Coyotes are here and they’re as wily as ever.

Although we may not have any roadrunners here in the state, our resident coyote population just keeps growing, a fact that poses an increasingly deadly risk to wildlife, pets, livestock and even people.

While coyotes are found in all 67 counties of Pennsylvania, mostly concentrated in the northern parts of the state, in the past few years their numbers in suburban areas around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh have increased. A heightened awareness of the risks posed by coyotes came on December 28 when a man was attacked from behind by a coyote and injured while jogging at Warwick Furnace in Warwick Twp.

The attack resulted in significant injuries, including lacerations to his face and legs that required medical treatment and more than 30 stitches. The attack prompted Chester County officials to warn the public to use caution in the outdoors due to the possible presence of coyotes, but more than people, small pets are at risk since coyotes frequently prey on pets weighing 25 pounds or less.

Pets left unleashed or in flimsy outdoor pens can be easy targets for coyotes. Livestock, especially young kid goats and calves, are also at serious risk. We can reduce the risks imposed by our ever-growing local coyote population, as there are people who specialize in hunting coyotes.

Joe Booker of West Grove and some of his buddies including Rick Cimino of Landenberg are among coyote hunters. For the most part, Booker’s coyote hunts come at the request of landowners and farmers, mostly in Chester, Delaware, and Lancaster counties. They are under distress with coyotes attacking their pets, killing their chickens, kid goats, lambs, calves, and sometimes even maiming their cattle.

When Booker, 54, gets the call, he’ll visit the farm and set up at night when coyotes are most active, especially between 1 a.m. and daybreak. Following the regulations dictated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, he’ll generally be using a rifle fitted with night vision and thermal scopes in either .22 mag or 17 Winchester super mag calibers mounted on tripods, and sometimes a 12-gauge shotgun.

Once he’s set up, Booker uses thermal scanners and an electronic caller while luring the coyotes within range. He has bagged between 50 and 60 coyotes over the past four years with his heaviest coyotes taken to date being a 48.8-pound male and a 44-pound female.

With the numbers of coyotes growing so exponentially, a number of clubs like Mosquito Creek, Nancy Lees and Port Clinton sponsor tournaments with the heaviest coyotes taking top prizes at the weigh-in.

These tournaments draw a significant number of hunters. In fact, a total of 3,435 registered hunters participated in the 35th Annual Mosquito Creek coyote tournament held this year from February 20-22. The winner with a 51-pound male coyote took home $6,870 in prize money.

Booker, who has been predator hunting for 44 years (foxes, raccoons, and coyotes) noted that 30 or 40 years ago it was almost impossible to find a coyote in our corner of the state. He believes one indicator that coyote numbers are zooming is mange.

“The first one I knew of being shot here was back in 1991,” he said. “Although they were rare back then, in the last five years the coyote population has gone crazy.

“This year three of the coyotes we took had mange which I believe is a sign that there are too many of them. That’s also why so many foxes have mange.”

Coyotes are also susceptible to rabies which may have played a role in the attack on the jogger.

“Too many people critical of what we do mistakenly think that our hunting coyotes causes them to have more pups and actually increases the population,” said Booker. “The truth is that it’s the availability of food that determines how many pups will be born and survive, not how many coyotes are killed by hunters.

“There’s plenty of food. That’s the main source of our coyote population explosion, meanwhile, the number of deer and foxes have declined due to the increased presence of coyotes. In the end, coyote hunting barely puts a dent in their overall numbers.”

Booker is also active on the Chester County Eastern Coyote Hunters Facebook page. Readers who want to learn more about eastern coyotes and coyote hunting might want to check it out as well.

(Tatum is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association. Contact the writer: outdoors@republicanherald.com)