Human scent

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Ihateyotes

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Ok I have been trying to figure out a way to ask this without sounding too stupid. I get coyotes can smell really good and leave when they smell humans. My question is if they are around houses and in the pastures near where people live how sensitive are they to the scent? They have to be desensitized to a certain extent as those smells don't just stop at the edge of the yard. So in cases like this how important is the wind? I agree if you shoot and miss and they are getting a nose full they will probably put two and two together. So what are your thoughts?
 
They are not really desensitized as much as you might think.

There are two situations like this.

Wild coyotes coming around human infrastructure, that don't normally do so, is the first. The scents are like bathwater. Starts out hot and cools off as time goes on. A coyote will have a great situational awareness of humans and other threats if it encroaches on an area where humans are known to be. They spook easily and are prone to times of day when human activities are less...Like at night.

The second situation is when coyotes become conditioned to human presence by prolonged exposure to humans.

Again, their senses are not really diminished, they are still coyotes. But the conditioning of human presence being not so much of a threat as much as the reward they get from the close contact around humans overrides the natural caution a wild coyote possesses. If there is no perceived danger, and they get a full belly every time they are around humans, that fear ceases to exist. A way more dangerous situation than the first scenario from both the coyote and human perspective.
 
Coyotes and probably all predators and prey have the ability to distinguish between lingering human scents and the scent of a human that is actually nearby
 
I mainly hunt at night with a night scope so the visual is not a problem. I would agree if they could see me they would leave. My property is rural but there are houses and they run behind my house, next to it, in the pasture across the street, in the pecan orchard right behind my neighbors house so the smell is constant or used to not as many now as there was :0
 
Coyotes are very aware of their normal surroundings and human habits . They are quite bold around my families farm during the day and sometimes show themselves and watch our activities . We have shot 3 this summer within 75 yards of the barns during the day because they just stood and looked in . I have seen them follow behind the tractors when working a field too looking for mice .

The whole game changes when you step into their environment . They know your scent does not belong there .
 
Originally Posted By: rockinbbarThey are not really desensitized as much as you might think.

There are two situations like this.

Wild coyotes coming around human infrastructure, that don't normally do so, is the first. The scents are like bathwater. Starts out hot and cools off as time goes on. A coyote will have a great situational awareness of humans and other threats if it encroaches on an area where humans are known to be. They spook easily and are prone to times of day when human activities are less...Like at night.

The second situation is when coyotes become conditioned to human presence by prolonged exposure to humans.

Again, their senses are not really diminished, they are still coyotes. But the conditioning of human presence being not so much of a threat as much as the reward they get from the close contact around humans overrides the natural caution a wild coyote possesses. If there is no perceived danger, and they get a full belly every time they are around humans, that fear ceases to exist. A way more dangerous situation than the first scenario from both the coyote and human perspective.

I like this answer... I also believe they don't get "desensitized" but their behaviorism is based on learning through interactions within their environment-territory... especially when that territory overlaps urban or suburban areas.. I like the "bath water" analogy.. Coyotes around my house learn through interaction with me that it is hazardous for their health to stick their head up during daylight... Those that don't end up hanging on a fence... Even if you was hunting in the city limits the wind is still important, like shed hunter said: "...have the ability to distinguish between lingering human scents and the scent of a human that is actually nearby"
 
Which means I have reached one of my goals which was to teach them to have respect and fear humans. When I first built my house here they would come up in the yard and were around my house in large numbers. I never lost a calf to one but when I sold my cows and started raising sheep for my daughter to show in FFA & 4h that changed and I was losing them as fast as they hit the ground. I got in to night vision and could get to within 40yds upwind of them and they were arrogant and would just look at me thinking the were safe in the dark. You could see their attitudes change over time when they figured out something was hunting them. My second goal is to manage them / teach them my property is not safe for them and I have watched them go around it instead of on it. I am not saying they do not come on it as evidenced by the one I shot last week but not like they used to.

This brings up the problem, in the process of working to achieve the first two goals I started enjoying it. And now there are less in the area to call in. I guess I just have to wait and catch any new comers. The good news is the deer are happy I have a doe and her two fonds that stay in the pasture next to me and I get to see them grow albeit in green phosphorus lol.

It has also changed a lot of what I thought I knew about how deer behave at night. Moon, no moon deer move and eat all night. They bed down in open fields get up eat move a little farther and bed down again. I watch them come out of thin strips of trees between pastures where they were bedded down that you would not think a deer could hide in. I get to see how deer behave that I would not get to see in the daylight. I guess I could start taking out the skunks but it is fun to watch 4 little tails all sticking up all bunched up in the grass.
 
All animals are alike. Some are smart, and some not so. Some have bad days and some are lucky. We hunters tend to thin out the unlucky and dumb ones.
 
I've had bird dogs most of my life, and their nose is amazing. They can tell within a step or two which direction the bird is walking. I suspect a coyotes nose is at least equal.

I like the bathwater analogy.
 
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