Pennsylvania Game News - March 2012 - 16

side to direct the operation. When everyone was ready the bucket operator knocked the first cub out of the tree. To my dismay, the cub somehow managed to fall through the only hole in the branches, and I was directly below it. I had a 35-pound cub careening toward me head over heals. The only thing I could do was to try and catch it, as the fall may have killed it. I braced myself, and at the moment of impact I caught the bear, but its rear quarter caught me square in the shoulder and collar bone. I dropped the bear, but at least I had broken its fall and it landed unharmed. My shoulder, however, hurt for several days. The recovery of the second cub went off without a hitch, as the bucket operator knocked it out of the tree and it fell directly into the blanket. After placing tags in the ears of both cubs, we placed them in the culvert trap with the mother and the other two cubs.

It had been nearly four hours from the time I had arrived until the last cub had been placed in the culvert trap with its mom. Everyone was pleased with the effort we made to keep the female and her four cubs together, but I realized that nothing was going to change. The restaurant would have to continue to use the dumpster, and unless they fixed the lids another bear would simply move in. The feces left in the trap by the female were full of corn, so it was evident that someone in the area was feeding the bears. I can’t thank the members of the Lafayette Township Volunteer Fire Department enough for their time and help. Thanks also goes out to the utility company for their time and for the use of the bucket truck. Without them, I don’t know how things would have turned out. One of the guys from the bucket truck told me as I was ready to leave that it was his best day at work ever. I was glad to share the experience. As for the female and cubs they were released in a remote area far from any restaurants and dumpsters. 

Trapper’s Tips…

By Dan Lynch

Today’s fox trapper may see more and more evidence of coyotes showing up on the trapline. In many cases the fox trapper using a basic foothold that is in good working condition may find a coyote waiting for him or her when they check their traps this season. However, adult eastern coyotes are large powerful animals that can weigh between 30 and 45 pounds on average, and they can make short work of some footholds designed primarily for foxes that weigh between 7 and 15 pounds. If a trapper does not want to spend the extra money to purchase some larger-size foothold traps, they may want to modify some of their basic fox type of footholds to better prepare for any coyotes. A basic 1½ or 1¾ size coil-spring foothold trap with strong springs can and will hold a coyote, but a coyote’s foot is larger than most foxes, and to make a solid catch it is best to have them step as close to the center of the pan as possible. Pan tension should be set to about four pounds and the pan should sit level when set. Laminating the jaws on the inside or the outside of the jaws is designed to increase capture efficiency and reduce any foot injury. Welding the ends of the S-hooks or J-hooks on the trap chains to keep them from being pulled open is a technique that might just keep Mr. Coyote in the set waiting for you in the morning.
16 GAME NEWS

Improving footholds for coyotes:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/document/920435/trapper's_tips_pdf

Pennsylvania Game News - March 2012

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