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Old May 30, 2006, 11:32 PM   #1
FirstFreedom
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Do coyotes eat seeds?

Or, help me ID some scat. I find it all the time. I think it's coyote (looks like dog/coyote poop in shape), except that it has a lot of these seeds in it, and coyotes are of course carnivores, not omnivores. The seeds look just like the size and shape of large watermelon seeds, only instead of being black, they are a brownish-reddish color. I could post a picture of some *if necessary*. But any ideas - coyotes or maybe something else?
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Old May 30, 2006, 11:39 PM   #2
MeekAndMild
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Persimmon seeds look like large flat oblong yellowish/orangish/brownish pumpkin seeds or watermelon seeds. Coyotes love persimmons.
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Old May 31, 2006, 01:19 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MeekAndMild
Persimmon seeds look like large flat oblong yellowish/orangish/brownish pumpkin seeds or watermelon seeds. Coyotes love persimmons.
You beat me too it thats what I was going to say


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Old May 31, 2006, 01:39 AM   #4
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yup

i live in the high desert and have yotes everywhere they eat what i think is juneaper berrys, i was leaving allour old fruit out in the frount yard for the rabbits and i found out a yote was eatting all the apples?
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Old May 31, 2006, 08:56 AM   #5
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Coyotes are in the Order Carnivora. They are carnivores. Bears are in the Order Carnivora. They are omnivores. Odd, no? Grasshopper mice are in the Order Rodentia, typically denoted by herbivores such as mice, rats, and squirrels. Squirrels are herbivores.

Now for the kicker. The scientific or general classification of an animal as a carnivore does NOT mean its diet is void of other types of food. Dogs and coyotes are closely related and you will find both eating garbage, anything good, not just flesh.

Grasshopper mice are regarded by some SW Native Americans as tiny wolves. They are carnivorous, sometimes hunt in packs, and "howl" as they rise up on hind legs.

Joan Callahan published a great paper on squirrel carnivory in the Great Basin Naturalist. She noted a reviewer of her paper commented on how poor squirrels were at being carnivores and she pointed out, quite eloquently, that leopards or cheetahs had something like a 90% failure rate in procuring game and that as such and even as being thought of a great carnivores, they weren't very good at being carnivores based on their failure rate in hunting (Callahan, J. R. 1993. Squirrels as predators. Great Basin Naturalist 53:137-144)

FYI, here is a nifty study specfically denoting the love of persimmons and blackberries by coyotes...
http://www.cfr.msstate.edu/predator/coyotediet.html

Like people, many animals will eat whatever tastes good and is available. They may have diets dominated by certain types of food most of the year, but may have food dominated by non-typical foods at other times. If the persimmons or whatever are at a good time to eat, the coyotes may be utilizing a yummy, non aggressive food source while available. Persimmons aren't likely to fight back, hence little risk to the coyotes from the plants.
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Old May 31, 2006, 12:00 PM   #6
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Racoons also leave scat that looks like a dog's pile. You might have both 'yotes and 'coons.
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Old May 31, 2006, 01:40 PM   #7
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Another vote for the possibility of coon. Climb up a tree in the area and look in the crook of two large branches, if you find something similar there, you have found your answer...tree dwelling coyotes.
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Old May 31, 2006, 03:26 PM   #8
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Coyote eats an animal with seeds in it's digestive tract = seeds in coyote
scat.
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Old May 31, 2006, 03:32 PM   #9
youp
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Coyotes in Upper Michigan eat apples. Of course the scat shows the seeds. Have not found any persimmon trees about here so I can't speak for that.
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Old May 31, 2006, 07:48 PM   #10
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Thanks guys. There's certainly lots of coons out there, so it may be either. Funny thing is, the persimmons seem few and far between - there must be a grove of them I haven't found. DNS, thanks for interesting link & info!
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Old June 1, 2006, 12:36 PM   #11
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FF,

