Meet Ricky Bobby

This little guy was adopted by another coyote named Weave. Ricky Bobby was most likely orphaned and Weave saved him.

The little coyote named Ricky Bobby eventually went back to the wild in late Sept 2024.

If you would to see more of Weave the coyote, head over to Timmy Mc.

Why killing coyotes doesn’t work

When coyotes are killed, especially adults, the remaining coyotes often increase their reproductive rates to compensate for the loss. Females may have more pups in the next breeding season, or the surviving pack members may breed earlier or more frequently. This “compensatory reproduction” is a well-documented phenomenon in many animal species when their numbers are reduced by hunting or trapping.

Coyotes live in complex social structures, with dominant alpha pairs leading packs. When these dominant members are killed, other members of the pack may step up to take their place, and in some cases, subdominant coyotes may breed more. This can lead to increased reproductive output and larger litters of pups.

Coyotes are territorial animals, and when one coyote is removed from an area, it creates a “vacuum” that other coyotes quickly fill. New coyotes moving into the area may breed quickly and produce more offspring to establish their territory. This territorial replacement can contribute to a rise in coyote numbers in a given region.

If coyotes are killed in one area, coyotes from nearby regions may migrate into the area to replace those lost. These newcomers may breed and repopulate the area even faster than the original population.

In nature, species like coyotes fulfill an important ecological role in regulating other populations (e.g., rodents, rabbits, etc.). Removing coyotes can upset this balance, potentially leading to overpopulation of prey species. The increased numbers of prey may, in turn, attract more coyotes from nearby areas, ultimately leading to no net reduction in the overall population.

Sustainable, non-lethal management methods are more effective in controlling coyote numbers.