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Predator Hunting
When coyotes first started expanding their range and numbers in Georgia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, hunters were told they don’t eat deer. Then the trail-camera pictures started showing up. It’s hard to argue that coyotes don’t eat deer when you see pictures of coyotes carrying dead fawns around. Now, scientific studies confirm…
Deer managers and hunters now know for certain coyotes in Georgia are taking a bite out of fawn numbers. Top deer researchers studying fawn mortality are finding survival rates significantly lower than they used to be, and coyotes are the primary fawn killer. Studies in the Southeast are finding only 20 to 25 percent of…
Coyotes are omnivores and opportunistic predators. They travel alone or in small packs, hunting and foraging mostly at night and covering miles of ground in search of food. Nose to the ground and ears perked to scan the landscape as it passes, they remain alert to react quickly on any feeding opportunity or danger…
Marty and Glad Simmons, of Clarkesville, were just hoping for a few nice shots of some deer on their trail camera, which is located several hundred yards from their Habersham County home. However, when they had a photo of a large dog standing on a log, which appeared not to be a coyote, residents began…
At the first glance, we thought we had the undeniable proof of cougars we have been looking for in our year-long cougar quest, but DNR officials have since pointed out a couple elements in these photos that leave species identification open for doubt. This series of photos was captured by Drew Atkins, of Franklin, on…
More than 40 years ago, I stumbled upon a paperback book titled “The Critters Come When Called.” Written by the late Russell Tinsley, the book covered the exploits of two lanky Texans, Murry and Winston Burnham. The Burnham brothers became legendary in the arena of predator calling. Winston has passed on while Murry, in his…
A coyote hunter using night-vision equipment on a .223 rifle shot and killed a U.S. Forest Service law-enforcement officer March 5 at the Ocmulgee Bluff Equestrian Recreation Area of Oconee National Forest in Jasper County. Officer Christopher Arby Upton, 37, of Monroe, was on patrol at about 11 p.m. when Norman Clinton Hale, 40, of…
The University of Georgia and WRD recently began a four-year cooperative study into the effects of coyotes on fawns, and it will result in a significant reduction of coyotes on two middle Georgia WMAs. “We know from previous research that coyotes are having some impact on Southeastern deer herds,” said Dr. Karl Miller, professor of…
Genetic testing by the National Cancer Institute, Laboratory of Genomic Diversity, has indicated the panther shot by a hunter in Troup County last year came from the resident southern Florida panther population. On Sunday, November 16, a sportsman observed a mature panther or cougar while he was hunting deer in the woods of Troup County.…
These tips from A.J. Niette were published in the June 2008 issue of GON. With fawning season kicking off now, these will get the job done to remove some coyotes at time when researchers say it can make the most significant impact to improve the survival rate of fawns and turkey poults. No. 1: When…