I hear them every night I fish out at a local lake here in Greensboro. I've never seen one tho.
I had never even thought about a yote up here in northern Granville until a couple of years ago. Then I started hearing them behind the house in a cutover. Now, I hear them nearly every night I"m outside and anytime the aforementioned jets fly over. QBD hit my place trapping for a couple of weeks last year but didn't connect on one but I'm still getting pics on a regular basis, sometimes as close as 100 yds from the house at night. Would love to have someone experienced come try to thin them down.
its number one factor has been the EHD kill-off late August-early October
There are large numbers of coyotes in urban areas that are never seen. I think guaging numbers by sitings or trail cam pics isn't a good way to estimate numbers.
I don't think they kill too many adult deer, but fawns I know they can catch and kill with ease. I've witnessed fawns being run and killed during bow season a few times, and it's sickening the way they play with them before they tear them apart.
I also know they will destroy a turkey population in a very short time, and have already combined with the other varmints to decimate the quail population in my area.
Are they #1 reason for the low numbers of deer seen, no, but they are another non-native invader that should be dealth with accordingly. We have plenty of native raptors and smaller canine and feline predators that can take care of the natural order of things, the WRC needs to concentrate on getting rid of as many of these varmints as possible in any manner they can, whether it be a bounty or other methods to encourage folks to take more of them when given an opportunity.
Yes they are the biggest problem. Wait for next year when they eat the ehd surviving does fawns.