It turns out a lone coyote can take down a full-grown deer.
Deer hunters and coyotes have long been at odds with one another. The predators have exploded in numbers across North America. They are even starting to invade the cities where they are causing all sorts of problems with young children and neighborhood pets. In the country, hunters continue to worry about coyotes attacking their deer herd.
There seems to be this notion that it takes an entire pack of coyotes to bring down a full-grown deer. We admit, this is something we always assumed as well given that coyotes are much smaller than wolves.
However, it seems we may have been wrong this whole time. An amazing piece of trail camera footage hit YouTube that shows a lone coyote can bring a full-grown deer to the ground quite easily. A warning that this video is hard to watch.
We cannot believe this young doe survived this encounter to live another day. It is a good thing that buck happened to wander by and break things up. This does seem to confirm what we always figured, and that is that coyotes are probably more likely to target a lone deer than a group. The most amazing part of this video to us was just how easily this doe went down once the coyote latched onto its throat.
Granted this was a young deer, but whitetail deer are tough animals. It takes a lot of strength to pull one to the ground and keep it there. Had that buck not wandered into the picture, it seems likely the coyote would have been enjoying a venison dinner.
Last season I shot a buck that I had to finish the recovery on the next morning. Overnight, one or multiple coyotes managed to eat my deer's leg down to the bone. I knew the animals had a voracious appetite from that incident, but seeing a coyote attack a deer is something else altogether. I don't think I'll ever underestimate a coyote's strength ever again!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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