ORIGINALLY WRITTEN KATHLEEN W. WARD – KSU
In northern states, its often grizzly bears or wolves. To the south,
it can be black bears. For Kansas, however, the predator that always
arouses the most emotion and controversy among state citizens is the
coyote.
?We don?t have the open range conditions that are typical in states
such as Montana and Idaho. So, we also don?t have the coyote problems
they do,? said Charlie Lee, K-State Research and Extension wildlife
specialist. ?But coyotes can cause the occasional loss here,
particularly with sheep or baby calves. And, sometimes they expand
territory into urban areas and become a threat to pets.?
Ironically, many citizens? knee-jerk reaction to this is the
180-degree pole of what?s needed, he said. The approach pro-animal
activists often prefer is off-base, too ?as is their ?bottom-line?
economic argument for protecting the coyote.
?Research suggests you cannot control the number of predators without
removing 75 percent of the breeding population every year,? Lee said.
?People have tried relocating, poisoning, trapping and shooting
coyotes. When the coyotes came under this kind of pressure, though,
they simply started having larger litters of pups. And, a higher
percentage of those pups survived. So, their overall population
numbers stayed pretty much the same.
?In other words, if you eliminate a few individual coyotes, you?ll
have little effect on either the coyote population or their typical
prey of field mice and rabbits.
More effective approaches include reducing rodent populations and
protecting
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