Coyote diet in the Fall is 40% persimmons, 26% deer. Summer it's 26% fawns, 9% adult deer, and 25% blackberries. Interesting podcast.

[Henry]

Interesting podcast about what coyotes eat...hint, lots of fawn in the spring/summer. ,

Can Blackberries Save Fawns? And Other Cool Findings From Coyote and Fawn Research

deerassociation.com

 

[TheLBLman]

Keep in mind that coyotes are scavengers, and many of the deer they eat were already dead or dying before Mr. Coyote found them. I suspect the majority of adult deer coyotes consume were already dead or seriously injured before a coyote found them. In many areas (where good fawning cover exists) this may also be the case with fawns.

Coyotes are opportunists.

 

[BSK]

I've seen studies in the Southeast where 100% of coyote diet was deer in the summer (probably all of that being fawns).

 

[TheLBLman]

I've seen studies in the Southeast where 100% of coyote diet was deer in the summer (probably all of that being fawns).

Weren't those studies in areas where there was extremely poor fawning habitat?

In the areas I typically find myself, it appears most of the venison consumed by coyotes is scavenged from already dead (or dying) deer. Another noteworthy aspect of diverse good deer habitat is that it usually has high population of small prey species much easier to catch than a deer. Coyotes love rabbits & rodents.

But if they stumble upon a dead deer, that deer may be 100% of what it eats for the next few days. I think we can be misled by the percentage of whatever animal meat is found in a coyote's stomach.

 

[BSK]

Weren't those studies in areas where there was extremely poor fawning habitat?

Yup. Just goes to show the importance of having good fawning cover.

Over the last decade or so, the fawn recruitment on my place - like many across the Southeast - has been terrible. We would run 20-35% most years (2.0 to 3.5 surviving fawns per 10 adult does). Since we've cut a lot of timber and produce a huge amount of regrowth cover, last year it jumped up to around 70%. That's a HUGE difference.

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Yup. Just goes to show the importance of having good fawning cover.

Over the last decade or so, the fawn recruitment on my place - like many across the Southeast - has been terrible. We would run 20-35% most years (2.0 to 3.5 surviving fawns per 10 adult does). Since we've cut a lot of timber and produce a huge amount of regrowth cover, last year it jumped up to around 70%. That's a HUGE difference.

We've seen the same