleaned from better eyes, etc.
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Jay Nistetter
Legalize Weed, Free the Dixie Chicks
Member # 140
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posted July 15, 2003 11:22 AM
Omnivorous?
Opportunistic?
Opposable thumbs?
Adaptability?
Aptitude?
The old Johnny Carson vs Ed McMahon debate on which is smarter... pigs or dogs?
C'mon now. Much of what I've read so far leads me to believe that you must be talking about a raccoon.
[ July 15, 2003, 01:45 PM: Message edited by: Jay Nistetter ]
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Understanding the coyote is not as important as knowing where they are.
I usually let the fur prime up before I leave 'em lay.
Posts: 1006 | From: Arizona | Registered: Feb 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted July 15, 2003 01:03 PM
I agree with Cal Taylor. Many of the large predators are bigger, faster, stronger and perhaps in the case of the wolf, even smarter than the coyote. But the fact that they are more specialized is their Achilles Heel. The coyote's adaptability has enabled it to flourish while the others have not.
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Jay Nistetter
Legalize Weed, Free the Dixie Chicks
Member # 140
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posted July 15, 2003 02:08 PM
You guys are being too analytical, poetic and philosophical about Dr. Coyote with tendencies of giving him much more credit than he deserve sic. Ode To An Opposable Thumb Coyote.
“Adaptable” is relatively close, but are you referring to the coyote adapting to its shrinking environment in order to survive or adapting to growing opportunities? Free your mind and explore the very core of the Coyote Matrix.
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Understanding the coyote is not as important as knowing where they are.
I usually let the fur prime up before I leave 'em lay.
Posts: 1006 | From: Arizona | Registered: Feb 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted July 15, 2003 02:27 PM
I did as you instructed Jay. I now agree with you. The obvious answer is "Yada Yada Yada"
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Az-Hunter
Hi, I'm Vic WELCOME TO THE U.S. Free baloney sandwiches here
Member # 17
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posted July 15, 2003 02:56 PM
.....Surprise us! Ask a question that is not rhetorical:)
Posts: 1627 | From: 5 miles west of Tim | Registered: Jan 2003
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Jay Nistetter
Legalize Weed, Free the Dixie Chicks
Member # 140
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posted July 15, 2003 03:26 PM
OK. Without rhetoric and simply stated...
Is a coyote able to control its own population?
Wouldn't this be a precept of survival? It's always interesting to hear what other hunters believe.
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Understanding the coyote is not as important as knowing where they are.
I usually let the fur prime up before I leave 'em lay.
Posts: 1006 | From: Arizona | Registered: Feb 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted July 15, 2003 03:59 PM
Coyotes are able to control their populations only to a degree. It is true that heavily exploited populations produce larger litters than stable populations, and more yearlings breed in low density populations. It is theorized that litter sizes are influenced by the amount of territorial howling in given areas. This can be categorized as Adaptability. When coyotes do not succeed in restricting their numbers to the carrying capacity of their "rabbitat"(SH) Mother Nature steps in does it for them. See mange,parvo, canine hepatitis, distemper, etc. Question, how is this answer,population control, less analytical than the other answers?
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pup
Knows what it's all about
Member # 90
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posted July 15, 2003 04:31 PM
How would you avoid capture/demise by the hunter(you), if you were the coyote(you)?
How would you avoid capture/demise by the hunter(your buddy), if you were the coyote(you)?
later pup
Posts: 213 | From: Oklahoma | Registered: Feb 2003
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Steve Craig
Lacks Opposable Thumbs/what's up with that?
Member # 12
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posted July 15, 2003 05:52 PM
Yes!
Steve
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Yes, we did produce a near-perfect republic. But will they keep it? Or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction. - Thomas Jefferson
Posts: 442 | From: Cottonwood,Az, USA | Registered: Jan 2003
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WhiteMtnCur
Knows what it's all about
Member # 5
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posted July 15, 2003 06:03 PM
Higgins: "It is true that heavily exploited populations produce larger litters than stable populations, and more yearlings breed in low density populations. It is theorized that litter sizes are influenced by the amount of territorial howling in given areas."
I thought that the reason coyotes in exploited populations had larger litters was the younger coyotes (which produce smaller litters) are often the coyotes killed. The older coyotes that are more likely to survive are the ones that have larger litters.
