Coyote Contro

BY MEANS OF

DEN HUNTilNiP^i^"

JUN7-1346

Circular 7 ,
Fish and ■Wildlife Service-^

3JJH ZQOOVi

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Harold L. Ickes, Secretary

FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Ira N. Gabrielson, Director

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON : 1915

For sale by the Superintendent of Dotuments. U. S. (Government Printing Oflice. \^ asbington 25, D. C.

Price 5 rents

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

2 CIRCULAR 7, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

"Den signs" are indications of denning activity and the den hunter
should always watch for them. They may consist of tracks, a well
worn path leading to and from a den, or holes freshly cleaned out.
Holes made by coyotes in digging out squirrels or rabbits should not
be confused, however, with those prepared for dens. A good hunter
will overlook no likely place and will investigate every hint, for dens
are often found where least expected. He should look for den signs
in every locality where animals are frequently seen. He should keep
in mind the places used by pairs of coyotes and visit all old dens
known, as signs may often be discovered there at whelping time.
Holes may be cleaned out in one canyon and the den be just over the
hill in another. Sheep herders on a range usually can give information
concerning locations of dens.

The equipment of a den hunter should include at least two gentle
saddle horses, a small shovel, a pair of field glasses, a rifle of not less
than .25 caliber, and a dog. Coyotes are not so much afraid of a man
on horseback as of one on foot. A rider, therefore, can get many
good shots, and in heavy sagebrush he can more easily see and track
coyotes from his vantage seat upon a horse.

BREEDING HABITS AND NUMBER OF YOUNG

In the mating season coj^otes may be heard j^elping much more than
usual, and packs of three to a dozen animals may be seen. Later the
breeding animals pair off. Some pairs may remain together for a
number of years, but as a rule coyotes do not mate for life.

The whelping season varies with latitude. In general, according to
studies of a large number of embryos by G. W. D. Hamlett, of the
Bureau of Biological Survey (now the Fish and Wildlife Service), the
season in the northern tier of States seems somewhat earlier than far-
ther south; in Montana, for example, breeding begins about February
1 and lasts throughout the month, the height of the season being
about February 15. In Texas, breeding apparently begins somewhat
later, although data are inadequate for definite conclusions. In some
States, as in Oregon and Arizona, Hamlett found a variation of at
least 2 months in the time of breeding, probably because of great
diversity in altitude and other environmental factors.

Coyote pups are born 60 to 63 days after breeding of the parents.
Their eyes open when they are 9 to 14 days old. The average nmnber
of young in a litter is 7. Although there may be smaller litters when
food is scarce, at other times it is not uncommon to find litters of 9 to
12 (fig. 1, A), and some females have been known to have as many
as 19 young at one time. The only thing provided in the nature of a
nest is an enlarged section of the den, and some dens do not have
even this. The pups lie in the dry dust on the floor.

Deus often contain two litters, one of young with eyes not yet open
and the other of pups about a month old. One litter may be large
and the other small, the latter probably belonging to a young female
that, apparently at a loss for a place to den, had taken up quarters
with her mother. Young females usually whelp about 10 days to 2
weeks later than the older ones. Occasionally a den may harbor three
litters. At a den where two litters are found there is usually only one
male, which would suggest polygamy.

Under normal conditions a pair of coyotes is found with every den,
unless one parent has been killed. If the female is killed and the pups

COYOTE CONTROL BY ]\IEANS OF DEN HUNTING

;7374: B4847A

Fisure 1. — A, Coyote and a litter of 10 taken from a den in San Luis Valley, Colo./ B,
coyote den (directly beneath hunter) in a hillside thicket in russed country. Lance
Creek, Wyo.

are young, they die. If they are old enough to eat meat, the male
parent cares for them, as he does his part in providing food.

