Residents approve of thinning coyote population WSOC TV

May 2024 · 3 minute read

HICKORY, N.C. — Tens of thousands of coyotes -- one of the only animals the state allows people to hunt year-round -- are killed each year in North Carolina.

Channel 9 reporter Dave Faherty looked at whether the hunting rules are helping to control the coyote population in the Carolinas.

[NC Wildlife Resources Commission Coyote Permit Information]

Holly Teague has no problem with people hunting coyotes near her home, which is south of Hickory.

During the last year, she has spent nearly $2,000 caring for her dogs after they were attacked by a pack of coyotes.

Randy Huffman, who lives on a chicken farm south of Morganton, has a rifle he uses to hunt coyotes.

"It's called a coyote reaper," Huffman said.

Past coyote coverage:

During the last 18 months, he has killed 50 coyotes on the property after neighbors reported finding dead calves, sheep and family pets nearby.

"How much could 50 coyotes eat in a year's time?" Huffman asked. “They got to eat like we do. There would be a lot of animals killed because they got to eat."

It is hard to know exactly how many coyotes are in North Carolina, but the state does track the number of coyotes killed by hunters and trappers.

Last year alone, more than 55,000 coyotes were killed or trapped in North Carolina.

A state biologist said that despite those numbers, the coyote population manages to come back.

In some cases, a female coyote could produce a larger litter when the numbers of coyotes decrease.

"I almost consider them the cockroach of the mammal group,” biologist Danny Ray said. “They are very adaptable. They eat almost anything. They can live in almost any kind of conditions. At times of high resources, they can actually increase the number of pups that are born and the number of pups that survive to adulthood."

Jeff Truitt has equipment and dogs he uses to hunt coyotes south of Hickory.

This year, he won a trophy for a hunt in which he killed a 41-pound coyote in Burke County.

He believes hunting coyotes is a necessity.

"I've seen farmers have issues with their calves while they're being born, eaten alive by coyotes, being pulled out of the mother by the coyotes."

Huffman believes the hunting on his land is making a difference.

"About six months ago we could be in the stand and hear six or seven packs at night howl at night," Huffman said. "But now we have them thinned down and you don't hear as many."

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission said hunting doesn't always solve the problem.

"When it comes to trying to control coyotes, I tell people the more coyotes you kill, the more coyotes come and want to fill that void," Ray said.

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