It’s always a thrill to harvest a white-tailed deer, but there is much more to hunting than just killing animals. It’s part of our hunting heritage. It’s part of what we as humans are and should be. With that said, every hunter still wants to make a good, clean shot that puts the animal down as quickly as possible. Of course, the most difficult aspect of hunting is not only having the opportunity to see a deer, but also find the exact right time to seal the deal.
Whitetail: Prey of Coyotes
Mistakes happen while whitetail hunting and sometimes the immediate death of an animal does not occur. In nature, however, death is rarely if ever a peaceful event between wild animals. Take for example, the game camera photo below that captures a whitetail deer being killed by a “heartless” coyote. An immediate human response to to hate the coyote.
But it must also be understood that the coyote has as much of a right to live as the deer. The coyote is likely hungry, has young ones to feed. The deer is merely the prey of the hungry predator. There is nothing personal in this battle of wildlife, just life and death, although I would never wish this type of death on anyone or anything.
Coyotes Kill Deer
Larry “Mr. Whitetail” Weishuhn is a degree-holding wildlife biologist, and probably more importantly, has literally spent a lifetime in the outdoors studying whitetails and coyotes in their natural environment. When he was asked if an average coyote can kill deer, including mature bucks, he said, “Yes, coyotes do kill healthy adult deer! No question about it,” said Weishuhn.
Coyotes Caught on Camera
I understand that deer hunters and especially those involved in white-tailed deer management programs do not want to see the loss of deer by predators, but we also understand that it happens. The cycle of life will continue for as long as there are predators and their prey.
There have been many instances of deer-kills caught on camera. For those interested in other game camera captures, take a look at these notable accounts: