More yotes, fewer foxes?

[Cooter]

Just curious if you guys have noticed the same thing in your areas. We used to have an abundance of fox say 15-20 years ago and few yotes. Now it is just the opposite. Fewer stray kitty cats out in the country too

[Rost]

I agree. I rarely see a fox anymore.

I have always been told that coyotes will not tolerate fox in their area.

[protrapper]

Yotes will not tolerate fox. Most areas of the state had a bad mange outbreak in the fox population. Also yotes are expanding statewide. Though I did catch quite a few more fox this year. Slight comeback I think.

[Gissert]

I like to go for hikes after a fresh snow. So far this year the 'yote sign has far outnumbered the fox sign.

[CASTnBLAST]

Ditto's around here also.

[The Grebe]

When I was hitting the trapline hard, I would get fox and Coyote off of the same farms.

I would catch fox on a regular basis, both red and grey and I have to honestly say, I only had 1 that was killed by a Coyote and a couple of them killed by dogs.

The mange got to the point where it was hard to look at some of those fox, awful stuff, pitiful. I started getting more mangy ones then good ones, but the Coyotes I would pinch on occassion, looked pretty good.

I can't say what the true dynamics of the fox/coyote situation is, but the Coyote, being the more dominant canine, is sure to overcome lesser species over a period of time.

I don't think it is a seek and destroy situation, rather a contest of attrition that the Coyote always wins.

I do know that in early December, we went Grouse hunting up by McGregor and there was plenty of snow to read sign. Lots of canine activity, sign everywhere, fox, red and grey, Coyote and even Wolf tracks.

A few canines can make a lot of tracks and they were all out trying to make a living in the same area. I would suppose that if the right opportunity presented itself, the fox would get eaten by the Coyote and the Coyote by the Wolf, but until the opportunity presented itself, they all go on about their business?

One thing that was obvious was the lack of any other sign? We cut one old deer track for the day and not even one old pile of pellets and thats the truth!

The brush piles that are normally crawling with Snowshoe trails, tracks, droppings and pink pee spots, were nonexistant. The same with the lower boggy areas and the evergreen stands....we never seen even one Grouse track, nor a wing mark in the snow, nor the remains of a hawk kill on the roads, just lots of canine tracks. Three of us hunted hard for about 4 hours, in various types of covers, and there was nothing there except canine tracks.

[CASTnBLAST]

Excellent calling conditions Let it snow let it snow let it snow!

[Cooter]

Just like to ad that since the yote hunting with hounds around here, a noticeable decline in mange. Will be out this weekend with the fresh snow, the hunting buds were out in CO hunting the big kitty cats.