I have some feeders up that are feeding a persimmon flavored, high protein mix. I have seen a coyote eating some of it, when I go to fill my feeders. I have seen him twice, so he is either eating the protein mix or the whole corn I have it mixed with. But as stated, my coons are getting bigger also.
I think a coyote is more of an opportunist, than a straight meat eater. Most of the guys around here say they will eat anything that will stand still long enough, be it vegetable or otherwise.
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Old June 1, 2006, 01:09 PM   #12
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Contrary to popular belief coyotes (and wolves and dogs and foxes, and note that they can all inter-breed except maybe foxes(?), thus are "almost" the same species, really sub-species) are actually omnivorous...Studies of wolves have shown that as much as 75% of their diet is often vegetable. I breed and train dogs, and many of my friends feed the "BARF" diet which includes lots of vegetable matter. Most dog food contains a majority of vegetable. much depends upon the availablity of food sources...If meat is available its preferred, but if meat isn't available they eat whatever.
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Old June 2, 2006, 10:13 AM   #13
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Find those persimmon trees and you will find an early season deer location. If you can find a trail from the persimmons to oaks, you will find an all season trail.
I have seen coyotes eating persimmons. I have seen persimmon seeds in coyote dung. It depends on when the persimmons are going to ripen and fall.
Find the persimmon trees and you may just harvest yourself a nice buck. Good luck.
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Old June 2, 2006, 08:47 PM   #14
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My guess is that you have been looking at coon crap. I was underneath my crawlspace the other day and found some. That's all there was were seeds in it. I had a coon come up on my porch at the old house and crap on it every night, and the same thing, filled with seeds. It was only in the spring and early summer, but I got a good look at him a couple of times. I'm pretty sure it's a coon.
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Old June 2, 2006, 08:48 PM   #15
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Coyotes are definitely omni. Establish yourself as safe and reliable and southern California avocado growers will treasure your coyote shooting skills.
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Old June 2, 2006, 11:38 PM   #16
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Yup. They LOVE avocados.
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Old June 3, 2006, 02:19 AM   #17
9mm_prn
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What is a persimmon?
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Old June 3, 2006, 06:46 PM   #18
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diospyros_virginiana
http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioima...rame/divi5.htm
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=DIVI5

Well, it may be coyote or coon - I just dunno. I think more likely coon because ordinarily, when I find scat that is clearly coyote, it has a lot of hair in it. This stuff has NO hairs in it at all. You would think that even a coyote that is eating persimmon and whatnot is gonna find at least a couple of mice/rats.

Regardless of what it is, I need to find that persimmon grove - you are right, DesertFox!
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Old June 3, 2006, 10:25 PM   #19
Dave Haven
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Another thing.. coyotes tend to "go" when they need to, coons tend to mark what they consider "their" territory with it.
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Old June 5, 2006, 09:39 AM   #20
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9mm,

If you were serious, a persimmon is a fruit tree that grows in the southern
U.S. that yeilds a fruit somewhat like an apricot when they are ripe. If you eat them when they are green, they will pucker you up so bad, you won't be able to spit for a week.
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Old June 5, 2006, 10:19 AM   #21
Larry Ashcraft
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Coyotes love watermelon. I've spooked a bunch of them out of watermelon patches while hunting pheasants.
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Old June 18, 2006, 11:10 PM   #22
kolob10
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Coyotes eatin corn.

Several years ago I had a friend contact me to help out a farmer that was having a coyote problem. His story was that the coyotes were eating his corn in the field but were destroying more than they were eating. It seems they were taking a few bites out of each ear then moving on to the next etc.
I had never heard of this although I had know that they eat other fruit/vegetables as opportunity arose. I finally got over to the farm to do some scouting before the hunt. It appeared that he had a coon problem. Several days later when I set up on a stand to call early one morning, I witnessed a coyote pulling an ear of corn down & began to munch on it. It was unfortunately for him his last meal. After we took several coyotes off the farm, the farmer reported that the destuction of his corn ceased. Had I not seen it, I would not believed it. Yes they do love persimmons, wild strawberries, and blackberries as I have seen them partake over the years. Coyotes are like humans in that they are diners of opportunity - meat or vegatable or fruit. Good shooting gentlemen!
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Old June 19, 2006, 04:21 PM   #23
Art Eatman
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Yup to all of the above.

I've seen rock squirrels and roadrunners glom on to and eat baby quail. I've had a fox lick up cracked corn from my bird feeder and then come up on my porch, later, and leave evidence that foxes don't digest corn...

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Old June 19, 2006, 08:03 PM   #24
SamC
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Coyotes are an animal of opportunity. They'll eat ANYTHING. They eat berries, grasshoppers, melons, etc. It's very common in the Fall to see purplish poop because of the amount of blueberries eaten by the coyotes. They will even eat poop, especially from young calves, since it contains lots of milk/byproducts.
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Old July 3, 2006, 11:30 AM   #25
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coyotes on my brother's property eat the cherries off the ground from his cherry trees. you see scat loaded with the pits all over the place.
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