Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire What type of winter is the hardest on the coyote population?

I figure deep, fluffy snow would be the hardest on them. But then again, maybe little to no snow and deep cold is also hard on them. Anyone know which winters take out the most coyotes?

All I can say is if there is ever a nuclear holocaust the only things that may live is bacteria and coyotes.

The tougher the winter, the more there is to scavenge.

Local wildlife boys keep track of all sorts of data while doing their big game surveys. The have a graph showing coyote cycles mimicking jack rabbit numbers.

Not the data I've seen, but a similar pattern.

Coyote/bunny link

Years back we had a summer with an amazing number of small rodents about. In late summer while pronghorn hunting one would see a mouse of vole scurrying for cover about every 10 yds or so. At that same time, one could scan the surroundings and find 3 to 5 coyotes in the vicinity. I think that was a spring/summer event where all of the pups thrived.

I don't know if it was harsh winter weather or disease, but as our 1923 spring came along, our Belding's ground squirrel population crashed. Such would certainly be fine grub around our alfalfa pivots in this region.

That would be a mild winter with little to no snow, cause that's when the most coyote hunters would be out and about.

With the drought we've had here the last several years there was nothing to eat but cow schiett when this winter hit, unless they could eat alfalfa the ranchers were feeding.

I would think a couple feet of snow, followed by a few inches of ice and more snow would make life tough for a ‘yote.

Our populations here seem to go up and down depending on the small prey.

Been a down cycle for rabbits for a few years now, starting to see some show up around the place now. Caught one in the yard on a trail cam the other early morning. Wife had a suicide bunny dart in front of her down the road about 2 miles this evening.

Squeak (Belding's ground squirrel) populations have been down recently too. Good moisture last couple or three winters/springs. Floods burrows I hear. That probably doesn't help the kangaroo rats either.

when we moved in there were three distinct 'yote packs in our little valley. Now we hear what appears to be one, maybe a second. Winters have varied from a low of -25F the first winter we were here, with a couple of good snowfalls (8-12" here is good snow) to this winter where I think the lowest my porch thermometer hit was a 6F morning and we appear to be at normal/average moisture for the year so far.

I expect if the small game/rodent populations recover this year and next that the 'yotes will have another pack or two in the area following that.

Yep. I would think a good ol southern ice storm would give them hell.

Last year’s winter seemed to hit all the wildlife pretty hard. We had over four feet of snow out of one storm alone. The deer numbers around here are definitely down. Same goes for the turkeys, and other game critters. Used to see and hear a fair number of coyotes but not many have been around this last year.

This winter has been quite a bit milder so we’ll see if their numbers increase this year

Coyotes here do well if the summer gopher population is up. Winters are irrelevant. Cold kills cows and deer. Lots of snow kills deer and antelope. Warm with little snow they get at the mice.

Dang Ben, that was in a lower elevation area? Turkeys etc had no way to move lower?

I hunted a 9k+ mountain in AZ for turkeys and they move down to the near 5k' range in winter then follow the snow line back up in spring. They get snow down at the lower elevation but 4' would do a number on game for sure.

Up north snow and ice can be a coyotes friend. They run on top while deer break through. Deer are quick in good conditions but no stamina. A coyote can lope just about forever. I once had a yearling deer come by me with his tongue hanging out. Coyote showed up about a minute later just loping along. I ended his life but he would have had the deer in minutes otherwise. Edk

My first thought when I read the opening question was that probably powder snow deeper than a coyote’s head would be hardest on coyotes. I’d guess that based on watching coyotes. One winter we had about 4 feet of fluffy powder on the level, with many places deeper. I watched a coyote travel through that. He would leap up to get his head and eyes above the snow, then plunge in way over his head. That had to be exhausting, and nearly impossible to hunt either mice or deer.

On the other hand, when we would get 18 inches to two feet of snow with a crust on top, the coyotes slaughtered the deer. The coyotes ran on top of the snow at neck level to the deer while the struggling deer legs poked through the crust and the ice sometimes cut their legs. I followed a coyote track seven miles up a switchback logging road from a mild valley with little snow up to a plateau where there was hard crusted snow two feet deep. Deer wintered on the plateau (since housing developments and domestic dogs had run them out of the mild valley). I don’t know how that coyote knew it would be easy deer hunting on the plateau but he beelined up there the same night the crust formed.

FWIW, watched a bobcat “swimming”, churning and plunging through powder snow deeper than its body. It made it to a patch of shallower snow under timber, then stopped and panted till it caught its breath while it looked back at me from 30 yards.

There isn't really a winter they can't get through.

We’re at 5600 ft. here. The valley floor is 4800. Just an unusually heavy snow year - we needed that too tho. There were probably 80 birds running around here prior to last winter. There’s probably 20 or so now. The good thing about them is they reproduce quickly. Two years ago there were so many they were trapping them to help bolster other areas.

weak winter, more parasites, less small game, less persimmons, harder on coyotes. my opinion.

Hornady V-Max winters are the hardest.....

As far as the hunting for coyotes, deep snow that covered the fences enough for snowmobiles to be unimpeded made it practically impossible for a coyote to get away.

Winter and mange kills a bunch.

I lived in the best coyote fur region for a while. I would hunt in all kinds of conditions. Very scant calling in the deep powdery stuff as coyotes understand the energy exertion vs reward scale. Best hunting was the crusted snow as they would book in. Wind blown ridges and sun melted spots always seemed to have them. When snow was scant it was really good. They could cover ground well, you can sneak in well.