Brazen Predators

[1iagobblergetter]

Being a avid coonhunter and trapper the majority of my life I know that overpopulated raccoons get distemper,coyotes and foxes mange and thats how nature naturally takes care of its self which in turn is a way to let prey numbers rebound.

[ferocious calls]

Harvested 31 coyote, 30ish fox, a pile of coon and possums from our hunting areas last season.

More hunters need to help keep predator numbers in check. What are you doing about it?

[Paulmyr]

 Thump em on the nose and stomp em!

I like to do my part when it comes to managing predators. Most folks around here feel the same way.


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[jonhaga]

Just my opinion I think our turkeys largest threat starts with nest predation, snakes, raccoons, opossum, hay harvesting, then once hatched birds of prey I feel do a fair amount of damage along with everything else. But I'd say Bobcats do far more damage than coyotes.

[ferocious calls]

it is when the coyotes learn to hunt turkeys with a strategy that the flock is in trouble. They all do not develop this skill.

Terrain has some to do with thier efficiency as well.

If there were as many cats as coyotes in many areas there would be few birds.

[zelmo1]

Our local focus is to keep egg stealer numbers down first then coyotes. We cannot hunt or trap bobcats here and they are coming back way too fast. I wish we could get a real plan instead of all or nothing mentaity

[Kylongspur88]

I believe the single greatest predator of turkeys is a bobcat. I would bet they kill more birds than a coyote by a long shot.

I would agree they are the best preditor of adult birds. Coyotes aren't that great at killing birds. They may get lucky and get a hen on the nest or young bird on the ground but I've watched both species go after birds and bobcats are hand down faster and better stalkers than coyotes. Plus they can climb like a squirrel.

On the same note, I don't have any issue with either being present in my area. Though bobcats may get a few birds a year they keep rhodent numbers in check. Coyotes on the other hand are much better at killing nest raiders like coons and possums than I am so I appreciate that. Neither is bad and nature will maintain a balance one way or another.

[tal]

I believe the single greatest predator of turkeys is a bobcat. I would bet they kill more birds than a coyote by a long shot.

I would agree they are the best preditor of adult birds. Coyotes aren't that great at killing birds. They may get lucky and get a hen on the nest or young bird on the ground but I've watched both species go after birds and bobcats are hand down faster and better stalkers than coyotes. Plus they can climb like a squirrel.

On the same note, I don't have any issue with either being present in my area. Though bobcats may get a few birds a year they keep rhodent numbers in check. Coyotes on the other hand are much better at killing nest raiders like coons and possums than I am so I appreciate that. Neither is bad and nature will maintain a balance one way or another.

Well said. I was thinking of birds after hatching, not including the nest robbers. I've seen many interactions between coyotes and turkeys and I don't believe coyotes kill many. But birds still on the ground? A coyote would wreak havoc on those. I've had bobcats come to the call! From what I've read on here I am thankful we don't have fishers yet.

[zelmo1]

Fishers are vicious creatures. Lost 23/24 fighting roosters to a fisher when I was a kid. It was a different time then. Problems got taken care of swiftly and completely back then.

[wvmntnhick]

Well, having trapped for several years (and stepping away due to the financial debt that the pelts can't come close to covering), I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that the largest predator to turkeys (aside from man) is nest robbers. It's been stated above but that's just the cold hard facts. There's not a predator alive that can damage a population quicker than a predator that strikes at the nest. Add in some very wet nesting seasons and it only gets worse. Do what you will with predators. I've got no care at all. I'd like to eradicate every coyote in the tri-county area but it's impossible regardless the implements used. If one truly wants to make a difference in bird population, look no further than the mirror. This is a hard topic for me to put into type because, as a younger man (and not as long as ago as I'd like to admit) I was admittedly hard on game animals. Not gonna go into great discussion over it. Seen the error in my ways. Fixed it. Tweaked my style a bit and can say that it's definitely better for me in all aspects. Heck, I won't even hunt squirrels in the same location more than a couple times. Anyone know how hard it is to eliminate rats?

Please understand I'm not saying we should stop hunting. It's needed in my opinion. But if the population is in dire straights, where does one really need to start?


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