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<p>TUNKHANNOCK &#8212; Courtdale resident Jack Roberts knows the excitement that comes with harvesting a deer or bear, but it doesn&#8217;t compare with what he achieved on Sunday morning.</p><p>Roberts, who was hunting in Hanover Township, shot a 34-pound coyote after attracting it with an electronic call. He was was one of 665 hunters participating in the three-day Northeast Regional Coyote Hunt, which concluded on Sunday.</p><p>&#8220;We just got into coyote hunting and this was my first one,&#8221; said Roberts, who called in several other coyotes but they didn&#8217;t approach close enough for a shot.</p><p>&#8220;This was more exciting that getting a deer or bear.&#8221;</p><p>Now in its 20th year, the hunt, which is sponsored by District 9 of the Pennsylvania Trappers Association, experienced a slight drop in the total number of coyotes harvested. Last year, 685 hunters participated and 45 coyotes were weighed in at the Triton Hose Company, which serves as the headquarters for the event. This year, hunters turned in 39 coyotes and the largest was a 43.95-pound male taken in Pike County.</p><p>The hunt encompasses eight counties, including Bradford, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming, Lackawanna, Pike, Luzerne, and Sullivan. Hunters paid a $30 registration fee and a $100 prize was awarded for each coyote taken. A $250 prize was handed out for the heaviest coyote taken each day, and a $2,000 grand prize was awarded Sunday for the heaviest animal overall.</p><p>Over the last 20 years, hunters weighed in a total of 643 coyotes with an average weight of 34 pounds, according to District 9 member Joe Rusin. The highest turnout for the event occurred in 2013 when 841 hunters participated. Hunters can use dogs, calls or stalking to bag a coyote during the hunt.</p><p>&#8220;A lot of people try coyote hunting but some of them don&#8217;t feel adept at it. We have a following every year, and we also have those hunters that come and go,&#8221; Rusin said.</p><p>Bill Kalinauskis, director of District 9, said the event is the group&#8217;s only fundraiser of the year, and proceeds are used to fund a trapper training school and for donations to county envirothons for high school students in the area.</p><p>One reason for the lower harvest, according to Kalinauskis, was the weather.</p><p>&#8220;The conditions aren&#8217;t that good. There was a lot of ice which made it hard to run dogs, and for those hunters walking, the ice makes it treacherous in the woods,&#8221; he said, adding turnout could&#8217;ve hit 700 but many hunters called to register after the deadline.</p><p>Still, the bounty of coyotes brought in during the three days proved to be a benefit for Keystone College students Alec Smith and Nick Martin, who are both majoring in wildlife biology.</p><p>Smith and Martin were at the hunt to take research samples from the coyotes for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services. The students collected a blood sample to test for tularemia &#8212; a bacterial disease, examined each carcass for the presence of mange and gather any ticks found on the coyotes.</p><p>&#8220;Hunts like this are a help because it brings all of the coyotes right here, and it gives us a good sample over a number of counties,&#8221; Martin said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s also beneficial for us because in the field of wildlife biology, employers look for hands-on work experience like this,&#8221; Smith added.</p><p>Overall, the students found evidence of mange on just one coyote brought to the weigh-in and no ticks.</p><p>&#8220;They look pretty healthy. We&#8217;re seeing a lot weighing over 30 pounds and they have nice coats. They&#8217;re not skinny or malnourished,&#8221; Martin said.</p><p>Typically, the bulk of the harvest comes from Bradford, Luzerne, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties. Rusin said Pike and Sullivan counties account for the fewest coyotes because the former is a long ways for a hunter to travel to the weigh-in with a coyote, and the latter doesn&#8217;t have a lot of residents so there are fewer hunters.</p><p>Even though most of the hunters came up empty during the three-day hunt, the experience was worth it, they said.</p><p>Wyoming County resident Rich Henning participated in the hunt for the last nine years. He tried calling in coyotes but didn&#8217;t have any luck.</p><p>&#8220;We called one in but couldn&#8217;t get a shot, but it was still a good time,&#8221; Henning said. &#8220;It&#8217;s nice to get out in the woods this time of year and we enjoy seeing everybody at the weigh-in.&#8221; </p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL012819CoyoteHunt_4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Keystone College wildlife biology majors Nick Martin, left, and Alec Smith, right, inspect a coyote for ticks as Dominic Stivala, of Factoryville, watches during the 20th annual Northeast Regional Coyote Hunt at the Triton Hose Company in Tunkahnnock on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL012819CoyoteHunt_4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Keystone College wildlife biology majors Nick Martin, left, and Alec Smith, right, inspect a coyote for ticks as Dominic Stivala, of Factoryville, watches during the 20th annual Northeast Regional Coyote Hunt at the Triton Hose Company in Tunkahnnock on Sunday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader  </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL012819CoyoteHunt_5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Keystone College wildlife biology majors Alec Smith, left, and Nick Martin inspect a coyote for ticks before taking a blood sample during the 20th annual Northeast Regional Coyote Hunt at Triton Hose Company in Tunkahnnock on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL012819CoyoteHunt_5.jpg</photo1><caption1>Keystone College wildlife biology majors Alec Smith, left, and Nick Martin inspect a coyote for ticks before taking a blood sample during the 20th annual Northeast Regional Coyote Hunt at Triton Hose Company in Tunkahnnock on Sunday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader  </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>665 hunters participated in three-day event, now in its 20th year</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Hunters turn in nearly 40 coyotes during Tunkhannock hunt