scooter
03-05-2009, 09:50 AM
Coyotes have big impact on deer herds
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This winter is not being kind to our deer herds.
As most people are aware, in our province the number of deer that die each winter is directly related to the depth of the snow and how long that snow stays on the ground.
Until the snowstorm of Feb. 23, snow levels in the province were only slightly below the levels experienced at that time last year. And as most are well aware, last winter was significantly more severe than normal, resulting in a winter deer kill of 14 per cent in the southern region of the province, 24 per cent in the central region, and 34 per cent in the north.
Then last week, 25 centimetres (10 inches) of snow fell on the southern parts of our province while in the north, some regions were buried by over 65 cm (26 inches) of the white stuff.
At that point, the number of deer that will die as a result of this winter's deep snows became potentially far greater than last winter. Following that storm, one trapper in the Plaster Rock area found that if he stepped off his snowshoes he would go up to his armpits in snow, and that while walking a deer trail in a deer yard, the top of the snow on either side of the trail was at the level of his belt buckle.
The heavy rain of the past weekend plus the messy weather of the last two days is also having an impact on the ability of our deer to survive the winter. What the remainder of this winter will bring is anyone's guess, yet unless we have a very early spring with mild, warm weather and little in the way of rain and cold, hunters should be prepared for bad news regarding the state of our deer herds.
As has often been pointed out, in New Brunswick, deer are at the upper northern limit of their range, with our winters being a major deciding factor in the growth or decline in our deer herds. During the 1970s we experienced open winters and little snow on the ground, and that is part of the reason our deer harvest in this province peaked in 1985 when a total of 115,704 deer licences were purchased, and 31,205 deer were harvested.
Yet it's very unlikely that we will ever again see those numbers due to the now common presence of coyotes throughout our province.
Coyotes are dependant on deer as a primary source of food during the latter part of the winter. Let our deer herd grow and coyote numbers will also grow, with each female having a larger litter every spring due to more food being available during gestation in the form of those deer.
Note that 1976 was the first year the province kept records of the number of coyote pelts harvested (less than 100). The number of pelts increased and then peaked in the winter of 1987-88 when about 1,600 were harvested.
That number then declined to about 250 in 1990-91. Coyote pelts harvested during each of the winters of 2003-04 and 2006-07 numbered approximately 2,500 pelts. It's debatable if this reflects the number of coyotes actually out there, or simply that trappers have become more adept at catching these varmints.
As for the number of trappers, between 1976 and 1988 an average of about 3, 000 trapping licences were sold. Since then the average has dropped to around 1, 000, with a total of 1,140 licences sold last year, and 36,601 pelts harvested of a variety of species.
Folks may be interested to know that the first coyote seen in our province was killed on the Albert Freeze farm on the outskirts of Sussex on Dec. 26, 1959. The animal had been staying around the farm for some time and often howling at night, keeping the family awake.
As a result, Mr. Freeze, along with Roy Carhart, a neighbour, and Bob McFarlane of Penobsquis waited on that bright, moonlit night in a small slaughterhouse out back of the farm for the animal to make its appearance. When it came within range, McFarlane killed the critter with a single blast from a shotgun.
Of course, word got around, with many people viewing the animal, with much speculation as to whether it was a coyote, a dog, part wolf or a crossbreed.
In the Dick Simpson photograph that appeared in the Kings County Record weekly newspaper, a few porcupine quills can be seen sticking in the hair of the animal's bushy tail.
A nearby neighbour visited and then, upon viewing the animal, was heard to say almost to himself, "So that's what it was!"
When quizzed, the neighbour told of hearing a commotion in his hay-barn earlier that summer, and found what he thought was a dog chasing some of his hens on the floor of the barn. He had shut the door, ran and got his rifle, shot the animal and then, believing it to be a neighbour's dog and not wanting there to be hard feelings, had buried the animal and not told anyone about it.
The consensus at that point was that the animal hanging around the Freeze farm was looking for its mate or buddy, and was often howling in an effort to locate the other.
Since then, coyotes have spread all across the province, to Nova Scotia, P.E. I. and even to Newfoundland. At first, these predators in our province found an overabundance of deer compared to their relatively limited numbers, but soon there were more coyotes than the deer population would support, with starvation the result. Eventually, each family pack established its own territory and they limited their numbers to the available food sources.
Coyotes will always be with us, and since they are out there hunting 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, our deer herds will never again regain the large numbers once common before the arrival of the coyote to this province.
* Everett Mosher is a Sackville-based writer and avid outdoorsman. His column appears Tuesday.
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PUBLICATION: Times & Transcript (Moncton)
DATE: 2009.03.03
SECTION: Sports
PAGE: B4
BYLINE: Everett Mosher
WORD COUNT: 945
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This winter is not being kind to our deer herds.
