I was a volunteer here in Dillon, Montana at the Beaverhead Outdoors Associations Annual Banquet last Saturday evening. It is our annual fund raiser and get together. Wonderful time! Our guest speaker was a retired Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department Biologist! He brought with him a live Raven, a live 21 pound Bald Eagle (normal weight on these is 11-12 pounds in the wild) and a variety of stuffed Fish, some antlers and some pelts from various animals. He was digging the pelts out of his cases and I saw him pull out what I thought was a light color phase Wolf! It turned out to be the largest Coyote pelt I have ever seen! He claimed the Coyote was obtained whole here in Montana and they weighed it on official scales - 72 pounds! I will restate - I could not belive how big it was! He then pulled out a Wolf pelt and later after his long presentation I compared the two. No doubt about it the pelt he claimed was a Coyote I am sure was a Coyote (foot size, snout size, head shape etc)! He gave an explanation of why the Game Department here thinks Coyotes are in general getting larger in these parts but that is to long to relate here. His explanation sounded plausible to me.
This speaker who contracts now through the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department travels the whole United States giving talks and demonstrations on Fish and Wildlife - absolutely THE most entertaining, informing and at times hilarious speaker I have ever seen! If your club or association is in need of a guest speaker he is the man! There were two other local active Game Wardens at this function and they did not bat an eye at the stats on this Coyote as they apparently were well aware of it. I stopped in the Big Hole Valley last night at an old trapper friend of mines house. He had 11 freshly trapped Coyotes on spreader boards drying in front of his fireplace and dozens in his shed. None compared to the monster I had seen on Saturday. He was amazed at the size of the Coyote I had seen and wished he had seen it also. He feels it is possible for a Coyote to get that big - rarely. He did not comment on the evolution of Coyotes to larger size here. I bought a Cougar skull and a Marten pelt from him. Oohhh and the stories we told! It was an amazing and memorable evening! One amazing thing is him being 82 years old and still running a long trapline in the Big Hole (the highest valley and the coldest weather in all of Montana)! His wife reminded him of his latest Trapping misadventure - on November 28th of this past year a Cougar was apparently stalking an animal in one of his traps when he came along. The Cougar sprang at him out of a log jam and as he shot it the Cougar hit him and broke his left wrist and tore a ligament to his thumb! He says luckily it was his left wrist! He is already mending and only had a wrist brace still to wear!
My favorite story of his was a recent one about a Cougar killing a Moose! He and his wife were trekking his trapline 3 years ago and they came upon a Cougar in the willows with a full grown cow moose staggering and choking. The Cougar had hold of the Moose by the throat and shortly the Moose succumbed! Cougars normally kill by breaking the necks of Deer and Elk but this was a choking/suffocating death. My Trapper friend says it looks like 125 Coyotes this winter season for him and 50 Fox also numerous Marten and Raccoons! Pretty good he says. He is also a licensed nuisance Trapper (Traps year round for the Game Department) and his high take for a calender year was 525 Coyotes! This in an area approxmately 70 miles long by 20 miles wide!
A 72 pound Coyote though! I still am amazed by the size of that pelt. I told the retired Biologist that the animal should have been mounted life size! Budget restrictions he said! Bring enough Gun to Montana!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG - I'd be interested in WHY he thinks coyotes are getting bigger up there. Not that I doubt it.

I've noticed over my life that coyotes come in a pretty wide variety of sizes and colors. I shot one on a deer hunt once that was considerably larger than the coyotes from the desert country.

I suspect that basically they are as big as they need to be in each location.

Yes! by all means tell us why! I expect they must be eatin good for starters.. ??

That 72lb. western coyote is like unto a 900lb. woman, it may happen but not very often. Maybe Mont. is like Texas, things just grow bigger there . Seriously, I've been a coyote caller since 1965 and the biggest dog I've ever seen was one I shot about 10yrs. ago in S.E. Wash. state.
He weighted 39lbs. I grew up in S. Ariz. and the dogs down there are pretty much the same size as the ones I hunt here in Idaho.

