Coyote pair

M

medic joe

Well-known member
Having observed hundreds of pairs of coyotes on the move. Amongst the open rolling foot hills. Most always, the lead coyote is the female(based on size difference & also the coyotes I've killed from a pair). Sometimes the male will take the lead. But soon the female will take the lead back. He goes where she goes. When they bed down. It is the female who most often. Is the last coyote to lay her head down. IMO from what I have observed over my hunt years. The female is typically the most wary of the two.

Below is a pair of coyotes bedded down 1/4 mile away. They have their backside towards the prevailing wind.

 
I have found that this is pretty true as well.

This time of year the females are more aggressive then the male. The female always seems to get the male in trouble (Such is life right?)
When I have a hard charging pair this time of year i will:

A. Shoot the smallest dog first because that is more than likely the female. (Yes, i know this isnt always true but most of the time yes). I do this because the male will stop after the shot looking for her and present me with a follow-up shot.

B. If i cant recognize the size difference i will shoot the lead dog first. 50/50 that its the female and than the male offers the follow up.

I like to play on territory this time of year, That usually brings the females. I have found that "pup distress" of sorts will trigger the males prior to pups dropping.
 
I have found this with elk as well. The 'lead' cow makes the decisions for her herd. I'll offer 2 examples:
While deer hunting in some Pinon Juniper, with no elk tag in my pocket, I spot the hind leg of an elk that is laying down, about 40-50ys from me. As I look it over, I see a big black eyeball staring at me, and when we make eye contact, that elk, a spike bull, leaps to his feet and starts running out onto a plateau, and 18 more elk follow him. At about 175yds, the herd stops, and they are all looking around, except the spike. He is staring at me.

After a short time, one cow starts to move to the West about 5-10 steps, and the whole herd shifts with her, except the spike. He is still staring at me. The same cow then shifts to the East a bit, with the herd following her, except the spike.

After maybe 4-5 minutes, that cow starts to trot South, and the herd single files behind her, except the spike. He is still staring at me. The herd gets about 150yds from the spike, and he turns and runs to catch up.

Since the spike could not tell the others 'Hey, there's hunter over there. Let's get out of here', none of the elk did anything without the lead cow. Kind of like the buffalo hunters would shoot the lead/dominant cow, and the others would mill about, not knowing what to do.

2) We've all read in 'How to hunt Elk', that if you can get inside the 'comfort' zone of the herd bull during the rut, and you challenge him, you have a good chance of him coming to meet you to defend his cows. If you are to far outside the zone, the bull will 'drive' the cows away from you.

I have tried this, at least a dozen times. In each case, when I bugled or cow chirped, I see a cow jump up and start to leave the area, taking all the elk with her, including the bull bringing up the rear. In several cases, the bull was looking the other way as the cows were leaving, and when the bull saw that, he ran after them.

My conclusion: the females, of many species, have the control. The lead cow decides when and where to go, and maybe even which bull gets her girls that year.
 
SSPINate said:
I have found that this is pretty true as well.

This time of year the females are more aggressive then the male. The female always seems to get the male in trouble (Such is life right?)
When I have a hard charging pair this time of year i will:

A. Shoot the smallest dog first because that is more than likely the female. (Yes, i know this isnt always true but most of the time yes). I do this because the male will stop after the shot looking for her and present me with a follow-up shot.

B. If i cant recognize the size difference i will shoot the lead dog first. 50/50 that its the female and than the male offers the follow up.

I like to play on territory this time of year, That usually brings the females. I have found that "pup distress" of sorts will trigger the males prior to pups dropping.
Click to expand...
I agree about shooting the female 1st. Is the best option for getting a follow up shot on the male from a pair. When I did kill the male 1st from a pair of coyotes. The female sometimes would only pause for a few seconds. Looking at her dead mate. Otherwise she would quickly bolt after the 1st shot(on her male counterpart).
 
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