DENNING SITES AND HABITS

Coyotes do not select denning sites according to any recognizable
rule, but many of them return to the same general locality year after
year, even though the dens are regularly dug out and the pups killed
by den hunters. If the female is killed, the male may bring his new
mate to the same den the next season. A dug-out den that has not
been badly damaged in removing coyotes may remain unoccupied for
two or three seasons and then be used again.

4 CIRCULAR 1, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Dens may be found in a canyon, wash-out, or coulee, on a bank or
hillside (fig. f , 5), in a rock bluff, or even in level ground, as in a wheat-
field, stubblefield, or plowed field. They have been discovered under
deserted homestead shacks in the desert, under grain bins, in a drainage
pipe, in a dry culvert under railroad tracks, in a hollow log, in a
thicket, and under a clump of thistles that had blown into a canyon.

B34748; B3075?

Fisure 2. — A, Entrance to a coyote den in a dry creek bank, Morrow County, Oreg./
B, a former predator-control leader at the mouth of a coyote den dug out near Coke-
vilie, Wyo. (Remains of three lambs in foreground, including two skulls out of which
the brains had been lapped by coyotes.)

As a rule, instead of digging entirely new dens, coyotes will enlarge
abandoned badger or rabbit holes or use deserted porcupine dens in
rocky promontories or canyon walls. Usually they start cleaning
out the holes several weeks prior to whelping. They generally claw
out the dirt in one direction from the mouth of the den, where it piles
up into a mound, although some dens have no such mound (fig. 2, ^4).

The female conlinu(>R digging and cleaning out den hol(>s, sometimes
a dozen or more, until the young are born. Then, if one den is dis-
turbed the family moves to another. Sometimes the animals move
only a few huiuhcd yards, apparently just to have a cleaner home,

COYOTE CONTROL BY MEANS OF DEN HUNTING 5

leaving nianv fleas behind. Occasionally a female that has lost her
whelps will clean out several holes before becominji: reconciled to her
loss. Barren females sometimes prepare dens, but they nro not found
traveling- with a mate. Male coyotes also work at many holes in
spring but generally to dig out dead rabbits. The tracks of the male
will usually be seen at these freslily dug holes, which have a different
appearance from those cleaned out for dens, and dried-up rabbit
carcasses will generally be found nearby.

WTien entering the den, the coyotes almost always go around, not
over, the mound, if one is present. Dens may have one or several
entrances in use, and several passages may branch from the main
one. After the pups are born, small balls of rolled fur and hair from
the mother's belly may be found in the dry dirt in the mouth of the
den.

Parent coyotes have no set time for being at home and may be
found near the den at any hour. Although they do most of their
killing early in the morning, they sometimes visit the den only at
night. They are clean about their dens; so there is little refuse or
odor.

The coyote den is usually in rougher surroundings than are dens of
small burrowing rodents and is normally within reach of water.
Contrary to general supposition, however, coyotes do not always
make their dens near water. In hilly areas they usually do, but on
the large deserts of eastern Oregon dens are often found as far as 6
miles from water. Coyotes do not go to water regularly unless the
weather is warm, and pups do not need water until they are several
months old.

METHODS OF DEN HUNTING

The proper time for hunting coyote dens is from April 5 to June 15.
If too early a start is made, before some of the coyotes have whelped,
the territory will have to be covered again. Where signs indicate a
late den, however, a follow-up visit to it should be made.

Den hunting should be systematic and thorough. Where the soil is
sandy the movements of coyotes can be readily determined by means
of tracks and other signs characteristic of the whelping season. The
general location of a den may occasionally be learned by hearing the
howling of the coyotes, but other means must be employed to find the
exact spot. It may be located by tracking, by watching the move-
ments of the old coyotes, or by riding the range looking for holes,
but systematic tracking insures the best results.

A good time to hunt dens by tracking is just after a rain. Another
is the day after a severe windstorm, as storms restrict the activity of
the coyotes.

