This article was in a Florida Newspaper.
Responding to concerns of a Jackson County land owner about his cattle, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigated the death of a calf and ended up with photos of a coyote.
The pictures of the coyote eating the calf do not necessarily mean that the calf was killed by coyotes, according to FWC representative Stan Kirkland.
“We know they fed on it after it died, but we don’t know whether the calf died first from something else, like natural causes,” Kirkland said.
He said it would be unlikely for a coyote to kill a cow or calf.
FWC investigators visited the 300-acre farm last Wednesday and Thursday, over a citizen’s concern that the calf might have been killed by a cougar.
“The investigator searched the site and did locate several coyote tracks around the calf and along a nearby road. He didn’t see any cat tracks,” Kirkland said.
Kirkland said investigators set up a game camera at the location, near U.S. Highway 231 and Milpond Road, and captured 15 images of a coyote eating the calf carcass.
Concerns over a possible cougar in the area were apparently based on information that a nearby resident owned five de-clawed cougars, Kirkland said.
The FWC investigator visited that residence and learned that all five of the cats had died from feline leukemia. The owner showed the investigator their burial sites, Kirkland explained.
Kirkland said it would be highly unusual for a coyote to attack and kill a cow or calf.
“Coyotes are infamous for being a threat primarily to sheep and smaller animals, or birds. Sheep tend to bunch up and not run away. They don’t have the ability to fight or get away from the coyotes. So sheep are easy pickins’ for coyotes,” Kirkland said.
He said coyotes are similar to ants — they’re everywhere.
“From coast to coast, they cover this country. From the Pacific to the Atlantic, from New Mexico to Canada,” he said.
Coyotes aren’t as big as some people think, he noted.
“They usually weigh in around 30 pounds. They’re typically not that big. They belong to the canine family, obviously, and they’re scavengers. They’ll scavenge anything that’s dead and they’re also very efficient predators on small animals and birds. And they feed at night,” Kirkland said.
One meal coyotes usually won’t go for is people.
“They’re not a threat to people. You have a better chance at getting struck by lightning,” Kirkland said.
People dealing with a coyote problem can shoot them, Kirkland said.
“We’ve got lost of coyotes. They’re not protected. People can, if they feel like it, shoot them on their property or hire a trapper,” Kirkland said.
But he doesn’t recommend trying to wipe out the coyote population.
“If you try suppressing a coyote population, and you kill as many of you can, what we’ve seen is in that situation the females tend to give birth to larger litters. They have this innate ability to populate an area,” Kirkland advised.
As an alternative, he said some farmers opt for a big dog, which for unknown reasons seems to deter coyotes from entering the property. He said the same goes for burros.
Kirkland also noted that coyotes have no affect on the deer population.
“Deer and coyotes are compatible. Coyotes don’t go for them and despite what some may think, they’re no threat to hunting,” Kirkland said.
