Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Ever shoot a three legged fox or coyote?

I was on my way home from work tonight and noticed a set of eyes crossing the road. I slowed down and grabbed my flashlight to see what the critter was. Turned out it was a red fox running around on three legs. I figured more then likely he got caught in a trap and chewed it off. He seemed to be doing well for himself or herself. Its the first one I have seen like this. What have you seen?

Have seen two coyotes with a missing leg or foot, but didn't shoot either. One had the whole leg cut off up to the hip and the other was missing a foot, much like the one lying on the rock in the previous post. Have seen two with a missing tail. One ran across the road in front of me and the other I called in and killed.


BC30Cal claims that he knows the rest of the story about what happened to this coyote's tail.

Shot a 2 1/2 legged, 47 pound raccoon. Missing a whole front foot and no toes on a hind.....

Old wives tale. More likely it was shot off.
Trapped K9's won't chew a foot off. Coon's yes, K9's no.

Shot one quite a few years ago.

Have shot several with 3 legs, and one with 2 good legs. Just last winter in a contest, we brought in 2 with 3 legs. Also killed one with a snare around it's neck, many years ago. It had chewed through.

Brother and I called in a triple a few years ago.
I shot one and he got a runner on his first shot. The third one escaped.
The runner he shot was very fast but was missing about 8" of a hind leg. The stub was healed over and the coyote seemed very healthy.
We presumed that it had been shot off.

I have killed 2 3-legged coyotes and one bob tailed coyote. In both cases the coyotes were missing a front leg at the elbow level. One was a large male and the other was a female- they were both in excellent body condition and the injuries were long term that had healed. The bob tailed coyote was a female and the injury was completely healed-she had scarring on her back and I figured she had been hit by a car at some point. They are tough animals that adapt well.

They are amazing animals. This fox looked quite healthy and happy

I've killed 3 coyotes missing parts of legs over the years. Two were missing fronts like in fieldgrade's pic and one was missing part of a hind leg. All seemed to be getting along fine.

I think it's more common than most would guess. My dad who shoots maybe one coyote every few years, shot one last winter missing part of a front leg.

I forgot about this one last winter....

Predators can be quite tough. Biggest bobcat I ever saw had just one good eye. The other one was white/dead. Spooky looking critter, and I had enough respect for him to flip the safety back on and let him go on about his business.

I examined a smallish female coyote killed by someone else one late winter and she was so skinned and slash cut all over that I'm still not sure why we bothered to skin her. They were recent wounds, less than a week old. Her teeth were excellent except for one fang broken off near its base. We found the fang of another coyote lodged into her spine at mid back and broken off. It was so similar to the one she had lost that I held the broken tooth up to the broken base but they did not match. Another coyote had given her a terrific whooping and broken off a tooth on her backbone in the process. An old timer surmised that another female had run her off.

But if you wanna see scarring and wounds on a wild critter, check out cougars. Where we have hunted them it is normal to have them ripped, torn, bitten and in various stages of healing especially over their face and front end. I don't know if that is true of lions all over or if there are high numbers in that area that generate more fights. I've got a pic of a dead lion with a healing scar running from the corner of his mouth clear down under his jaw to mid neck. He was skinny and apparently hadn't been eating much for the month or so it had been healing.

Interesting thread. Thanks.

Deer are just as tough.
I'm covered up in Whitetails around my place. Got one old gal with a crippled back leg that's basically a rudder. (Easy to distinguish her track in the snow LOL) This'll be her tenth winter coming up and she's still getting along fine. Had another set of twins this year.
Another one got hit by a car/truck recently. She's hopping around on three right now with a compound fracture flopping away on her rear leg. I thought about shooting her when it first happened but she's got a fawn in tow. It'll be interesting to see if she makes the winter.

It's hard to look at but I'll try and get a pic in the next day or two.

Agreed but it's hard to figure since everyone that's ever posted on a predator forum's a crack shot.

The hard part is, timing your shot on a running coyote to shoot all the legs off at the same time they cross in mid-stride.....

Yes, it takes a long time to get good at it. From what I've seen, a solid hit in just one leg is likely fatal though without snow finding it is unlikely.



In a cold climate a trapped coyote is going to be walking on a block of ice in a few minutes. If he then manages to pull out, he'll lose the foot if he lives long enough.

Irving_D: In 55+ years of enjoying and closely observing the out of doors and the creatures that inhabit it I have never seen a three legged Coyote or Fox but I have seen three different Black Bears getting along on 3 legs!
I spoke with a game biologist regarding this phenomenon many years ago. Inquiring how can this be - and how it was illegal to "trap Bears" anymore in two of the states I saw them in anyway.
The biologist explained that mother Black Bears give birth in a pitch dark den/cave and are semiunconscious and sometimes they chew off the leg of a cub at birth thinking they are chewing away an umbilical cord or similar type situation?
I have seen WAY more Coyotes and Foxes over the years than I have Bears but the three legged Black Bears are the only such handicapped creatures I have seen.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I shot a 3 legged coyote a few years ago. He was missing his front leg foot at the wrist, his bottom canines were nubs, and one upper canine was broke in half. I assumed he lost his foot in a snare. He was very well fed though.

My first antelope had an old compound break of the front leg, where the bone was sticking outside the skin. The wound/bone was packed with dust and dirt. He also looked well fed.