Call em in close____Pete

Here's one I caught today on my trap run, He weighed just a shade over 47lbs.
Must be a Texas thing, huh Pete

Increasing size of the Coyotes was (according to the man) due to a multitude of factors and as I recall these were the main ones. Over the past couple of centuries the smaller ones stayed stuck in the leg hold traps more often (and indeed lots of trapping still goes on here in the Rockies), subsequently larger more dominant males and larger females have been breeding more often. Snares also are more apt to catch and keep the standard size Coyote. Poisons used in the past by those that poison Eagles and Coyotes are of course more apt to kill the smaller bodied animals than the larger. Poisoning of Coyotes still goes on a lot in the west. Quietly but it still persists. And yes there are people that intentionally poison Eagles. A rancher in north central Montana got his ass in a terrible bind several years ago for poisoning some sheep carcass's to help diminish the lamb predation by Eagles. A bunch of Bald and Golden Eagles bit the big one there.
After 2 centuries of Hunting, Trapping, snaring, poisoning, coursing with hounds and shooting them from planes here on the high plains a smarter and larger Coyote has evolved. More recently the Wolves simply run the Coyotes down and kill them. A longer legged larger Coyote has a better chance of outrunning a Wolf.
The largest Coyote I have weighed was not quite 40 pounds so comparing a 72 pound Coyote to a 900 pound woman is not an Algebraicly correct comparison - its more like a 350 pound woman and indeed I have seen some of those.
The biologist also had a Coyote pelt that had "tufted" eyebrows like a Lynx or Bobcat! It was very interesting to speculate on that oddity also. Can a canine and a cat mate? I don't think so but how in the world could the eyebrows become tufted on a single Coyote? Evolution? Who knows.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Varmint Guy,
It would be interesting to know how close to a city this coyote was taken. When I lived in Tucson, Az. a friend with the Game And Fish told me that Coyotes were getting larger. At the time their theory for this was due to breading with domestic dogs and improved food supplies. Seems the further you get from a city, the smaller, or more normal, sized they get. Might be interesting to see what a hundred years will bring.

the reason the coyotes may be getting larger is that they have to to compeat with the wolfs here now the pack in yellowstone have wiped out the coyotes in the park the wolfs try to kill all coyotes around here also ( ninemile valley western Montana)

Here in NH a 70 pound Coyote is not unherd of.My buddy Ed shot one that weighed more than 90 pounds.And no it wasn`t a wolf.

Yotecaller: I am dumbfounded by the size of the New Hampshire Coyotes! That is amazing! I would love to see one that size flat on the ground or Hunting in a field - WOW! 90 pounds is HUGE! I was just reading a recent issue of the Varmint Hunter Magazine and on page 193 of issue #44 is a picture of a 50 pound Coyote that a Varmint Hunter took in Kentucky! I thought I had seen it all with that 72 pounders pelt but I would REALLY like to see a 90 pounder!
Also Nutoy great work on that whopper Coyote! Good for you and thanks for the photo!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

We ran coyotes here with hounds forever and for 20 years killed 75-150 a year-lots of coyotes. I've seen one that weighed 55 pounds and one at 52. Out of an average year of killing 100 or so, maybe 4 or 5 big males would hit 40 pounds or so.Average on a full-grown male is about 30. I've also shot them in Colorado, Wyoming, etc and they were all about the same size as here in Mo. They're a hell of a lot less wild in Wyoming than they were around our farmhouse. I don't believe there's anyone here who've seen 90-pound coyotes. I've seen thousands and very damn few half that size. By the way that 55 pounder was a bitch and I always suspected she was part German Shepherd or something although she didn't show it.

