Time for hunters to try a new game

With deer seasons coming to a close, it may be time for hunters to try a new game species, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

Deer hunters may occasionally target coyotes when they are hunting deer, but now may be a good time to really match wits with this super sneaky predator.

With hunting season open year round and shooting hours 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, the hunting opportunities for coyotes are plentiful and so are coyote populations.

Coyotes were not known in Tennessee prior to the 20th century. No wild (coyote-like) animals, other than occasional feral dogs and extremely isolated pockets of red wolves, occurred in southern states east of the Mississippi River from 1900 until about 1965. Coyotes moved eastward through Tennessee, Mississippi, and other eastern states during the 1960s and early 1970s. First occurrences in Tennessee were mainly in the western portion of the state. By the mid-1970s, frequent occurrences of this species were reported in counties west of the Tennessee River.

The coyote is a predator that eats a wide variety of food. The percentage of food by volume and weight varies with individual animals and also with season and locality. The food habits of coyotes have been studied by researchers at Memphis State University for a number of years. Here is a synopsis of some of their findings: 42.4 percent of the coyote stomachs contained rodent remains; 27.9 percent, rabbit; 24.3 percent, deer; 20.2 percent, livestock; 13 percent, insects; 11.9 percent, nongame birds; 0 percent, game birds; 2.2 percent, reptiles and amphibians; 1.1 percent, shrews; 0.4 percent, opossum; 31.5 percent, persimmon; 21 percent, other vegetation; 16.7 percent, grass; 8 percent, miscellaneous. Throughout the range of the coyote, rabbits and rodents appear to be primary food sources.

Electronic calls are legal for coyote hunting but mouth blown calls work well also. Hunting equipment include archery, shotguns using ammunition loaded with BBB or smaller shot, muzzleloaders, rim-fire and center-fire (center-fire rifles are not legal when deer, bear, and boar seasons are open unless legally hunting those species).

For more information on hunting coyotes in Tennessee, check out the agency?s website at www.tnwildlife.org.

‘

FUR SALES SCHEDULED ACROSS tENNESSEE

The Tennessee Free Trappers Association and The Tennessee Fur Harvesters Association have sales scheduled across the state where trappers can sell their furs to the highest bidder, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

Dates and locations for the events are scheduled for:

Tennessee Free Trappers Association

http://www.tennesseefreetrappers.com/

1. Waverly, TN – Humphreys County Agriculture Center, January 20

2. Dekalb County Fairgrounds in Alexandria, January 27

3. Bulls Gap – VFW Post #9683, February 10

4. Dekalb County Fairgrounds in Alexandria, March 3

For More information or directions on any of these auctions call Chris or Cindy Jacobsen 615-672-8546, Mike Renfro 423-330-8134. Or to make a Table Reservation Contact: Cindy Jacobsen (615) 672-8546.

Tennessee Fur Harvest Association

http://www.geocities.com/tnfha/index.html

1. U. A. W. Local 342 Building Lebanon, January 13

2. Cumberland Community Complex Crossville, February 3

3. V. F. W Building Bulls Gap, February 17

For Further Information or to Reserve a Table – Contact: Bill or Tommy Nell Vernon (615) 883-3696 or email: [email protected].

‘

Check Out Online Harvest Records

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has recently added to its Website, a link that will allow you to check the harvest totals for deer or turkey.

This real time record keeping system was created to give sportsmen of Tennessee a better understanding of how the deer and turkey population are managed. It also allows TWRA?s wildlife biologists access to important information that will allow them to make decisions about the state?s big game resource.

Once at the site, you can view these reports by checking station, weapon type, season, county, WMA or statewide. To get there, visit the agency?s website at www.tnwildlife.org, scroll down the page to ?Quick Links?, then look for ?Online Big Game Harvest Reports.?

Do you have questions that you would like a wildlife officer to answer? E-mail them to me at [email protected].