By MATT LINDSEY

POTSDAM -- A 1,500-pound cow died in a field Feb. 22 and farm workers believe the animal was killed by coyotes but state Department of Conservation officials have no record of coyotes killing such a large animal.

A herdsman at Windy Point Black Angus Farm, located about a half mile outside of the village at 208 Sissonville Rd., found the cow in a field on the morning of Feb. 23 and saw two coyotes running from the field, farmhand John Sheehan said.

DEC Public Information Officer Benning DeLaMaters says, “it would be highly unlikely” for coyotes to take down a 1,500-pound cow. Cornell Cooperative Extension representatives say farmers throughout St. Lawrence County have reported calves killed by coyotes, but no full-size cows.

The Windy Point cow, which was pregnant when killed, wasn't due to have her calf,” Sheehan said. The cow partially gave birth during her death. “They started eating her from the rear,” Sheehan said.

“She had no complications the prior night,” Sheehan said. “It is hard to believe.”

Sheehan said he and others waited that evening (Feb. 23) to see if coyotes would return to feast on the dead animal, and they did. “Four of them came back – we shot one.”

The pack of coyotes that came back the following evening to feed on the dead cow were young, Sheehan said. He said just across the road only a couple hundred yards away was another group of five. “Coyotes don't move on…that's their den.”

Sheehan says he runs dogs to combat the problem and has done so with Outdoor outfitter and guide Joe Babbitt of Lisbon. Babbitt came under fire recently after a Douglas Road man called police because Babbitt’s dogs kept roaming his land, scaring his animals and child.

Sheehan believes running dogs is the best defense for the animals on the farm he helps care for.

“Coyotes get wise to traps but they can’t get wise to a dogs nose,” he said. “Coyotes get sick of that.”

Wind Point Black Angus has lost “quite a few” calves to coyotes and that “once they get the taste of cow it is hard to control,” Sheehan said.

The farm, which has around 200 cows, suffered about a $5,000 loss when the cow died.

At the Cornell Cooperative Extension off Route 68 in Canton, they too, have had coyote problems in the past, according to Resource Educator Betsy Hodge.

Hodge said she has had people from Waddington, Hammond and Russell contact her office stating that coyotes killed calves, but she was not aware of them attacking and killed an adult cow. The CCE farm does not have cows but when they did, she did not remember any being killed by coyotes.

Coyotes did, however, kill many sheep at the Canton farm, she said.

Coyote Encounters, Behavior

Coyotes commonly hunt prey up to the size of deer, DEC says. “Hunting of prey larger than that is rare,” DeLaMater said. “They may do so opportunistically, especially if the prey is vulnerable or compromised in some manner.”

DEC occasionally receives reports of livestock being killed by coyotes but their wildlife biologists don't recall any incidents where the livestock was an adult cow.

“They would feast on a dead carcass of a large animal like a cow if they came across one that had recently died,” DeLaMater said

According to DEC, no deaths have ever occurred due to a coyote attack in New York (there has only been one death by coyote in the history of the United States) but there have been a few documented coyote versus human incidents in New York State, and most were children.

“Coyotes might bite people due to disease (rabies) and habituation, being fed by humans and therefore losing their natural fear, or if their young are threatened,” DeLaMater said.

Sheehan wanted to stress the dangers of human interaction with coyotes, a point Babbitt has also stated.

“They are not a joke – if they get hungry enough they will attack a small woman or child – they are not afraid,” he said.

Sheehan said he was not aware of any attacks by coyotes on humans but emphasized that, “it is possible.”

In response to Babbitt and Sheehan’s statement that “a coyote will take them and drag them (small children) off into the woods,” DEC says that “in our experience, this is not true. There is no documented proof of this ever happening.”

Coyote encounters with pets, livestock, and people “are still pretty rare, especially in rural environments,” DeLaMater said. “These encounters occur somewhat more frequently in suburban and urban environments where coyotes may have lost some of their natural fear of humans.

