The photo on the front page of Thursday’s Davis Enterprise did not distress or upset me. It did remind me of a photo several years ago of almost 100 sheep bodies lined up on a driveway — all killed by coyotes. The sheep had been tagged with date and place of killing and brought to a central location to illustrate the devastation that coyotes can leave.

Were any of the sheep eaten, even partially? No, but their necks and throats were torn open and they were left to die. Coyotes are predators. They have no predators. They kill rodents, small wild animals, cats, dogs and fowl, and eat the eggs of ducks, geese, quail, doves and pheasants, as well as small offspring.

What the Fish and Game people did was absolutely correct. If they had contacted the city, there surely would have been a group of people who would have quickly rushed out and put themselves between the coyotes and the Fish and Game.

Coyotes are in no danger of becoming extinct. They are now more frequently seen on the valley floor, rather than just in the foothills because as their population increases, they spread their territory for food. They have done a very effective job of significantly decreasing the populations of doves, quail and pheasants that were so plentiful in the past.

Coyotes are cunning, shrewd and very smart — they will sight their prey and wait for the right moment to strike. In packs, they are almost unstoppable without a gun to stop them. Sheepherders and ranchers have tried all sorts of devices to keep the coyotes away from the sheep — loud radios, odd noises, guard dogs, traps and any other idea.

The guard dogs work well, keeping the sheep from wandering to become a solitary target and alerting the herder that coyotes are near, so the herder can be ready with the gun.

It might be wise to ponder the words of a Navajo sheep rancher who told a group of sheep ranchers that “when the last man on Earth dies, a coyote will be picking at his bones.”

Forget the living in cooperation with coyotes.

Vernette Marsh

Davis

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