Sam Allen was deer hunting from his blind in Bladen County Thursday when he shot a coyote. While there’s nothing particularly unusual about deer hunters spotting and shooting coyotes, this ‘yote was unusual on two accounts.
The coyote was almost completely black, and was carrying a gray fox it had killed. Reed Allen, Sam’s father, shared photos and story of the hunt Thursday.
The female coyote came past Allen’s stand on the family’s property when he saw the black coyote.
Coyotes are an invasive species in North Carolina, arriving here via both illegal imports and natural migration. They frequently kill both red and gray foxes, both to eat and to cut down on competition for their usual diet of rodents, rabbits, birds, and squirrels.
Coyotes are a major predator of turkeys as well as deer during fawning season, and in groups can bring own a full grown deer, although they usually target smaller animals.
The black coloring, known as melanism, is often caused when coyotes crossbreed with dogs and in some cases, wolves. While uncommon, melanism is not considered rare in coyotes in southeastern North Carolina. Reports of black coyotes have been documented throughout the state since they first began showing up in large numbers in the 1990s.
With no real predators outside of man, coyotes have filled the gap in the food chain caused by the extirpation of cougars and wolves in North Carolina. DNA tests show some coyotes caught in North Carolina carried genetic information from Canadian brush wolves as well as domestic dogs, creating larger coyotes than those typically seen in the west.
Deer hunters frequently see coyotes while hunting, and on occasion find themselves being trailed by a coyote that smells deer scent on a hunter’s clothing.
Reed Allen said the black coyote was memorable, but likely won’t be the last on his family’s farm.
“We have seen some other black ones around here,” Reed Allen said.
