Went shed hunting yesterday...Found 5 dead deer

[SSpengSS]

I just want to make sure that what I said was clear. I don't believe a large pack of coyotes cornered and killed 5 deer in one night.

However, it is very plausible that a pack of 3-5 coyotes killed 5 deer over the span of 2-3 weeks, especially in thick areas where deer can't escape as quickly. I see coyotes circle around deer to prey on all the time, and its a chore for the deer to get away unscathed, most especially when there are 2-3 coyotes hunting together. Much less january-march when coyotes are mating and need the protein to roam about in the cold snow and ice.

As far as natural causes, the above is what I believe happened. It is entirely possible that poaching/dumping/poisoning happened as well. If they were poisoned, I would suspect you should find dead coyotes, crows, vultures, opossums, racoons, etc. in the area as well.

I think we need to look at the impact of coyotes a little deeper. They are well ahead of wild hogs in terms of sheer numbers. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they are not there. It is not that common for me to get trail cam pics of coyotes, but each time I go coyote hunting I see no less than 4, and often more. One evening I saw 9 different coyotes in less than an hour and that covered about 200 acres that I could see. The area I hunt is surrounded by land untouched and very thick in areas just as mentioned in this scenario.

I just suggest you take a deeper look into your coyote numbers, that's all.

[mrbb]

well I would like to add, that , over the yrs I have known farmers that poisoned deer, and to be honest, other animals didn't really eat the bait like the deer did, if they ate moldy corn, a bird or other smaller animal might not eat as much as a deer would to impact it, and a bird might fly far a way before dying
I don't disagree coyotes will for sure kill more than one deer, but the odds of it being in the same spot to me is very evry odd, deer learn where bad spots are after a few things spoil an area
and to be honest I have the oppisite effect on coyote sightings
when i hunt them I see less than when I am deer hunting or in trail cam pois
last weekend I spent 34 hrs hunting them, and only seen two, one too small to shoot, and one big one but ran at the farmers house not giving me a safe shot!
it was a 2.5 day coyote contest, has 36 grand in the pot too!
so didn't get to kill a one!
there sure smart critters if my eye's

[Big_Holla]

From the pics that you posted I would say you have deer that died at different times/years. I know you said you were just through there recently in January, however the living and dying grass that's grown up around the spine in one picture and the mildew/moss growing on some other bones tell me they've been a while (like Sully's observations). Before I would go to any conspiracy theory of mass poisonings I would look at the likely hood of you having a case of EHD at some point with the possibility of a yote kill there on the skeleton with the rib cage still intact. I would venture to say though, that one likely was during the fall as there is no sign of hide even left, perhaps a hunter's kill that got dumped and perhaps drug to the bottom. How far away from water/stream would these be??

[PlayTheWindMike]

Well all is good observations. Gives me a little insight. Holla this is location about 50 maybe 60 yards from that stream. After reviewing now, yes they do look like they are from different times (maybe 3 time frames). My thoughts are no one purposely poisoned these deer. In the pic of stream, I said the land behind me was huntable......I meant it is not huntable. That is the drs land behind me and he loves deer, he might even have them named. Then the farmers, not in them to do anything purposely. This entire block is a few miles distance around this block. The farmers outside of this block, the other side of the road let their buddies and myself if I wanted to hunt but like I said in earlier threads, there are only two or three small plots within this block who are allowed to hunt the small 5 to 10 acre plots. There is approximately ahhh 400 acres on the block. Where this valley is, right behind my friends house, the dead deer, 25 yards from his back yard line, if a poacher was dropping, it would not be there. He would have to come in from the back side which is a couple thousand yards or so. more so. Drop point, definitely ruled out. EHD I don't know. I am starting to believe that yotes are the cause. They are around there. One or two of these deer could have been wounded and this is a spot that the deer absolutely love and ran there. I have in the last 4 years I have stalked the valley and shot at 3 bedding monster bucks all well over 150 right at the very spot where these bones are. The beds are are thick here. I think I might learn the ins and outs of yote hunting and may go give it a try. I have found dead deer 500 yards off the road back in that the back quarter were being eaten and the deer gone the next day. 100% yote kills. Any experts on yote hunting?

[Big_Holla]

Very possible yotes have drug one or two of them there too. My buddy placed his deer carcass out to try to shoot a yote that was hanging around. The whole carcass is no where to be found now and we plan to look for it when we do some shed hunting. Thinking it likely was drug off and down into the bottoms.

[mrbb]

well in my post from last week or so, I found 4 dead skulls , and where they were for sure I believe something carried them there
and just didn't die there for sure, as the racks had been cut off, and it wasn't a place easy to drop a head or a carcass off at
some critters I think carry things to places they like to bed maybe or den close by
but I still lean to something got them sick, and killed them
might not have been from a person trying to kill them either, moldy corn is toxic so??

[blackbeard]

Definitely that time of year to find dead ones, I found 3 different dead ones on my property last weekend, pretty sure one was a doe I hit late in the season, other two who knows, the Yotes eat everything but the bones and hair.