Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 30, 1990 TAG: 9003300351
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DAVID REED ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Tomsa's arrival was welcome news to sheep farmers in the Clinch Mountain ranges of Tazewell County, where the number of lambs killed by coyotes is escalating and threatening to put some of them out of business.
"They have eaten off any profit we might have made," said Jim Huffman, who has seen his sheep herd dwindle from 500 to 375.
"I found 18 lamb carcasses last week," he said Tuesday night. "The coyotes killed nine in one night. Last night, one was killed a couple hundred yards from the house. There's more people than us who plan on going out of business if something is not done."
In 1988, Gov. Gerald Baliles vetoed a bill that would have allowed local governments to establish bounties for coyotes, which are unregulated and can be killed at any time of the year. Experts said bounties have failed in other states.
This year, the General Assembly appropriated $40,000 for Tomsa and his two-year federal animal control program. The state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is kicking in another $20,000.
Virginia is the largest sheep-producing state on the East Coast and second only to Ohio in states east of the Mississippi River. The nearly 3,000 sheep farmers account for more than $12 million of the state's annual agricultural receipts.
Coyotes, known for their eerie nighttime howls, migrated into Southwest Virginia from Tennessee about seven years ago. They vary in color from light yellow or yellowish-gray to brownish-yellow and are about the size of a large dog. Most live alone or in pairs, but some form packs of three or more.
In the past five years, they have killed 1,500 to 2,000 lambs valued at approximately $140,000, said Steve Umberger, a wildlife specialist at Virginia Tech. Sheep have been killed in Tazewell, Washington, Russell, Wythe, Bland and Pulaski counties.
Some farmers in Tazewell and Pulaski already have sold off their sheep because of the coyote attacks.
Huffman said farmers have tried hunting, trapping, snaring, poisoning and fencing out coyotes to no avail.
Tazewell County sheep rancher Clinton Bell said coyotes are smart, sneaky and not predictable like other animals.
"It's going to take a specialist, somebody who deals with this type of thing," Huffman said.
Tomsa, who ran the U.S. Department of Agriculture coyote control program in the Finger Lakes region of New York for three years, arrived Tuesday night in Blacksburg and began work Wednesday.
"Through trial and error we've discovered a lot of things that work and a lot of things that don't work, and Virginia will get the benefit of that experience," Tomsa said.
Tomsa, who has a master's degree in wildlife biology, said he likes to be considered a troubleshooter, not a hired gun.
Although part of his job will be to track coyotes from lamb-kill sites and shoot them, there are a variety of other methods he uses.
Some of the things that didn't work in New York were training guard dogs, moving herds inside fenced areas at night and placing lithium-laced mutton under a fleece.
"The coyote showed a great deal of adaptability," Tomsa said. The coyotes started hunting during the day instead of at night. The "aversive taste conditioning" only prevented coyotes from taking bait.
Electric fencing worked in some cases, as did selective hunting and trapping. But coyotes learned to detect traps, get by fences and avoid mimicked coyote calls designed to lure them within shooting range, he said.
"The shooting takes a great deal of patience," Tomsa said. "There really isn't any animal I don't have more respect for. That's because I've been chasing them for three years. They are extremely smart and wary. They can live in almost any situation and eat almost anything."
Tomsa said each sheep farm in Southwest Virginia would have to be evaluated individually to determine the best way to control the coyote attacks. "We can never depend on just one method."
Asked if his job was frustrating, he said, "I guess it would be if it weren't so interesting."
by CNB