That coyote looks like it has some dog blood in it. BTW, SS not everyone in Idaho thinks coyotes are vermin. Do you remember the 50s when Jack Rabbits overran the farming communities in southern Idaho. We sure could have used more coyotes then. Coyotes have their place in the ecosystem and they do their job well.
Nope wasn't around in the 50's, but I remember in the mid-80's when they formed the "Bunny-Bopper" squads and everyone ran around w/ baseball bats smacking them around.
Sure coyotes have their place in the ecosystem, but the ecosystem is completely out of balance and coyotes *need* to be kept in check through trapping/hunting. I spoke to a biologist from F&G about it once and he told me that in order to MAINTAIN (not reduce) a coyote population in Idaho 75% of the population needs to be culled annually, either naturally or by humans. Any less than that and they explode.
That is when the taxes from our hunting/fishing licenses have to be spent on helicopter rentals so F&G can mow them down from the air rather than habitat improvement.
I haven't met a rancher yet who doesn't shoot them on site, if not put poison out for them.