Predator Management

Managing coyotes and other predators is a key component to the long-term health of the target managed species, as high predation levels can limit the population size of a herd well below the land's carrying capacity.

The most important thing to understand is that predators are going to exist on your land whether or not you want them to. In fact, heavy hunting pressure can only worsen the infestation; as it can kick in a natural defense mechanism in which they breed more often with more young per litter; exponentially increasing your problem. Thus, the most one can do is limit the risk of predation. For the sake of this article; attention will be focused on whitetail deer; as they are the most commonly managed game species.

Limiting predation risk revolves around two key concepts; habitat management and population balance. In regards to habitat management; the key importance here is to ensure that deer always have an easy means to escape. This can be especially important in food plots; where the deer are exposed and easily seen, versus in a wooded area where spotting and approaching them is more difficult. As mentioned in the earlier post regarding food plots; it is very important to locate them with at least one side of the plot being adjacent to a thick coniferous area that will serve as great cover and provide easily accessible escape routes. Not only will this encourage the use of the food plots, as the deer will feel safe, which will ultimately build the health of the herd, but it will also ensure fewer easy meals for hungry coyotes and an overall healthier herd.

Maintaining the proper sex balance is equally important; as it will put into action one of the whitetail deer's best natural defense mechanisms, predator swamping. By ensuring that there is at most two does for every buck (with an ideal ratio of 1:1); land managers can help to reduce the predation on fawns in the following birthing season. The reasoning behind this is simple; if all does are bred on or near the same date once the rut hits, they will also be given birth to on or near the same date. This will result in more fawns than the local coyote population can possibly consume; resulting in a larger proportion of the fawns living past the critical first year. Conversely, if there are three or more doe per buck, breeding may take place over two periods; the peak rut and then a month later during the secondary rut, where any unbred does will be bred. Such a situation will allow for predators to hunt fawns over a longer time period; resulting in a higher mortality rate.

Ensuring the population is balanced revolves around the management of the deer herd. The important factor here is the harvesting of does. In many areas; bucks are harvested more readily than does, leading to an inherently unbalanced herd, which can cause predation to run rampant. Thus, land managers should encourage the taking of does as well, through providing free or low-cost access to the land for a pool of hunters willing to take does. Of course, the land manager will need to carefully assess how many does will need to be taken during the season through a population study prior to the season, as too large of a harvest can cause the following birthing period to be weak. The land manager could recommend the venison be donated to the local venison donation coalition to provide food to shelters, ensuring that nothing is wasted in the process of rebalancing the herd.

Lastly, while I spoke earlier against hunting predators as a means to reduce their population, by no means am I against it. Hunting them can be a great tool in your arsenal to combat high predation rates; however, it should not be your only tool. Used as a secondary tool, hunting can help reduce or stabilize predator populations, which can help aid the long-term success of your deer herd.