Is this theory incorrect?
Posts: 97 | From: Nevada | Registered: Jan 2003
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted July 15, 2003 06:54 PM
Trevor, I haven't seen any literature coming at it from that angle, but I do have a book in my big stack of relevant nothing stuff that describes compensatroy natality in furbearing mammals as showing heavily exploited and/ or low density populations seeing first breedings in year one versus year two, larger litter size, and proportionally more female offspring being whelped. In lesser exploited pop'ns, you see the exact opposite - first bred at two, sometimes three years old, smaller litters of which more pups are male.
Despite this technical approach, I have to answer Jay's last question by saying, "Apparantly so" as evidence by what I found outside a coyote den just the other day. I didn't know what it was at first, but now realize it must be a coyote condom. ![[Smile]](smile.gif) And some ppl think coyotes aren't smarter than dogs.
(Edited because I can.)
[ July 15, 2003, 06:56 PM: Message edited by: Cdog911 ]
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5438 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Wiley E
Knows what it's all about
Member # 108
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posted July 15, 2003 07:25 PM
Jay: "What do you believe is the ONE, single most important thing that coyote has going for them?"
I believe it's without question, their sense of smell.
They can survive virtually blind. They can survive without being able to hear. They can survive in some very difficult adverse situations. Without their sense of smell, their ability to survive is reduced incredibly.
They find food based more on their sense of smell than by any other SINGLE factor.
Please prove me wrong, I love to learn.
~SH~
[ July 15, 2003, 07:31 PM: Message edited by: Wiley E ]
Posts: 853 | From: Kadoka, S.D | Registered: Feb 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted July 15, 2003 08:41 PM
WMC, I can not say whether or not that theory is correct. It does seem contradictory to me. If the young females are killed off in heavily-exploited areas then it seems logical to assume that young females which give birth to smaller litters do so in stable areas where litter size is reduced anyway? Knowlton reported average litter sizes in Texas during the purge as 7.2 pups. Gier reported the same in Kansas. Crabtree, Camenzind and Lehner reported 4.2-4.4 in their un-exploited populations. If I can find the study that specifically addressed the litter size and exploitation relationship I will E-mail you.
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Jay Nistetter
Legalize Weed, Free the Dixie Chicks
Member # 140
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posted July 15, 2003 09:08 PM
Kewl! Turn off the computer for awhile and look what happens. This could prove fun and enlightening at the same time. I’ll be the first to admit that I am by no means a student of the coyote and rely heavily on my degree from UHK.
All answers thus far are certainly important factors, but I fail to see that any single one other than the ability to control population is more important.
This is a tough one and I can certainly see the “adaptive” argument, but it seems as though there is confusion between adaptability and procreation.
Being adaptable is a measure of resilience and not a necessarily the determining factor in survival. Sure, a coyote is adaptive, but it is the ability to control populations in any given environment that determines survivability.
Take you highly adaptive coyote and introduce it to a new environment. Their adaptability doesn’t necessarily mean its survival. The reintroduction of the wolf comes to mind. Heretofore, Dr. Coyote was doing just fine. I suppose one could argue that their adaptability told them to leave Eden lest they fall victim suffering a fate similar to those subjected by their own predation.
The theory about litter sizes and territorial howling sounds good on paper at first glance, but makes me awful confused on how coyote populations are explained in the many areas where coyotes are not vocal at all. I know from personal experience that when I howl, there is no possible chance of discussing litter sizes, because it just ain’t happening.
The parasitic interfusion is something akin to saying that Aspirin is a determining factor in the procreation of mankind (i.e. no headaches) and left for another discussion. I view that as a separate issue. (insert chuckle here)
I like the Trojan angle and I can see considerable loss of desire without the aid of opposable thumbs. LOL
My first inclination as to the single most important factor was the skill (or lack thereof) of hunters and trappers.
Wiley, very poignant and possibly true given the mobility features of our furry subject. Poke out the eyes and they could survive. Lob off a leg or two and the propensity still remains. Whack off “Captain Happy” and the specie is doomed.
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Understanding the coyote is not as important as knowing where they are.
I usually let the fur prime up before I leave 'em lay.
Posts: 1006 | From: Arizona | Registered: Feb 2003
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Cal Taylor
Knows what it's all about
Member # 199
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posted July 16, 2003 07:31 AM
Doesn't almost everything discussed come back to what I said in the first place? Adaptability.