Water holes and springs in the desert are excellent places from which
to start in hunting dens. The den hunter should circle the water hole,
noting the direction of the tracks and giving special attention to those
of pairs and to their relative freshness, for when fresh tracks of a pair
are noted, they are generally close to the den. When sign is found, it
should be back-tracked to a point where there are tracks going both
ways; the tracks begin to form a trail within a quarter of a mile from
the dens. Near the den, unless the ground is too hard, many tracks
will be found going and coming in every direction. Finding the den
is then an easy matter. Sometimes, however, tracks lead to a den
from only one direction.

6 CIRCULAR 7, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Loose hairs and distinctive tracks are often observed in the mouth
of a used coyote den. The coyote track is elongated, and not nearly
so rounded as a dog track, and the coyote side- toe unpression is longer
than that of a dog of the same size. The tracks of young coyotes,
barren females, and those that have lost their pups can be distinguished
from those of denning pairs, as the latter generally travel by a direct
route, the tracks of the female usually being smaller and more pointed
than those of the male.

When a female leaves the den for water she nearly always travels
in a direct line, probably not deviating over a hundred yards from it
in a distance of several miles. Coyotes do not always water at the
same place each time, however, nor return to their den direct from
the watering place unless the den is a long distance from water.
Sometimes the male will remain near the den while the female is away,
but more often the two travel together, the female holding a little
more to a true course than the male. The tracks often indicate that
they travel side by side for some distance, the male then wandering
away several hundred yards but later returning to his mate.

Coyotes with dens have regular hunting grounds to which they
usually travel on a nearly straight course, whether near or several
miles distant, but they do not travel back to the den on a direct line
again until after they have made their kills.

When the den is in danger of being discovered coyotes act in a
nervous manner. Some will circle about it at a distance when the
hunter is near; the old female may be seen in one direction and, after
disappearing, may later be seen peering over a hill in another quarter.
When a female with a den first sees a person, she looks at him for a
moment, then almost invariably toward the den, sometimes turning
completely around to do so.

A den is usually located within a radius of approximately a mile
of freshly cleaned-out holes. An experienced hunter can tell by the
appearance of a den and by signs nearby whether it is occupied, with-
out dismounting from his horse. When a den is found, if the whelps
are roammg a considerable distance away, the searcher should circle
it, making much noise to frighten them into returning. They should
not be rushed, however, as they will then scatter and run into any
accessible hole and extra effort in digging them out will be required.

As a rule, one will not find many live rabbits near a den; so that
in a rabbit-infested district a scarcity of rabbits may be an indication
of a nearby den.

ACTIVITIES OF WHELPS

Inexperienced hunters often dig out dens that contain no young.
If the searcher listens at the mouth of the den he can usually hear
any whelps inside, especially when they are very young, as they are
then seldom quiet. If a nursing whelp loses hold of a teat, it is rather
noisy until it regains its hold.

The wlielps emerge when about 3 weeks old, and then their tracks
and other sign are easily noted. At that age they do not whine, but
can be heard moving about when in the den, where, if crowded, they
sometimes growl. Curiosity to see what is going on outside will
drive some to the entrance. When the burrow is steep they are
unable to clamber out at as early an age as when it is nearly level.
Little scratc^hes made in their attempts to crawl out will often be noted
on the side walls and floor of the den.

COYOTE CONTROL BY MEANS OF DEN HUNTING 7

When the pups aro about 8 to 10 weeks old the dens are abandoned,
and the entire laniily roves about, i-emainino^ together until early fall.

REMOVING WHELPS FROM DENS

The digging necessary to capture pups depends largely on the nature
of the soil and the location of the den (fig. 2, B). Some dens are so
shallow that little digging is required; others cannot be dug out; and
some burrows lead straight into a bank or under a hardpan ledge.
Much work can be avoided hj running a shovel handle or long stick
as far as possible into the hole to ascertain its direction and then
digging a pit down to the den instead of following the burrow. Where
digging is extremely difficult, the animals can be destroyed by the use
of calcium cyanide gas as later described. If pups can be seen back
in a den but cannot be reached in digging, a forked stick or a wire so
twisted as to catch in their fur has been employed to save labor; but
if the den or burrow branches and turns, such an instrument is never
wholly satisfactory, as some of the whelps are likely to be missed.

