Coyote Predation: Why It Matters
With calving season well underway for a lot of cattle producers, and soon to start for others there are a lot of things that we as ranchers must be extra careful about. Lately on social media there has been a lot of outrage over predator kills and attacks. These have involved both coyotes and other predators. I wanted to share a little bit about why predators are such a big deal for ranchers around the U.S. and what we do to mitigate the risks associated with cohabitating with them.
To begin, it is vital for me to express that as a Christ following family, my husband and I take personal responsibility being stewards of the things that God has placed us in authority over. One of those things is our livestock. With the job of stewarding our livestock well, comes the privilege responsibility of protecting our livestock from harm. With great privilege comes great responsibility, which is something we take very seriously regarding the individual animals we care for. This duty includes predators and how we manage them. This is such an important topic to our family as well as others in our industry because our livestock are our livelihood. Keeping our animals safe and healthy means the success of our business and industry. As a rancher, I know that American agriculture is the source of a large part of food, clothing, and other products for our nation. In my opinion, this should not be overlooked or replaced by Americans valuing predators more. In addition to this, it is important for producers to be able to articulate the effects that predators have on their livestock. Understanding helps to educate and communicate information to those who may not know, in a way that can be received well.
In 2015 the USDA released an article, giving information about the death losses in U.S. cattle and calves due to both predator and non-predator causes. This article was a very educational read, and I will provide a link to it in my citations, at the bottom of the blog. Sticking to our topic, the USDA article reported that coyotes accounted for the major percent of cow and calf deaths on operations due to predators. Coyotes were responsible for 40.5% of mature cow deaths and 53.1% of calves killed by predators. Although this article is nine years old now, it is common knowledge that the predator presence has not diminished since then and could be argued that it has increased. This means the numbers from 2015 can reflect a fair picture of where the U.S. is today regarding this issue. As an example of predator presence, the other day I went to check cows in the morning. A normal number of coyotes I see near our herd is one. Even one coyote poses a death threat to any newborn calves. Within five minutes, I spotted three more coyotes, a dangerously close distance to the herd. Total, that is four coyotes in one morning that I didn’t have to look hard to find. As a rancher who currently has new baby calves and with coyotes being the leading predator for predator deaths in cattle and calves, this was a very concerning event. This example is not totally uncommon in our area either. Coyote threats are a daily concern and an unfortunate reality. It takes very little to find stories from other livestock producers on the internet who are rightfully enraged at the damages caused to them by coyotes and other predators. In an online article released just last year by Farm and Ranch Guide, Bill Lowman writes about the sickening reality of how he has experienced coyotes’ effects on his calves, stating “Do coyotes kill calves? I’ve been a personal witness on this debate most of my life. The brutal truth is NO – they simply “eat them alive.” Too many times, way too many times I’ve had to euthanize newborn or young calves that were maimed and partially devoured by a pair or pack of coyotes” (Lowman, 2023). This is a firsthand witness, with accounts of the gruesome effects that predators can have on livestock. I have heard plenty of stories myself of calves being eaten by coyotes while being born. I have also heard of coyote kills that would make anyone sick to their stomach. On average, most medium to large operations can’t reasonably house their herds indoors every night, where they would in theory be protected from these threats. Moreover, it wouldn’t be practical to assume that coyote threats are limited to nighttime. The situation requires consistent management and maintenance, to be able to co habitat, without one group totally overrunning the other.
As we move on to methods for risk mitigation of coyote kills, I want readers to understand that although this is not everyone’s favored point of view, it is the correct way to handle things if agriculture producers are to sustain America and their own livelihoods. The first thing that my husband and I do, is actively hunt and kill coyotes before they can actively hunt and kill our animals. This is simply a preventative action that allows us to continue to operate in ranching. It is also a way for us to protect and steward our livestock well. It is out of a desire to prevent death for our herd, our livelihood, and our nation. Although research has shown that removing one coyote simply leaves room for others, and often the population grows back, the tradeoff of letting coyotes over run the ranch and become crowded in population has far greater consequences than managing the predator presence we have well. I have personally experienced an overcrowded coyote population, it is bad for livestock and other prey wildlife. Another common protection method that we personally don’t have the option to use is guard dogs and or livestock protection animals. While this is primarily used for sheep and goat protection, it is a way ranchers and ag producers work to protect their herds. A protection animal lives with the herd and protects them from threats. It’s like what we as ranchers do when we shoot coyotes that get to close to or threatens the herd. It is not unheard of for a guard dog to kill a coyote threatening livestock. A couple of other management options are trapping and sometimes poisoning. All these methods are necessary in their own way for predator management.
In conclusion, with the things that we have discussed, I hope I have made the cause of the livestock producer clearer. This is an important topic to be discussed and revisited regularly. Those of us in agriculture love the life we live. We are as resilient as possible despite the challenges, because we are passionate about our lifestyle. It is incredibly discouraging this time of year to find a newborn animal killed by predators despite our best efforts to keep it safe. The agriculture industry can’t survive without the freedom to ensure its safety. Our livelihoods as ranchers and farmers will be threatened by the mismanagement of coyotes and other predators. Not only is it sad to see coyote kills, but it is sometimes difficult to remove the offending animals before they do considerably more damage. Support your local agriculture producers and their efforts to protect and defend their livestock.
Citation List
1. USDA. (2017, December). Death loss in U.S. cattle and calves due to predator and ... United States Department of Agriculture. https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/general/downloads/cattle_calves_deathloss_2015.pdf
2. Lowman, B. (2023, April 10). On the topic of coyotes – we’ve witnessed the truth. AgUpdate. https://agupdate.com/farmandranchguide/lifestyles/on-the-topic-of-coyotes-we-ve-witnessed-the-truth/article_f763b908-d22b-11ed-a39d-0fbcfc8b1b8e.html
3. James, K. (2022, November 28). Coyotes on the prowl: A concern for cow-calf operations. Ag Proud RSS. https://www.agproud.com/articles/55300-coyotes-on-the-prowl-a-concern-for-cow-calf-operations
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