Litter sizes.......
Hunting by smell and not sight......
Surviving high pressure.....
Surviving low pressure and high populations....
A coyote or group of coyotes can adapt to and survive almost any situation. They can adapt to living in places few other animals can live, They can adapt to heat, cold, cities, being blind, peg legged, etc.. The list could go on forever. But they seem to adapt faster than any other animal in nature, except maybe us, and that is debateable.
[ July 16, 2003, 07:40 AM: Message edited by: Cal Taylor ]
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Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
FoxPro Field Staff Member
Posts: 1069 | From: Wyoming | Registered: May 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted July 16, 2003 08:07 AM
Jay "What is the one , single most important thing the coyote has going for him?" Jay " Whack of Captain Happy and the species is doomed". So I am to gather that a pee-pee is that one single most important thing? Whacking off Captain Happy and dooming the species is simply cause and effect. If you nail a foot to the floor they will walk in circles. Cal, that's the way I see it too.
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BillfMO
Knows what it's all about
Member # 192
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posted July 16, 2003 09:16 AM
I think I will have to go with the adaptability theory! The coyote is able to adapt to what ever is placed in its way better than any other animal. If not how has it surived all that we as humans have thrown at it rifles,traps, poisons and ect. It uses what ever is needed to surive and alot of this is provided by Mother Nature.
quote:
Coyotes are able to control their populations only to a degree. It is true that heavily exploited populations produce larger litters than stable populations, and more yearlings breed in low density populations. It is theorized that litter sizes are influenced by the amount of territorial howling in given areas. This can be categorized as Adaptability. When coyotes do not succeed in restricting their numbers to the carrying capacity of their "rabbitat"(SH) Mother Nature steps in does it for them.
When the population is down Mother Nature provides a larger and better food source. Meaning they have better nutrition (larger litter size and the younger females having litters.) No matter if we are talking cattle, hogs or Coyote nutrition play a very large part in the size and health of their offspring. Once food source starts to drop the nutritionial value goes down and the adult is not about to produce the large size litter and the young's nutritionial needs are no longer there to grow her own body to the point of being able to have litters until she has reached a older age. Just like everything else the better food we eat the better health we have. This is where the over polutation time comes into being once the nutrition is no longer there the health of all coyote start to drop and we get.
quote:
See mange,parvo, canine hepatitis, distemper, etc.
As to:
quote:
It is theorized that litter sizes are influenced by the amount of territorial howling in given areas.
I believe this has to do with population again. What are most howls for? I feel it is either as Bill Austin said "to invite someone over for tea" or to warn them not to come into my territory, that being the case if there are few coyote to hear the howl there is no need to howl. I think they also know that anytime they howl they are also giving away their position. (If you were being hunted by the bill collector would you announce or presence)? Therfore is you have no one to ask for tea or warn to stay away why howl? Here coyote are run hard with hounds, once the eastern sky show sign of lighting up they will every seldom ever howl back to any locator sound no matter what time of year you try or what the population level is. Because they have found if they do they will have a pack of hounds on them ever shortly. Therefore they refuse to answer back unless it is dark and because more guys are starting to run them after dark in the summer months they are starting to show signs of howling only for pack communication only and at night.
So while they use each and everything listed here I feel it is the ability to adapt and use what ever is needed to survive. Aptitude may come in every strong also as they have to have something more in that head than the average animal to get the adaptability going.
Bill
Posts: 24 | Registered: May 2003
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Az-Hunter
Hi, I'm Vic WELCOME TO THE U.S. Free baloney sandwiches here
Member # 17
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posted July 16, 2003 10:25 AM
I think Cal gets to sit at the head of the class on this particular issue....he nailed it. Were talking about a damned ole coyote, he's tough and adaptable, but controls nothing, mother nature does that. Good job Cal! short and to the point, without all the postulating.........whats next?
~Az-Hunter~
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"Brevity is the soul of wit"
Posts: 1627 | From: 5 miles west of Tim | Registered: Jan 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted July 16, 2003 10:57 AM
az hunter "Good job Cal! short and to the point, without all the postulating.........whats next?"
I'm honestly a little confused. Am I wrong to think you have implied that postulating is not a "good thing"(MS)?
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