Notice of Hearing on the Application to Use Sodium Fluoroacetate ...

9.
significant differences in hunting caused deaxhs <strong>of</strong> juvenile coyotes
bek~een the t-/o areas. He acknowl edged -,hat conventi ona1 1,lri sdom
among trappers and biologists was that juvenile coyotes had lower
survival rates than adui ts and (were mar: 'vul nerab;2 ~2 sx?lo't3cion
He also acknowl2dged that no effart was made c3 2valuaz the ievei <strong>of</strong>
coyot? concrsl on arlss adjacent :o rhe sxdy areas srd :?a:
dzfi ni ng any cgyote or di 7 dl i f 2 popul aci on Has szmewnat arbi vary.
i23. Testimony that coyotes wers primarily scavengers, re!zctanx ra
risk injury by attacks on animals <strong>of</strong> any size, ,das given by iioce
Ryaen, an author and a ;vi tness for Fri 2cds <strong>of</strong> Anina: 5 , Ific. $,rno had
spent over rwc years clos21y observing packs <strong>of</strong> coyot2s in Wonczna
and 'dyming . It appe?rs, ho~ever, thac Ms. Ryden' s observations
were made primarily in the winter months in areas <strong>of</strong> heavy snow
cover and that animals the coyotes did not attack \were adui t elk,
deer, bighorn sheep and ant~lope, lwnich would nomaily b? <strong>of</strong>
suffici~nt size to defend themselves 3gai nsc c~yot2s. 2er observafions
*Merg made on packs <strong>of</strong> coyotes in Yellowstone National Park and
National Elk Refuge and thus the coyotes were protect2d fram human
exploitation. She acknowled~ed that during the spring and summer,
coyotes were primarily predators on small animals, such as rabbits
and rodents, and that they were opportunistic feeders and did kill