To avoid conflicts with coyotes DEC suggests not feeding coyotes either intentionally or unintentionally, not allowing coyotes to approach pets or run free, and removing brush and tall grass to prevent hiding spaces.

If approached by a coyote, DEC advises people to act aggressive by standing tall while holding arms out to look large. If a coyote lingers for too long, then make loud noises, wave your arms, and throw sticks and stones.

“There have been reports and quotes stating that they don't hunt in packs – but they absolutely do,” said Hodge.

She recommends anyone with livestock to invest in good fencing, clear brush from the property line to limit hiding spots for coyotes and to bring animals back to the barn or home at night.

“If you can shoot at them it will discourage them,” she said. “ Or ask DEC for help if you have an issue – they are hard to shoot and trap legally.”

“Coyotes will hunt in family groups consisting of the male, female, and their young, DeLaMater said. “They normally do no exhibit true pack behavior like wolves where a pack includes additional non-breeding adult animals.”

Refer to the DEC website for more information on coyote conflicts at www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6971.html.

Coyotes at Cooperative Extension

Coyotes were frequently killing sheep at the Cornell Cooperative Extension farm -- mainly older ones, yearlings or ones that might have been sick -- just a couple years ago. CCE turned to dogs to deter coyotes as well.

“We have guard dogs – Great Pyrenees – which are bred to protect livestock,” she said. “They are in the pasture with the sheep all the time.”

The farm has about 75 sheep and knowing exactly when one is killed can be tricky.

Hodge said coyotes will drag the sheep off into the woods to kill and eat it and often leaves little trace behind of the act.

“You don't know they (a sheep) are gone until you do a count,” she said.

She said coyotes take sheep one by one, whereas if domestic dogs were to attack sheep they generally kill or maim a lot of sheep.

“With coyotes we've found just the skin with feet attached or sometimes just the head left nearby in the woods,” she said.

Hodge says she can head coyotes howling at night near the farm, but so far the guard dogs are doing a good job protecting the herd.

She believes the issue is worse in fall because pups are more grown up and coyotes are looking to eat before winter sets in.

“It’s not a big problem this time of year so much, but it is a real problem,” she said.

Population Stable, Dog Laws

“We do not have population estimates at the county level,” DeLaMater said.

Hunting season runs Oct. 1 to March 26. “Dogs cannot be used for hunting coyotes after that date, however, hunters can train their dogs from July 1 through April 15,” DeLaMater said.

There are roughly 38,000 coyotes statewide.

“The population is relatively stable,” he said.

Coyotes have been in St. Lawrence County for decades and are well established and therefore not likely to expand their numbers.

There are no bag limits for coyotes. Trapping season is Oct. 25 to Feb. 15.

“It’s not our fault coyotes go on to private property (when the dogs are tracking them) – but the coyotes will kill that person’s pets or livestock,” Sheehan said.

DEC says hunting dogs can be released on land with the permission of the landowner. But the dogs can wander onto anyone else’s land and be there legally even if the owner of the land where the dogs wind up doesn’t want them there.

“The DEC does not consider inadvertent boundary crossing by a dog in pursuit of game to be trespassing under Environmental Conservation Law when the hunter released the dog in a location where the hunter was legally entitled to hunt,” said DeLaMater.

However, the DEC says if a hunter releases a dog near land where it is likely the dogs would venture onto that property, and the dogs are knowingly not wanted on the land by the owner, the hunter could be charged with trespassing.”

The Town of Potsdam has a leash law in force designed to keep dogs off of land where they are not wanted, but such local laws do not override the DEC law.

Sheehan said they don't profit from or waste a coyote if they kill one.

“We don't charge for coyote hunts,” Sheehan said. He says tracking coyotes can be expensive between the cost of the dogs, food and care, as well as gas to travel around with the dogs to hunts.

“We give the coyotes to the Amish or a taxidermist,” he said. “There is no wasting them.”