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.

I killed a coyote a few years back the had one or more toes missing off each of its feet.

Have skinned several with one or a few toes missing. Wasn't counting those.

That's probably a combination of a guy that's not bedding his traps properly and a real dumb K9..

Even the dumbest trap-line dog will learn to avoid em after getting pinched a couple of times.

your probably right. I'm not a judge of these animals but I thought he was old.

I was deer hunting a place I'd never been before and was standing atop a small hill overlooking a 40 acre fresh cut over. Still very early. Caught movement and watched as it come up the fire lane I as standing in. He stopped about 30' away , looking at me and turning his head side to side trying to figure what the big orange blob was standing before him. He didn't move as I raised my rifle and fired.

Might have been old.
You don't have to be young to be dumb.
I'm living proof of that.

Heck, I'm not even positive the missing toes were due to trapping, but that's definitely a common occurrence.
I doubt they froze off in LA. Snapping Turtles maybe?

Tripod the wonder bear. I know he never got shot where he was, but don't know what happened to him.Used to see him everyday for a stretch, munching alfalfa.

Huntsman22 that's a huge raccoon.


Ive shot a coyote that someone had shot in the paw but never one that was completely missing a leg or anything. Shot a few that looked like rats from mange.

WOW!
That's something else.
Thanks for posting it.

Mower when he was a cub?

Fawns will hide in the hay or grain and not move till the cutter hits them sometimes. Ugly job to clean a fawn out of a combine header!

I think a mowing machine accounts for some of the missing coyote legs in my country. I've seen coyotes follow right behind the cutter bar, grabbing mice when the hay over them is cut and exposes them. Never saw one jump in front of the cutter to grab a mouse but a dumb coyote or pup might.

Here is his hide just draped over, not stretched, on a #6 wire coyote stretcher.



He was the biggest coon I ever got, with the biggest baccuulum,and I have never seen another one with a bigger weiner bone......Prolly my only hope ever, to make the B&C record book. Been waiting along time for them to make the category...grin. I'll kick ass.......

After looking up this pic. of the two that we got one weekend that I recalled were 3 legged, actually they both have all 4, just something wrong with one leg on both of them not allowing the coyote to use them. Probably broken at some point.

[/quote]


Give that thing to a liberal for a drink stir stick.

Did the fur buyer grade that coon as a bear cub?

That coon brought $50. Of course, since I was that buyers skinner, he always treated me right....

Trapped a fox one winter that pulled trap and all free from the log to which it was attached as I got within 100 yards or so. I failed to connect on him with the 22 pistol so he escaped in temps which were above zero. In the week that followed, I began to see his tracks, along with the skid marks of the coil springs as he shuffled around in the now-deep sub-zero temps. This went on for awhile as I tried every which way to lure the hungry animal into another set. Of course he was wary so I had trouble connecting again. When I finally made a blind trail set and caught him, I managed to collect the trap from a very frozen foot. He would have lost the foot in time without a doubt. However, he was making do and likely would have been able to adapt better when the extra baggage was gone.

check out this video of a three legged bear about 1 minute into it- sorry I don't remember how to show it directly here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00XufSnrvvg

That Coon's a forkin monster Don!
Makes my 36 pounder look like a pup.




Okanogan's probably right about that Bear loosing it's leg to a mower. I've heard that it pretty common in the north country.

Ordinarily that would be a good guess, but that country hasn't seen a mower or swather. I took the picture up in the Firebag heavy oil project north of Fort Macmurry. New roads and the edges of leases are often seeded to rye, alfalfa or clover to stabilize the soil from erosion, then eventually it returns to native vegetation. The location is also the reason that I'm certain that nobody shot its leg off. The chances of someone sneaking a rifle past security are slim and none, and the oil company is the type that builds bridges so wildlife can easily cross above ground pipe-lines. They are also know to med-evac the occasional duck.