I have trapped a lot of yotes biggest was a weighed 52lbs a big yote, A 90 pounder must of been a crossed with a dog. Most I would say would go to the 30lb range.

i was told by a game warden here in maine the other day that a 73pound coyote was recently shot around bangor... big big big

I travel for a living and I personally think the farther east you get the coyotes get bigger. I shoot a few every year (never weighed them) in north MS and they're much bigger than the ones I see out west in the desert. I've never seen a 72lb song dog before much less a 90lb one, I have seen a couple of 900lb women though.

TC1---Your the man.

I once shot a coyote in Ontario that was quite big.

I didn't weigh him, but the picture weighed 2 pounds!

jpb

Well, VarmintGuy, your story is extremely plausible. All of the points have made sense. I just had one question for everyone (off-topic...)
why is it that humans are getting so tall? I am 6'2 and that is more or less "normal" now, whereas back in Sherlock Holmes' time (1890) He was 6' and huge for his period... Are we eating more?

reloader-1

[ 01-19-2003, 17:51: Message edited by: reloader-1 ]

Reloader 1: That is a good question! Why are we European and African humans getting taller (and as far as Americans go HEAVIER also)? I do know this my father was 5'9" tall at his highest (he is 81 now and 5'7") and I am 6'3"! My 16 1/2 year old son is 6'3" now and I am sure he will be 6"6" tall as an adult! I got an interesting E-mail a day or two ago. It had to do with the changes here in America from 1902 to 2002! The most startling statistic was the human longevity! It was 47 years of age in 1902 and it is 73 years of age now (average lifespan!) Evolution may be speeding up here recently! The bad news for me and my son and other large folks is this - as of now there are no large heavy people in old folks homes! The humans that live the longest are the smaller ones! I have heard the numbers on this and I forget them but I did work around retiremnet centers, old folks homes and convalescent centers for 29 years and it is my distinct observation that women and small men vastly outnumber the larger folks therein.
Back to taller humans - I have heard rumors of growth hormones from beef and chicken products causng it as well as most women prefer taller men and over time that would account for some evolutionary increase in size but this last century has really seen an increase in the height of American men. I wonder if the mingling of different ethnic backgrounds causes increased height. The wonderful folks in Japan and SE Asia do not seem to be having a century long growth spurt. Hmmm.... I don't know for sure whats going on here! Good question Reloader 1!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Hey VarmintGuy,
Check out this coyote i shot 2 years ago.


I never had a chance to weigh it but I had trouble holding it up. This is the biggest coyote i have ever taken but i have been hunting one that is even bigger this year. I have yet to be successful. I have seen him a number of times on a bait tree but i cant seem to get close enough without him spooking.

Roy's Hunting Website

[ 01-20-2003, 22:30: Message edited by: Roy Wilmeth ]

Roy that is an awesome yote.Did you have him stuffed?

VarmintGuy,

We could take this to another topic since it will engender a lot of oral flatulence. However, I've been told in 3 different education venues that in both Great Britain and Japan, once diet improved the average height moved up to current averages. There is some dispute on this but I would have to agree since pre-WWII I believe (if I am remembering correctly) the average height of males in Japan was about 5' 4" and now is a "normal" 5' 9". In 19th century GB, military officers would often "tower" over their enlisted men since they would average 5' 9" or 5' 8" while the enlisted averaged 5' 2". The GB data seems pretty good and points to differences in diet due to relative wealth, officers being of the "monied" class and the enlisted coming from the masses.

