The coyote has made quite a comeback in Pennsylvania.It is so adaptable to different surroundings that it is now found state wide in every habitat imaginable. While it is occasionally found in cities, it prefers the same habitat as the Red Fox, with the brushy edges of woods and meadows or pastures meet.
The coyote has a varied diet. While it will occasionally take livestock, alot of times it is blamed for animals taken by the domestic dog. A dog will have bite marks all over the animal and usually eat only the hindquarters. Coyotes bite under the throat and crush the skulls of newborn animals. They are a bane to sheep farmers as they will return to the flock again and again. While they will sometimes take a deer, it is one that is either old, sick or newborn and generally prefer the easier to catch roadkills. They will also eat berries, and small mammals.Family pets also find their way into their diet with cats being a special favorite.
Mostly nocturnal, the coyote travels in family packs.It is very territorial and will kill any canine in its home range including dogs and foxes.Coyotes do not usually mate for life, but a pair will stay together for several years. Pups are born in late April or early May after a gestation period of 58 -65 days. Types of dens include hollow logs, caves, rocky slopes, abandoned outbuildings, groundhog holes, and earthen dens on sunny slopes. Coyotes are very protective of their young and will move the den t the first sign of trouble. In autumn,some of the youngsters leave,travelling up to 200 square miles away. Some, however, will remain with the parents
Diseases include canine distemper, parvo, tularemia, coccidosis, rabies, septicemia, and mange.
Suggested trap sizes: 1.75 coilspring, No. 2 0r 3 preferred.
Suggested sets: Dirt hole, scent post set, trail set.