I live in east-central Kansas. A few years ago (maybe 10) we had lots of illness in the coyote community. Mange was so rampant that it was passing to dogs in their territory. The rabbits and deer were out of control (rats with antlers at that time), and the state dropped medicated bait to stop the mange problem. Of course a huge percentage of the coyotes died off. The next year, there were lots fewer coyotes, and it has taken time to rebuild the population.
This year, they are healthy and fat and HUGE. There are lots of coyotes, but you don't see as many rabbits. I had one at least 2' tall at the shoulders at my back fence a few weeks ago. It stood there and watched my 3 dogs go ballistic and then loped off into the pasture back of my house.
The wild animal population around here goes in circles. When one species becomes overpopulated (like the deer and rabbits were when the coyotes were sick), something happens to thin them. Illness, predators, whatever. That is how natural selection works when we don't interfere with it.
I am not comfortable with coyotes that close during daylight hours, but they have their place in the ecological balance of the area. I really hate it when rabbits eat my peas, but I have learned to spread dog and human hair around the baby plants in early spring to deter the rabbits. I had a deer in my beans last summer, so I sprayed the area with deer repellant (yes, it worked). I don't set traps for them or try to shoot them (assuming I could hit them anyway). I choose to live in the country among these species, so I have to learn to deal with their predations in an environmentally responsible way.
Didn't mean to rant. I'll be getting off my soapbox, now.
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This year, they are healthy and fat and HUGE. There are lots of coyotes, but you don't see as many rabbits. I had one at least 2' tall at the shoulders at my back fence a few weeks ago. It stood there and watched my 3 dogs go ballistic and then loped off into the pasture back of my house.
The wild animal population around here goes in circles. When one species becomes overpopulated (like the deer and rabbits were when the coyotes were sick), something happens to thin them. Illness, predators, whatever. That is how natural selection works when we don't interfere with it.
I am not comfortable with coyotes that close during daylight hours, but they have their place in the ecological balance of the area. I really hate it when rabbits eat my peas, but I have learned to spread dog and human hair around the baby plants in early spring to deter the rabbits. I had a deer in my beans last summer, so I sprayed the area with deer repellant (yes, it worked). I don't set traps for them or try to shoot them (assuming I could hit them anyway). I choose to live in the country among these species, so I have to learn to deal with their predations in an environmentally responsible way.
Didn't mean to rant. I'll be getting off my soapbox, now.
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