Den Hunting as a Means of Coyote Control

DEN HUNTING AS A MEANS OF COYOTE CONTROL
By Stanley P. Young, principal biologist and chief of division , and Harold W. Dobyns, assistant leader, Section of Predator and Rodent Control, Division of Game Management, Bureau of Biological Survey
Issued October 1937
Importance of Den Hunting
There is perhaps no better method of keeping down the increase of coyotes than to destroy the newly born whelps before they abandon the dens to shift for themselves. A little time spent in locating dens in April, May, and June and destroying the whelps will save months of strenuous effort trying to rid the range of the predators after they have reached maturity.
Coyotes are particularly destructive during the denning season because of the need of extra food both for themselves and 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 cunning in refraining from killing lambs near their dens and will pass by a band of sheep that is herded right over a den only to raid another several miles distant. They have been known to carry leg of lamb a distance of 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 the females.
Qualifications and Equipment of the Den Hunter
The most essential qualifications of a den hunter are keen observation, 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 in most sections, and the same general methods of den hunting can be applied to humid mountainous sections and to semiarid deserts.