Is anybody reading this stuff?
http://www.predatordefense.org/docs/coyotes_letter_Dr_Crabtree_06-21-12.pdf
(5) Reductions (non-selective, indiscriminate killing of adults) cause an increase in the percentage of females breeding. Coyote populations are distinctly structured in non-overlapping but contiguous territorial packs. About 95% of the time, only one female (the dominant or alpha) in a pack breeds. Other females, physiologically capable of breeding, are "behaviorally sterile". Exploitation rates of 70% or higher are needed to decrease the number of females breeding in a given area. Either a subordinate female pack member, or an outside, lone female can be quickly recruited to become an alpha or breeding female. My research has shown that light to moderate levels of reduction can cause a slight increase in the number of territories, and hence the number of females breeding.
They will have and hold however many in a pack that the food supply will allow. Higher the food amount the more yote you will have in the local pack. Food availability is the bigger trigger for the bitch to bread IMO. Without the food her health starts to go downhill and less pups would survive so in lean times less pups and in times of plenty she will bread till she ages out and is replaced as the alpha female by a younger one.
Yote to me are like this. They will have and hold however many in a pack that the food supply will allow. Higher the food amount the more yote you will have in the local pack. Food availability is the bigger trigger for the bitch to bread IMO. Without the food her health starts to go downhill and less pups would survive so in lean times less pups and in times of plenty she will bread till she ages out and is replaced as the alpha female by a younger one. You also have to remember that yote pups grow fast and are off mommas milk pretty quick. As soon as those pups are off the milk she can bread again and it wouldn't take but a nieghboring female in heat to cause her to back into heat. As long as the food is there they will mate and have pups. As soon as they see a decline in food source they will cast out and younger yotes will find a new place to call home and setup camp. Given how adaptable the yote is scary stuff.
I agree with this. Young pup survival (and the number in the litter) is dependent upon the bitch's health.
For the most part, even though we have a shit-ton of 'yotes in Ohio, I'd be willing to bet that they are still far from reaching the carrying capacity of the land. There's a lot of food out there...
I'm sorry, but I don't believe this for a minute. I think it is a wives tale. I've bred dogs for many years and have a good, basic understanding of it and am basing my thoughts on the fact that coyotes and dogs are in the same family, so to speak.
One of my Goldens had 11 pups on her first litter. 1st litters are usually smaller. By her 3rd litter, she had 15 pups. I deliberately kept some of her bloodline so I could continue to throw large litters as that is a trait that can be (and is) passed on.
However, I have had other Goldens that only throw an average of 8 pups per litter as do their subsequent offspring.
If there are more deer to eat, then more pups would survive because the mom is being kept healthy. If food is scarce, more pups die. Pups survival rate does depend upon the condition of their momma.
However, each bitch is predetermined to have X amount of pups. Some lines just have the trait of large litters.
If she has say 8 pups and suddenly several coyotes are killed off, then her next litter consists of 11 pups, that doesn't mean she compensated due to coyotes being killed off. It means she reached a better breeding age. As she gets older, her litter size will start to decline, sometimes as low as 4 per litter instead of her normal 8. (Just making up coyote litter size here as an example.)
Just my opinion.
I say kill them all.
The point I was making to Adam was that by reducing the number of coyotes in an area, you help to increase the amount of prey which in tern increases the availability of food for the remaining dogs. Better nutrition = larger litter size. It's a never ending struggle.
Even though it's a fight we can't win, it's a fight we should still wage.
The popularity of predator hunting is on the rise...I think for some minimum $$$ invested the ODNR should do some marketing encouraging more hunters to focus on coyotes to help boost it along. Make it cool to hunt yotes as a primary focus.
War on Yotes.