| | | Coyote Hunting | The coyote, or prairie wolf, is one of the very
limited number of wild mammals that have increased
their territory despite human encroachment. They are
native to North America, and occupy land from northern
Canada, all the way to Panama in central America.
While they first only occupied the American southwest,
they have steadily increased their territories,
despite being hunted heavily.
The coyote grows to about two feet tall, 20 to 50
pounds, and is extremely lean, so much so that even a
well fed coyote may look emaciated. The coyote is an
omnivore, and eats small mammals, as well as insects
and roadkill. Coyotes more recently have begun to eat
from the trash. When wolves were endangered, coyotes
began to fill the space left by them, hunting in packs
to kill larger prey, but as the wolf population has
begun to see a resurgence, coyotes have been getting
killed off by wolves. Coyotes in turn kill foxes, dogs
and other smaller canines.
Due to their cunning and omnivorous diet, coyotes are
far from endangered. In fact, they are considered a
varmint, or pest animal, because of the toll they take
on farm animals. "Varminteers," which are hunters that
hunt a pest animal, either for the reward offered by
the government or local land owners or for sport,
often go on coyote hunting trips, and thin out the
population significantly in the area. As varmint
hunting is a form of pest and population control, it
is regulated very little by the government and
conservation agencies. Despite the lack of regulations
prohibiting the killing of coyotes, and encroachment
and fervent hunting by humans, the coyote population
remains stable.
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