Anyone who pays even slight attention to the outdoors world knows coyotes can be a major problem, but I had no clue that populations could be so densely concentrated until I watched this video.
Coyotes are highly adaptable, opportunistic canines that have successfully expanded their range across North America. From Canada, through the United States, all the way down to Mexico, they are thriving in environments ranging from remote wilderness to dense urban centers. I’ve lived in very rural parts of the Midwest, I’ve lived in downtown Chicago and I’ve lived in more suburban, lake communities in Wisconsin… coyotes are in all three.
Typically weighing between 20 and 50 pounds, they are smaller and more slender than wolves. They are highly omnivorous, sustaining themselves primarily on rodents, rabbits, insects, fruit, and carrion. Though typically more solitary, or found in small families, they will occasionally pack together to hunt larger prey like deer fawns in deep snow.
Unlike many apex predators whose populations generally collapse as humans expand into their environment, coyotes possess a unique biological response to pressure. When their populations are heavily hunted or culled, females instinctively respond to the lack of competition by producing much larger litters, making them virtually impossible to eradicate. It’s quite the fascinating biological phenomenon… unless you’re a farmer or rancher.
For farmers and ranchers, coyotes represent a persistent and costly agricultural threat. They are notorious for preying on livestock, specifically targeting sheep, goats, poultry, and vulnerable newborn calves. Anyone who’s raised chickens and left them outside overnight should know how quickly a single coyote can decimate your entire flock.
Because they are highly intelligent and quick to habituate to non-lethal deterrents like noise cannons, flashing lights, or standard fencing, they easily exploit vulnerabilities in calving or lambing pastures. This relentless predation results in tens of millions of dollars in annual economic losses for the agricultural industry, forcing ranchers to invest heavily in specialized fencing, targeted lethal control measures, and livestock guardian animals like Great Pyrenees dogs or donkeys to protect their herds. Most states have an open season on coyotes, and some (like Wisconsin, where I live now) have no bag limit.
In the vast agricultural landscapes of western provinces of Canada, like Alberta and Saskatchewan, coyotes remain the undisputed primary cause of livestock predation, heavily dictating how Canadian ranchers must defend their herds during the vulnerable spring calving season.
This is exhibit A.
A landowner in Alberta, Canada decided to run an experiment to see how many coyotes could be spotted in a particular corn field. They set up a camera to look straight down a break in the crop then went to one side of the field and let off a shotgun blast. What was picked up in the video was truly mind-blowing.
84… yes, a whopping 84, coyotes were spotted running through their field after getting spooked by the gunshot.
Here’s a short clip where the count gets to 40, which would be crazy enough, but according to the post’s caption, the number over doubled from where this cuts off. Shelby, the Alberta resident who owns the account, frequently shares video of hunts where she takes down dozens of coyotes in a single day.
