Cartoon images of chronically abused Wile E. Coyote and the cocky Roadrunner don't do the wily coyote justice.

Eastern coyotes, larger than their Western cousins from a genetic union with Canadian wolves, have keen senses and are opportunistic predator/omnivores that hunt alone or in well-coordinated packs. They're adaptive and reclusive. If you spend any time at all outdoors in Pennsylvania, they're there -- from the deepest reaches of the Northcentral Wilds to overgrown lots and ravines in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh -- but they duck out of sight long before most people catch a glimpse of grey.

As rare as it is to see a coyote by chance, it's far more difficult to shoot one on purpose.

But around this time of year, thousands of Pennsylvanians ante up for a hunting experience that's unique in this state. Organized coyote hunts, often sponsored by sportsman's groups, are mass affairs stretching to all corners of the commonwealth. Taking advantage of the most liberalized regulations in the Game Commission's arsenal of rules, camouflaged hunters work individually or in groups using tracking dogs, decoys, mechanical or electronic calls and/or nonliving bait to hunt (on days including Sunday and at night) a game species with an open season and no bag limits.

At most of the dozens of organized coyote hunts, registration fees are collected and prizes awarded for categories including shooting the longest, heaviest, smallest, etc. The meat is largely inedible, but the pelts carry value and some successful hunters mount their trophies.

The Game Commission considers its relaxed coyote hunting rules to be regulatory tools used to help hunters control the animal's population growth. Many coyote hunters feel they're providing a public service during a down time for most other hunting. But others feel the competitive nature of the organized hunts, awarding of cash prizes for kills, and use of baits and electronic calls contribute to a philosophy that crosses a line of hunting ethics.

Although coyotes are among the most elusive game species in Pennsylvania, the Game Commission estimates that 28,974 were taken in 2007 by hunters and trappers. (Harvests are estimated because reporting coyote kills isn't required.) The estimate doesn't distinguish between coyotes taken through trapping, incidental kills while hunting for other species or as part of the organized hunts.

But organizers say participation is increasing, and a lot of coyote hunters enter multiple contests. Last weekend, 166 showed up for the annual Big Dog Hunt sponsored by the Tubmill Trout Club, near New Florence.

"We had quite a few new, fresh people in the hunt this year," said club president Lin Gamble. "I think more and more people are picking up the gauntlet of controlling these coyotes."

Initially a fund-raiser for the club, the hunt has evolved into a break-even public service event. Top prizes of $498 were awarded to Tom Mitchell of Spring Creek for the longest male (551/2 inches) and Robert M. Cragle of Stillwater for longest female (541/4 inches). A lesser prize was given for smallest coyote, and each of 14 other successful hunters won $88.92 per coyote.

"We see the need to help eradicate some of these animals to slow down their numbers a bit," said Gamble. "We really try to promote it on that level. The way we do it, it's a bounty, which is about the only way to get hunters to help."

The Game Commission has "no official position" on the organized hunts, said spokesman Jerry Feaser, as long as they're carried out legally.

"An open season is still a season," he said. "We consider [the liberal regulations] to be tools in the management of the coyote population, not their eradication."

And while private groups may consider their trophy awards "bounties," laws passed by the state legislature prohibit the state from placing bounties on animals.

"Bounties were provided by law and removed by law," said Feaser. "That's why the Game Commission doesn't get involved in [organized coyote hunts]. We do not support or oppose them."

During the past two years, while researching the impact of parasites on coyotes for her Shippensburg University thesis, Melanie Cegelski was a regular visitor to some of the state's biggest coyote hunts. She "sweet-talked the hunters into letting me take samples," she said, collecting blood and organs for her research. Cegelski was recently hired by the Game Commission as a biologist's aid.

"At the hunts, I could see that the guys seemed to have so much fun going out in groups," she said. "There was a social aspect. They wanted to tell you all about the hunt, everything that happened."

Despite the camaraderie and the challenges coyotes pose as a quarry, some hunters remain uneasy with the concept of organized hunts for financial reward.

Jim Posewitz, executive director of Orion: The Hunters Institute, a hunting ethics group located in Montana, said that while the number of organized coyote hunts seems to be increasing nationwide, it's important for hunters to raise questions about hunting for monetary gain and to continue considering the relationship the hunter has to the game.

"In general, we probably would be opposed [to Pennsylvania's organized coyote hunts]," he said. "I don't like the baiting of anything -- the fair-chase principle seems to be wearing a little thin. But if for whatever reason [Game Commission] biologists need to harvest more coyotes, and these relaxed regulations and hunts are a way to get the job done, then so be it."

Posewitz says it's import for hunters to continue considering the ethics.

"Once the biology is done, it becomes a question of philosophy," he said, "and while I think that's a valid part of wildlife management, it's the least often practiced."