There are plenty of coyotes in the Trans-Pecos these days. With wolves, which will not tolerate coyotes in their range, long exterminated from the region, the smaller canines have thrived. Coyote numbers in the area also benefited from changes in land use in the Trans-Pecos, particularly the switch from sheep to cattle ranching. When the region supported a considerable sheep ranching presence, area ranchers relentlessly persecuted coyotes that occasionally preyed upon their stock. But sheep ranching in the area faded over the past few decades, to be replaced by cattle ranching.
Coyotes are no threat to cattle, and ranchers backed off their war against the resilient canines.
And the coyotes have taken a terrible toll on fawns in recent summers, Hobson said. If there is enough fawning cover, it's not that big a problem. But when the habitat is as bare as it has been, it's a major issue. And while coyotes are of little real concern to a fast-footed adult antelope on the open prairie, changing land use in the region is making it easier for coyotes to take away the antelope's defensive strengths. The Trans-Pecos long was a place of huge ranches sporting unfenced prairie that stretched from horizon to horizon.