I frequently get requests to write a column about fawns, especially from women who are

hunters/scouting camera enthusiasts. Fawns are cute! Fawns are fun! And, as these people reminded me, fawns sometimes turn into big bucks. So, as I started poring through images I discovered this great shot of two fawns chasing each other around a small water hole. It was submitted by Dave Wollum of Durand, Wisconsin, who reports that these fun and games around the water hole is a frequent occurrence.

Dave Wollum - Durand, WI

Frank Wooten - Wagener, SC

This image, taken in South Carolina, shows a coyote with a young fawn, perhaps only a few weeks old.

Vin Passalacqua - Cassville, NY

This second image was taken in New York. Once again it shows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that coyotes do get fawns.

Roy Martin - Russell, PA

Image number three shows yet another spotted fawn in the jaws of a coyote. This one was captured in Pennsylvania.

3 Set Series Dale Duvall - Waterloo, IL

As I continued to look through images in hopes of finding other pictures of fawns and their fun and games I couldn’t help notice how many images there were of the trials and tribulations of being a fawn. With my apologies to those who have been waiting for my column on fawns, I found the following images showing fawn predation by coyotes too compelling to ignore.

A quick search revealed six different coyote/fawn situations. All occurred after dark between late May and mid August which is when one would expect predation by coyotes to be the greatest simply given the vulnerability of the fawns. The limited research I found on the subject verified that fawns represent a fairly significant portion of a typical coyote’s diet during the summer months.

Harsh reality? Absolutely! Graphic? Yes, but it is the way nature works and we are fortunate enough to see it, good and bad, on our scouting cameras.

Next, we have a series of images that really tells the story. First, we see the doe and fawn together. Roughly one half hour later, we see the doe chasing off a coyote. Dale Duvell of Waterloo, Illinois submitted these images. There were more in the series that showed a second coyote which, as we see in our third image, was able to grab the fawn, presumably while the first coyote kept the doe occupied.

Joe Farrington - Lagrangeville, NY

Edward Wall - Brandon, MS

John Cassimus - Birmingham, AL

Next, is another New York coyote who is moving through a food plot with his young venison meal.

Now we move to Mississippi where a healthy looking coyote carries its fawn dinner. Are we seeing just the front half of the fawn’s body in some of these photos? Do the coyotes tear the fawn body apart in order to make it easier to get away from the kill site and other coyotes?

Finally, we see an Alabama coyote with what appears to be a full body of a fawn.

The following are all images from the online submission gallery and were all taken by the new Cuddeback Capture. You can see submitted images at cuddeback.com.

Non Typical, Inc. 860 Park Lane Park Falls, WI 54552 715-762-2260 Fx: 715-762-2719 www.cuddeback.com