[ 01-20-2003, 22:56: Message edited by: Hobie ]

Roy: That is a monster Coyote! My goodness! Congratulations! I do not notice any mixed with dog features on him! That is a Trophy! Texas huh - I am impressed.
Hobie: I am sure you are right about the improved diet assisting growth in humans! The Coyotes around here these days sure have a rich diet of creatures relating to ranching and farming that way in the past did not exist. And the cultivated fields enhance the numbers of small animals like Ground Squirrels, Game Birds, Rabbits and such. Probably an obvious answer to the increasing size Coyotes. I do know this the Coyotes eat a lot better in the months of January and February because of the recent manipulation of the cattle around here giving birth then. Mostly the Coyotes feed at the site of the birth eating the leftovers from birth but now and then they eat a calf also. I am sure this has enhanced their vitality during the tough cold months of winter.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Roy and others, I believe a # of these unusually large "coyotes" have some sort of domestic dog genetics in their lineage. Several years back I took a 47 lb. coyote not far from a trailer park, close to town. It was a very light-colored coyote, with very distinctive markings. A year later a buddy of mine and I ran across a roadkill coyote not far from where i shot the other one. He was very big again with almost identical coloration and markings (obviously from the same gene pool). These two dogs were atypical relative to the rest of the dogs we were taking in that area. Of course this is just an assumption but I believe somewhere along the line a common relative crossed with a dog, in that area to produce a larger hybrid, quite different that either pure spp.

Great photo, for those of us from other continents, who have only had exposure to Coyotes on cartoons, are the related to the 'fox' family, they look like they have a 'bushy' tail, are they native to Nth America or were they introduced? Why does everyone shoot them do they kill live stock etc? or just a general menance. Will a coyote take on a domestic dog, think i saw a few on the 'Osbournes' that were slinking around Ozzies house, think he was worried about them eating his kids dog?

Boris: Amen the Coyotes are smart! But they can on occassion be tricked! By imitating the squall of a dying Rabbit or small Bird the Coyotes will come to investigate! And a well concealed Hunter can get a shot at them. A lot of Coyotes get harvested in this way every year in North America. I know I kill at least 25 a year and have for 40 years so thats 1,000 dead Coyotes right there! But I am a piker when it comes to Coyotes compared to lots of people I know! I have a Hunter/Trapper friend about 65 miles from me and he took 525 in one year recently!
The Coyotes couple up for mating each year unlike the Wolf where only the Alpha couple mates and the other males and females in the pack (even though sexually mature) do not mate! Anyway large litters of pups are common each year from every mature female and 5 or 6 pups is the norm! Coyotes bare heavily on the Whitetailed Deer fawns, Mule Deer fawns and especially the Antelope fawns! They also reek havoc with the Game Bird clutches, in my area of North America anyway.
Lots of knowledgeable Hunters atest to the fact that the North America Coyote is one o the most difficult animals in the world to bring to bag ONCE the Coyote knows he is being Hunted! They are cunning, fast, able to make hide saving decisions quickly and no animal I Hunt can use the topography of the land like a Coyote! I mean he can assess my location his location the lay of the land, rises, depressions, gullies and water beds and if he becomes aware of my presence, is missed by a shot or more often just smells me or MY TRAIL, he then goes from his location to hidden by land features in the shortest and quickest route! Not even mature Bull Elk can disappear like an "on alert" Coyote!
They are a wonderful and resourceful quarry! Their eyes detect movement as easily as an Eagle (day or night!), their nose can detect my presence under unbelievable conditions and I swear they can smell my footprints hours after I have made them! Their hearing is superb also. I have called many Coyotes into view and even when 150 yards away a very quiet lip squeak by myself will instantly have the Coyote looking in my exact direction! When I am lucky enough to have fooled the Coyote into this situation I quickly pull the trigger! I like to stop them out there as the closer they get the more likely they are to smell me and headlong flight (at 35 miles per hour) instantly ensues!
Long live the Coyote! I just wish there were not so may of them!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I once saw a picture of a coyote shot near Tualrosa, NM that weighed 105 pounds. He was huge! He was eating lots of fat sheep.

Another theory relates to mammals being larger the further north you go 9until you reach the tundra, anyway), to combat the hardships of winter (witness extremely large northern forest whitetails). I haven't weighed any coyotes here-abouts, but they seem larger to the eye. Could just be thicker fur from the colder temperatures this year, though. - Dan

[ 01-30-2003, 19:51: Message edited by: dan belisle ]