Before digging is begun, the den entrance should be blocked to
prevent the escape of the mother coyote, should she be inside the den.
When the pups are of suckling age she is often in the den with them,
but when they are old enough to play and be fed outside she seldom
goes into it. It is difficult to tell her whereabouts by her tracks, as
she backs out of the den unless disturbed and the tracks all appear as
if made in entering.

Pups are wobbly on their legs when only 2 or 3 weeks old; so if a
pit 18 inches deep' is dug just outside the mouth of the den, they will
fall into it when they attempt to crawl out of the den and can easily
be captured.

Smoking the young out of the den is not satisfactory as a rule, but
is sometimes successful. A good smoker can be made by soldering
a half-inch hose coupling to the spout of a bellows-operated bee smoker
and using sulfur and pieces of burlap as fuel. A piece of garden hose
about 10 feet long can be attached and worked down into the den
close to the pups, preferably behind them. The operator should stand
back from the mouth of the den, armed with a club to dispatch the
pups as they come out. Throwing a handful of calcium cyanide into
a den and stopping the hole with dirt is an effective method of fumiga-
tion, but this chemical niust be handled with extreme care — as a rule
by experienced workers only — as it is also dangerous to man.

' A small dog trained to go into dens and bring out the whelps is
useful. Such dogs are scarce, but with careful handling, the proper
breed (wire-haired fox terrier or other terrier) soon learns and enjoys
this work. Any dog, however, is a great help, as the parent coyotes
become much alarmed if it nears their den and often set up a howl or
series of barks and yelps, thus betraying the fact that a den is near.
A small dog is preferable, and one that runs rabbits and hunts several
hundred yards from the hunter is better than one that follows at the
horse's heels. Coyotes are likely to give wide berth to a large dog,
but will sometimes fight and chase a small one, thus presenting a
good target for shots, particularly when the coyote goes some dis-
tance from the den to fight the intruder. For several days after the
den has been destroyed females that have lost their whelps fre-
quently fight or chase any dog that comes near.

8 CIRCULAR 7, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

A 12-gage pump shotgun loaded with BB shot is good for hunting
pups that have left the dens but are still together. They may be
found lying under sagebrush or among the rocks and are more easily
hit with a shotgun than with a rifle when they start to scatter.

TRAPPING AND SHOOTING ADULTS

A hunter should leave as few traces as possible of his visit to a den.
He should carry several traps, with w^hich to try to capture the old
coyotes. It is well to set a few traps "blind" — that is, without bait
or scent — in the trails leading to the den, although some coyotes
never return to a den after a hunter has visited it. A good set can be
made by burying a dead whelp, leaving one foot exposed, and setting
traps nearby. Holes that have been cleaned out for dens make
excellent places for trap sets, particularly for catching females as
they go in or out before whelping. In such a situation, two traps
should be set blind, one on each side of the entrance or mound. Other
favorable sites are the beds where old coyotes lie, presumably on
guard. These beds may be close to the den or on a hillside or canyon
rim half a mile away. The coyote-getter, a device for controlling
coyotes, may be set about dens in the same way as that described for
traps.

Further information on trapping coyotes is contained in Fish and
"Wildlife Circular 2, Hints on Coyote and Wolf Trapping.^

When coyotes are sighted near their dens they are usually quiet,
and some good shots may be possible. A hunter should never dis-
mount from his horse when a coyote stops to watch him, but should
wait until it starts moving and then dismount on some high spot and
be ready to shoot the instant it stops again. If it does not stop of its
own accord, a low whistle will often halt it long enough to offer the
hunter a good target.

2 Obtainable free from the Fish and Wildlife Service, Chicago 54, 111.

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