I get a lot of entertainment from this group and some frustration
I just went round and round with some folks about Coyotes
There was a thread about how many are around
And there were these people spreading what is basically an urban legend that our state wildlife commission had released coyotes in the state to help.control the deer population
I tried to explain that this was a myth spread on the internet and that our wildlife commission would not have done this
I tried to explain some reasons for the expansion of coyotes
And really our deer population is in control due to increasing the bag limit for hunters (I think you get 6 tags now and 4 have to be does)
But no
They are convinced because they read it online
I agree with everything that you posted. I can't speak on how coyotes hunt in NC, but in Central Cal. a pair of coyotes and their litter of pups hunt in a pack and kill sheep as well as calves. A neighbor and his hunting buddies has an annual coyote hunt on his ranch in the hills, each year they bag up to 3 dozen on a weekend.I suspect some of this one is people getting things a bit mixed. Red Wolves were reintroduced into our state a number of years ago, and visually, they are rather similar to coyotes. The Red Wolf is native to our area; the coyote is not. Our native wildlife have enough trouble competing with all the accidental non-native introductions; it's preposterous to think that people charged with the care and maintenance of our native wildlife would deliberately introduce a non-native to "control" a native species.
From what I hear, coyotes wouldn't be very good deer control, anyway. They have the rep for being solitary hunters, and being only of moderate size, are better suited to smaller prey. They might thin out the fawn crop a bit in the Spring, but an adult deer would be more than a match. But if the roads I have traveled lately are anything to go by, that might not matter; there's plenty of road killed deer to feast on. I swear, it's almost like the joke I heard about 'possums - Q. What's the average life expectancy of a possum? A. From the time it's born, to the time it tries to cross a road.
But why educate oneself and let things like facts and common sense get in the way of a good rant? Much more fun to get worked up about something a know-nothing said and spread among their fellow know-nothings in a place well known for operating on feelings rather than facts.
I can't speak on how coyotes hunt in NC, but in Central Cal. a pair of coyotes and their litter of pups hunt in a pack