COYOTE CONTROL BY MEANS OF DEN 

 HUNTING 



By STANLEY P. YOUNG, Biologist, formerly of the Division of Predator and Rodent 

 Control,^ and HAROLD W. DOBYNS, Biologist, Division of Predator and Rodent 

 Control, Fish and Wildlife Service 



CONTENTS 



Page 

 Importance of den hunting... 1 



Qualifications and equipment of the den hunter. 1 



Breeding habits and number of young 2 



Denning sites and habits 3 



Page 



Methods of den hunting __. 5 



Activities of whelps 6 



Removing whelps from dens 7 



Trapping and shooting adults 8 



IMPORTANCE OF DEN HUNTING 



One of the best methods of keeping down the increase of coyotes 

 is to destroy the newly born whelps before they leave the dens to shift 

 for themselves. A little time spent in April, May, and June in locat- 

 ing dens and destroying the young coyotes will save months of strenu- 

 ous effort trying to rid the range of the predators after they have 

 reached maturity. 



Coyotes are particularly destructive during the denning season be- 

 cause of the need of extra food both for themselves and for their young. 

 Lambing bands of sheep on open ranges suffer the heaviest losses. 

 Coyotes that kill lambs during April and May generally have dens, 

 and when the dens are located and the whelps destroyed, the sheep 

 killing usually stops. Some coyotes show great cunnino; in refraining 

 from killing lambs near their dens and will pass by a band of sheep 

 herded directly over a den to raid another several miles distant. 

 They have been known to carry a leg of lamb as far as 8 miles to their 

 young in the den. Contrary to the belief of stockmen and others, 

 the male coyote is as destructive as the female, and special attention 

 to fresh kills at lambing time has shown that the tracks of male 

 coyotes are more in evidence than those of females. 



QUALIFICATIONS AND EQUIPMENT OF THE DEN HUNTER 



The most essential qualifications of a den hunter are keen observa- 

 tion, persistence, and familiarity with the habits of coyotes. He can 

 probably become more skilled in den hunting than in any other phase 

 of coyote control. The denning habits of coyotes are similar iii most 

 sections, and the same general methods of den hunting can be applied 

 in humid mountainous sections as in semiarid deserts. 



1 Now with the Division of Wildlife Research. 



631731°— 45 1 



