When you see a coyote hit on the road....

bowhunter57

bowhunter57

Well-known member
When you see a coyote hit on the road does it mean that there is a high population in that area?

It's usually true of deer, coons, fox, etc., that if you see one hit on the road that there COULD be a high population in the area.

Coyotes are very smart to human society and all its' hazards, so its' not common to see them hit on the road.

Your opinions and experience is appreciated.
Thank you, Bowhunter57
 
I've seen a number of coyotes running across the road, but have seen very few as roadkill. I think a lot of it may be that the coyotes tend to cross the road. Not sit in the middle of it and wonder what that big chunk of speeding metal is like deer tend to. Rabbits tend to cross the road, but then run back across, and then run back across yet again. Usally by then they have a close encounter of the Goodyear kind.
 
I see road kill coyotes all the time here in Texas. I also used to see a lot of them on the road in Oklahoma. I do think it has to do with population density like it does with other animals.

Bob
 
I think that if you see ONE coyote killed along the road, it probably just means that it was a too slow coyote. Now if you start seeing SEVERAL coyotes killed along the road like I have seen a few times along I-40, west of Oklahoma City then I have to believe that it is indeed a high coyote population area.
 
Bowhunter57,

I look at it like this. If there is one dead Coyote in the road, there should be more in the area. If there are alot on the road dead, there are many in the area. I've never seen a dead deer in the county that I live in but I know there are deer here as I hunt here and watch them feed. One time last year I was in the Hill Country of Texas and saw six dead deer in a quarter mile stretch. Yes, they have a ton of deer down there, more than here at home.
 
In my experience, most road killed coyotes are YOY. Older, experienced coyotes who understand road hazzards rarely get hit. They'll feed on road kill, but move to the shoulder when cars approach. Youngsters get totally focused on the meal and forget to dodge the lights. And it's usually YOY who wait 'till the last minute to sprint across the road to join up with Mom and Dad.
 
Thank you for the replies, gentlemen!

The coyote I seen along the road was an adult, but I didn't check it out close enough to determine whether it was a male of female because it had a pretty bad case of "road rash". :eek:

I've seen some coyote tracks in and around the section where this coyote was hit, but I haven't had a chance to get out and call in this section, yet.

Good hunting, Bowhunter57
 
Well, well Jean. So now you've decided to spar with me, eh? OK, and just for my amusement only. Read my post again, this time even more slowly. I didn't say anything about research data, only personal experience.
With due consideration for prevailing traffic, I stop and check out road killed coyotes. The majority are young, and I usually find a dead sibling (presumed, no DNA tests performed) within 50 yds of the first. When I have found dead adults (AZ & NV) on the roadside, they had been shot. Not exactly a scientific survey, just an observation from personal experience, as originally stated.

OK, now it's your turn to contribute something to this board, besides your incessant criticizm. Give us something substantial, something profound. Hell, just tell us about the last thing you killed. Anything, just do it without bitching and whining.
 
Well, that wasn't so difficult, was it, NASA? That would be your data. What's this talk of sparring? And what's with the defensive attitude? That is exactly the information I was looking for, thank you. Most of the coyotes I have seen that were road-killed have been too badly mangled or too rotten to determine much.
 
Easy Gentlemen you are slipping a little bit into the arena of personal attacks.

Jean-Henri - Your post did come off as a little agressive and a deffinate challenge was issued to NASA. You probably don't know NASA very well, but I can assure you that he seldom makes statements about animals and their behavior without first hand personal knowledge. I have absolutely no problem believing that NASA stops and investigates road kill, I've spent a few days with him and can assure you that he has that kind of curious mind.

NASA - The man jabbed you a bit and you jabbed back.

Paul41 - The joke content of your post did bring on a small smile. However on a serious note it was a little uncalled for....... a little .......
 
In defense of my strong reply, I'd like to say that I responded, in kind, based on Jean's recent history of retorts in other forums. I mistakenly (?) assumed he was shifting his attention from, say Krusty, to me. His last reply wasn't nearly as caustic as I had anticipated, though. So I may not have been completely justified. However..... one never knows.

J-H you have established your rep as an agitator, whether intentional or not. I sincerely hope this is just a personality flaw. Something like that can be successfully tailored to polish your rather rough edges. On the other hand, if you are satisfied with the way you approach the art of conversation, there's no reason for you to expect acceptance, here or anywhere else.

Sorry, Michael, I just didn't want anyone to get the idea that I wasn't up to the task. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
Although, I'd still like to hear a tale or two from the (so far) lusterless, albeit mysterious J-H.
 
Sorry to the board for such a strong response to jean-henri
sick of his bull****!!! and it is bull****!!
taking the time to post replys and share info with people is a great learning tool for all of us. Jean-henri brings nothing but garbage to this form!!!! So jean-henri if you got nothing to say shut up!!!!!
 
Coyotes for the most part are social creatures whether they are running together or following another to see who it is. They are also creatures of habit too and will travel the same basic routes, so when I see a road kill, it tells me that it's a pretty good place to call without doing any scouting. In Arizona, we have the luxury of miles and miles of huntable State lands so jumping a fence to do a little calling is always in order.

If the roadkill is a 1/2 grown pup, you tell me what that tells you?
 
Jay, my take is that Mom and Pop were taking the kids down to the Interstate buffet. Half grown pups don't shop all that far from home, so the hunting/calling should be productive within about a 2-3 mile radius of that road kill. Probably best in (very) early AM or just after dusk.
 
Do any of you think that an expanding coyote population can result in an increased roadkill or 2, with yotes travelling to newer areas and are less familiar with the territory?

The reason I say this is that yotes were fairly uncommon in my area 5 years ago, but you'd see a couple roadkills. Now they are a staple in the woods and you never see a dead one.
 
Back
Top