Coyote Dens..........what are they?

K

KC Coyote Hunter

New member
OK.. This is what I think they are... big holes...maybe 18" in diameter..... they go down like a tunnel and come back up 8-10' later..........they can enter and exit from either side......

Is this a den? My land owners tell me about the dens....and where to find them, and I see these holes...tunnels....they go down...and come up on the other side.

Is this a coyote den?? I referenced to dens...and a fellow board member was laughing at me....I want to make sure I know what a den IS!!! Is this a den?? I've seen a bunch of these...and I was thinking I was looking at Coyote homes....per the land owner, this is what these are?? Am I wrong?

thanks..............
 
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A good friend of mine has a whole lot of knowledge in finding used coyote dens and none of them have ever had more than one way in, one way out. Usually found on south facing slopes near water.

BUT, this time of year dens are rarely used. Pups have left them and rarely return, even during nasty weather.
 
Agree with songdog, seen them from a simple crawl space under a rock over hang to a dig out hole but never very deep. Most of the time you can see the bottom of the hole. Most of the time on the south side of a hill, but always exceptions. I don’t doubt but that they adapt to whatever climate and geography they find themselves in
 
Originally Posted By: KC Coyote Hunter OK.. This is what I think they are... big holes...maybe 18" in diameter..... they go down like a tunnel and come back up 8-10' later..........they can enter and exit from either side......

Is this a den? My land owners tell me about the dens....and where to find them, and I see these holes...tunnels....they go down...and come up on the other side.

Is this a coyote den?? I referenced to dens...and a fellow board member was laughing at me....I want to make sure I know what a den IS!!! Is this a den?? I've seen a bunch of these...and I was thinking I was looking at Coyote homes....per the land owner, this is what these are?? Am I wrong?

thanks..............

Your landowner doesn't know what he's talking about.
 
Slick, that is a very well written article. That guy is spot on with what I used to experience when we used to go denning them.
 
I can't tell you what they look like other then a hole of some kind. I do know they seem to use the same area to den every year. I don't know if the use the SAME den and family seem to den in the same area too.
Even if I kill the alpha dogs there are spots that always have an active den.
 
From what you are describing, it could be groundhog holes you are seeing. 18" diameter seems a bit large, but the entrance holes do seem bigger than the tunnel itself. The jump holes, as we call them are the smaller holes you see near them.
Possibly could be prairie dog holes....but I'm not really familiar with them.
 
Never saw one that big, but if it was used through several springs the pups may wear the opening much larger than the run. Around me the coyote will use dry culverts. Often during the summer the [beeep] will move pups to cleaner dens(fleas,wet conditions). More than once I have found them in road ditch culvert. Seems like the north side of east/west roads most often. Have seen them use as small as 8".
 
The pup in my avatar was by a hole maybe 10 inches in circumference and maybe 3 foot deep never seen one like what you describe except badger digs those can be huge
 
Originally Posted By: SlickerThanSnothttps://coyoteyipps.com/2011/05/15/coyotes-use-dens-only-for-pupping/

read this. ^^^^ it might help you AND your land owners.

i don't agree with all of it. but most i do. btw, mostly they are called coyotes. not dogs.

Very educational! Thank you. I've seen some big holes and don't know what I saw. Possibly groundhog or something else?? I thought they may be connected, but I really have no idea. the linked article did say that dens often have multiple exits. There are some ridge lines on this one property....the landowner said they were dens along these ridge lines and around the ponds. I did find some large holes, and thought this is what they were talking about. To be honest...I don't really know but thank you for sharing the link.

Please don't confuse my ignorance as the property owners.....they aren't out there holding my hand and pointing things out to me. Feel free to bust my chops though...I'm the noob and a little hazing never hurts.

I'll do my best to learn to become a proper "coyote harvester" with your guidance.
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In this area it could be badger dens, some of the coyotes will use rotten logs for dens since they are the defense when the wolves start hunting them down.
 
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I have seen coyote dens with multiple entrances. Couple, didn't know about the other entrances until the smoke started coming out of them.

Before reading this thread I would not have considered multiple entrances too unusual. Most don't have more than one, but more than one hasn't seemed like anything to be surprised about either. But I have very little experience with denning, so have a small sample size to go on.

Most dens in my AO start as badger holes that get cleaned out and repurposed. But I have seen young pups nested under big sage brush and other places that aren't holes in the ground.

- DAA
 


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