As most people are aware, in our province the number of deer that die each winter is directly related to the depth of the snow and how long that snow stays on the ground.
Until the snowstorm of Feb. 23, snow levels in the province were only slightly below the levels experienced at that time last year. And as most are well aware, last winter was significantly more severe than normal, resulting in a winter deer kill of 14 per cent in the southern region of the province, 24 per cent in the central region, and 34 per cent in the north.
Then last week, 25 centimetres (10 inches) of snow fell on the southern parts of our province while in the north, some regions were buried by over 65 cm (26 inches) of the white stuff.
At that point, the number of deer that will die as a result of this winter's deep snows became potentially far greater than last winter. Following that storm, one trapper in the Plaster Rock area found that if he stepped off his snowshoes he would go up to his armpits in snow, and that while walking a deer trail in a deer yard, the top of the snow on either side of the trail was at the level of his belt buckle.
The heavy rain of the past weekend plus the messy weather of the last two days is also having an impact on the ability of our deer to survive the winter. What the remainder of this winter will bring is anyone's guess, yet unless we have a very early spring with mild, warm weather and little in the way of rain and cold, hunters should be prepared for bad news regarding the state of our deer herds.
As has often been pointed out, in New Brunswick, deer are at the upper northern limit of their range, with our winters being a major deciding factor in the growth or decline in our deer herds. During the 1970s we experienced open winters and little snow on the ground, and that is part of the reason our deer harvest in this province peaked in 1985 when a total of 115,704 deer licences were purchased, and 31,205 deer were harvested.
Yet it's very unlikely that we will ever again see those numbers due to the now common presence of coyotes throughout our province.
Coyotes are dependant on deer as a primary source of food during the latter part of the winter. Let our deer herd grow and coyote numbers will also grow, with each female having a larger litter every spring due to more food being available during gestation in the form of those deer.
Note that 1976 was the first year the province kept records of the number of coyote pelts harvested (less than 100). The number of pelts increased and then peaked in the winter of 1987-88 when about 1,600 were harvested.
That number then declined to about 250 in 1990-91. Coyote pelts harvested during each of the winters of 2003-04 and 2006-07 numbered approximately 2,500 pelts. It's debatable if this reflects the number of coyotes actually out there, or simply that trappers have become more adept at catching these varmints.
As for the number of trappers, between 1976 and 1988 an average of about 3, 000 trapping licences were sold. Since then the average has dropped to around 1, 000, with a total of 1,140 licences sold last year, and 36,601 pelts harvested of a variety of species.
Folks may be interested to know that the first coyote seen in our province was killed on the Albert Freeze farm on the outskirts of Sussex on Dec. 26, 1959. The animal had been staying around the farm for some time and often howling at night, keeping the family awake.
As a result, Mr. Freeze, along with Roy Carhart, a neighbour, and Bob McFarlane of Penobsquis waited on that bright, moonlit night in a small slaughterhouse out back of the farm for the animal to make its appearance. When it came within range, McFarlane killed the critter with a single blast from a shotgun.
Of course, word got around, with many people viewing the animal, with much speculation as to whether it was a coyote, a dog, part wolf or a crossbreed.
In the Dick Simpson photograph that appeared in the Kings County Record weekly newspaper, a few porcupine quills can be seen sticking in the hair of the animal's bushy tail.
A nearby neighbour visited and then, upon viewing the animal, was heard to say almost to himself, "So that's what it was!"
When quizzed, the neighbour told of hearing a commotion in his hay-barn earlier that summer, and found what he thought was a dog chasing some of his hens on the floor of the barn. He had shut the door, ran and got his rifle, shot the animal and then, believing it to be a neighbour's dog and not wanting there to be hard feelings, had buried the animal and not told anyone about it.
The consensus at that point was that the animal hanging around the Freeze farm was looking for its mate or buddy, and was often howling in an effort to locate the other.
Since then, coyotes have spread all across the province, to Nova Scotia, P.E. I. and even to Newfoundland. At first, these predators in our province found an overabundance of deer compared to their relatively limited numbers, but soon there were more coyotes than the deer population would support, with starvation the result. Eventually, each family pack established its own territory and they limited their numbers to the available food sources.
Coyotes will always be with us, and since they are out there hunting 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, our deer herds will never again regain the large numbers once common before the arrival of the coyote to this province.
* Everett Mosher is a Sackville-based writer and avid outdoorsman. His column appears Tuesday.
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PUBLICATION: Times & Transcript (Moncton)
DATE: 2009.03.03
SECTION: Sports
PAGE: B4
BYLINE: Everett Mosher
WORD COUNT: 945
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