No cougar proof, but coyote caught by cam

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Saturday, November 21, 2009

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Reservoir Blogs - George Thwaites blogs about fishing, hunting, conservation and outdoors

Published Wednesday, September 16 2009 - (0) Comments

Several people have forwarded me the viral rumor of a digital game camera having captured a photo of a cougar dragging a dead deer in Tennessee. I sniffed around and to make a long story short, this is probably another rural legend. There are lots of cougar game-cam shots taken out west that migrate to us via the internet. What they are is usually authentic. Where they are supposed to be is frequently not.

This is authentic. My brother just sent this capture from a game cam he's got on hunting territory in Virginia. He said he had a better photo of this bad boy, but he inadvertantly deleted it.

We suspected coyotes had infiltrated the property and my brother and I fooled around with a jury-rigged electronic calling setup earlier this summer. It was a less than ideal setup and I moaned and groaned about our chances of educating a predator. But at the same time, I was also fascinated about seeing if you could actually use a standard laptop computer as an electronic game caller in a pinch.

Evidently, you can. We got no answering howls, but we both were certain something moved in on us and flanked us before catching wind and running off. We never got a good look at it. There are bobcats galore in that country, but it seemed like yodel dog behavior to me.

Judging from the photo, this is a big, well-fed coyote. On a recent scouting trip, my brother discovered the bones of a fawn that was killed on the property not too long ago. We have to assume that this was the culprit. Or one of them.

Part of me wants to see that 'yote in his finest winter pelt before getting him in the crosshairs. My deer hunter instincts just want him gone, ASAP, and certainly well in advance of the rifle season.

It's ultimately my brother's call (and that of his hunting buddies). So what should it be? Now, or later?

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