Hunter Man Kills 104-Pound 'Unusually Large' Coyote

[Paslode]

Hunter Kills 104-Pound 'Unusually Large' Coyote
Coyote About 3 Years Old

POSTED: 4:56 pm CST December 13, 2010
UPDATED: 8:30 am CST December 14, 2010
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- DNA testing has confirmed that a large animal shot and killed by a hunter a month ago was an "unusually large" coyote, the Missouri Department of Conservation announced Monday.

The hunter killed the animal on the opening day of Missouri's November firearms deer season on Nov. 13.

Coyotes are legal game during deer season, so the hunter shot and killed it, the department said. But when the hunter got a closer look at the animal, he wondered if he had mistakenly shot and killed a wolf, which is a protected species in Missouri, the department said.

The hunter contacted the MDC, which tested the animal's DNA and determined it was in fact a coyote.

The MDC said the 104-pound coyote was about 3 years old.

To see a picture of the coyote, click here.

http://www.kmbc.com/news/26121874/detail.html

[mark46th]

That's a big dog.

[Richard]

Wow - I've seen/shot a few coyotes in my time - closest to anything that big I ever saw was around 35-40 lbs. That one may be a hybrid - sure would've made my Australian Shepherds nervous.

I sent the link to a friend who is a coyote guru - Wyman Meinzer. I'll post what he has to say about it.

Richard

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by mark46th

That's a big dog.

When they have terminal mange and a couple days to dry out in the sun, they call 'em chupacabras.

[Buffalobob]

I wonder how good of a job they did on the DNA testing. The red wolf, as well as domestic dogs, can hybridize with the coyote.

The hunter did the right thing by contacting MDC even though it could have caused him a lot of grief.

[Irishsquid]

Originally Posted by Dusty

When they have terminal mange and a couple days to dry out in the sun, they call 'em chupacabras.

You sure you ain't from Texas? All that went down not too far from here...I could never believe they tried to pass those animals off as anything other than a dog or coyote.

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Irishsquid

You sure you ain't from Texas? All that went down not too far from here...I could never believe they tried to pass those animals off as anything other than a dog or coyote.

Yep, I was born and raised north o' Big D where the jackrabbits were as big as chupacabras back in the day.

Another explanation in seeing such a large animal is in investigating it's access to larger protein sources, (ie., other dogs, cats, garbage cans, Mcdonalds, Burger King, etc.). Larger human population of the midwest and west coast have produced larger predator.

Coyotes under most normal conditions eat mice, rabbits, other small animals, in short, not alot of enriched protiens with extra tasty fat.