TUNKHANNOCK -- Inside the Triton Hose Company in Tunkhannock, more than 700 hunters are expected to gather as part of a three-day coyote hunt spanning eight counties, including Bradford, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming, Lackawanna, Pike, Luzerne, and Sullivan.
"They're going to be out doing any kind of hunting tactics to try to hunt and manage the coyotes," said Bill Kalinauskis, director of the District 9 Pennsylvania Trappers Association.
Shaun Spencer and his uncle brought in the first coyote, his favorite kind of animal to hunt.
"I like to watch out dogs work and we put a lot of time in our dogs and the reward is nice when you get a coyote," said the Lehman Township resident.
The winner with the heaviest coyote takes home a $2,000 grand prize, with a $250 daily prize for the heaviest coyote weighted at the end of each day, and a $100 prize to anyone who kills a coyote.
The money raised goes toward funding envirothons at area schools and other programs.
The weekend is about more than just controlling the coyote population. It's also a chance for biologists to learn more about the coyotes and things going on in the environment such as diseases.
"I can come here for three days and get up to 60 samples at one location versus what I would be able to get in the field," said Kyle Van Why, a wildlife disease biologist with the USDA Wildlife Services Program. "One of the things we're sampling for this year is canine influenza which is a virus that's found in domestic dogs. But nobody's ever really looked at it in canines."
It is too late to register for this Coyote hunt, which wraps up on Sunday. To view other coyote hunts going on this year, click here.