Dad cut all 4 feet off his own dog shortly before I was born. I'd forgotten about that story until now.

no , but have killed a couple of three legged deer

Gottcha,,, when you said alfalfa I "assumed".
Any idea what might have happened? Old Boar maybe?

I shot a 3 legged silver fox several years ago, only one ever seen around here. It was the week after deer gun season and I know the guy that shot it's leg off the week before.

A guy in our group also shot a coyote with 3 legs and the leg that was missing was missing at the knee. It was twisted off and the "knuckle" was exposed the woulnd was quite fresh.

FieldGrade: That Coyote sure looks to me like it stepped into a trap and he gnawed off his foot!
My lifelong trapper friend from the huge Bighole Valley of Montana would trap Coyotes year round often on a pay per basis for the huge ranches therein.
Some years he harvested over 300 Coyotes (not counting Fox!). He relayed to me that he found several Coyote "feet/paws" (but no Coyote) in his traps over his 60+ year trapping career - so I surmise that Coyotes gnawing off a foot stuck in a trap is rare - but does happen.
And again your photo sure looks like the after effects of a foot gnawing off type situation!
Interesting photo for sure.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I never got pics (was before the days of cell cameras) but we shot a 2 legged yote 8 or 10 years ago. Opposite legs, one front, one back. It could run to. Not long, not fast but dang was it sneaky and healthy to boot.

VG,,,, I'd guess he pulled the trap and the foot (and trap) rotted off from zero blood flow. That would also explain the rotting lower leg.
I also know a gubment trapper down in NV who's caught as many if not more Coyotes than your friend. He tells me he NEVER seen a foot chewed. Don't know anyone else that has "actually seen" one either.
I'm not saying it can't happen but I'd lay money that in most cases there are other factors involved like not checking traps and/or non laminated jaws. Not that your friend's a sloppy trapper, but there's lots of em out there.
Again,, anything's possible but I'll remain a sceptic until I see (with my own eyes) a foot laying next to a proper trap that was checked within 72hrs.

One things sure though,,,, if it does actually happen occasionally, it's not near as often as the old joke suggests.

Edit,,,I should add that my friend runs allot more snares than foot holds but I'd bet your friend does too if he's doing ADC work.

Over 1200 Coyotes and not a chewed off foot in the bunch.

The biggest raccoon I ever caught in a trap had chewed the
skin around his foot but I got there before he got any further.
I have found fox toes in a trap once or twice.

This one in a #4 had enuff room to get his mouth under the jaws. Contrary to popular belief, they don't chew off their leg ABOVE the trap where they still have feeling.....

Bingo!
My fur buyer won't take Coon with chewed feet.
Probably why they invented Coon Cuffs.
Never heard of a "Coyote Cuff".

How could he tell if it had chewed feet? grin

LOL,,, My regular fur buyer (Don Judkin at Fort Benton fur only buys predators. The other option is Moscow Hide and Fur They don't buy Coon with bad feet so I send my Coon to NAFTA because not only do I not catch enough Coon to give a chit, I give even less of a chit about saving the feet on the greasey bastids.

BTW,,,, while we're busy looking for flaws,,, you look drunk in this pic.
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/7980108/Oddball_colors#Post7980108

Shot a 3 legged Yote before and a 3 legged Deer. Guessing at least one was shot off, but was completely healed up.

Huntsman, I cut my teeth out there in Deer Trail and Agate. Love the Bijou!!!!

I'm right between 'em....

Several years ago I was at the ranch deer hunting when I heard several shots rapid fire.They sounded close to my south fence line so I headed over there to see about it( I had been seeing evidence of trespassers in that area recently).As I arrive I see two guys wearing orange climb the fence and hurry into the neighbors timber.As I'm watching them I hear something behind and to my right,I turn around and there's a shooter buck watching them running...I put the crosshairs on his shoulder...BANG/flop!
When I went to gut him I found they had shot one hind foot off at the ankle...a thin strip of skin was all that was holding his foot on.
All of that shooting and they only hit him in the ankle?? I really despise slob hunters like that!!!