Coyote Attacks.

[graywarrior]

Where I go running every day, coyotes fatally attacked a dog last week and in another incident a coyote took off into the woods with someone's cat. I heard them in the woods yesterday morning as I went jogging down the secluded path. I doubt they'd attack a person, but if they turn rabid then whoever runs into one of those is in real danger.

I feel for them because they are being forced out of their environment, and it's usually the fault of animal owners when a coyote can get close enough to snag them. Still, it's becoming a serious problem where I live. Anyone else having coyote problems?

GEORGETOWN —
Coyotes attacked and killed a dog that was walking with her owner in the Georgetown/Rowley State Forest last Wednesday morning.

Georgetown resident Lisa Burke thinks the coyotes were stalking her and her four dogs during their entire walk.

“My dogs were staying unusually close to me all morning,” says Burke. “I did not even see the coyotes coming — they came out on the trail right in front of me and were approaching me aggressively when my dogs saw them. By then it was too late.”

http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/state/x931240245/Coyotes-stalk-woman-kill-dog-at-Georgetown-Rowley-State-Forest


Second coyote attack prompts police warning

Shortly after 11 p.m. Sunday evening, Georgetown Police received a 911 call from a Clark Street resident reporting that a coyote had just taken his cat from the porch of the home, and headed off into the woods in the direction of Moulton Street.
Officers checked the immediate area but were unable to locate either animal.

http://www.wickedlocal.com/georgetown/news/x639770564/Second-coyote-attack-prompts-police-warning

One more story
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/state/x342378673/Vicious-coyote-attack-in-Middleboro-brings-attention-to-seasonal-threat

[Buzz Clik]

1. I used to live on the extreme edge of a small community.

The house overlooked a ravine out the back and prairie about 200 yards away from the front door. It was a wild animal fest all night long with deer (who ate the flowers), raccoons, a fox, owls, and coyotes. The coyotes would actually come onto our front porch attempting the eat the cat. We put the cat out every night, and he survived just fine. Others don't make it.

[Doremus]

17. The coyotes would actually come onto our front porch attempting the eat the cat. We put the cat out

"The coyotes would actually come onto our front porch attempting the eat the cat. We put the cat out every night"

I find this statement horrifying.

Was this some sort of sick game? Let's see if he survives another night ...?

Cold, really cold.

[Buzz Clik]

24. That was ten years ago, and the cat lives. He eats chipmunks like popcorn and birds by the dozen.

Is that horrifying, too?

I had no idea that coyotes would be so bold as to come into our yard or onto the porch until they woke me one night. I grabbed a flashlight, found the cat safely tucked away in a hidey hole. He was relaxed and unfazed. He begged to go outside every night before we went to sleep. The coyotes came by about twice per week.

He's a cat, not a toddler. He's built to survive, and he survives even as an old man. I don't see the big deal.

[Chemisse]

36. "He's a cat, not a toddler." I like that!

[Doremus]

45. Cats aren't toddlers so we should throw them outside where coyotes roam.

And being that they're not toddlers, they really aren't smart enough to know coyotes might eat them for dinner and will beg to be let out anyway so we should accommodate their wishes.

Huh?

Never mind. I have motion sickness following those twists and turns.


BTW, roaming cats are a menace to the bird population.

[Buzz Clik]

68. He's a cat. A pet. Not a human child. I treat him as a cat, and I don't live his life vicariously.

Yes, he's tough on the birds, particularly those who make it a habit to crash into windows. He's harder still on the chipmunk population, which is sitting at zero and holding.

I don't brush his teeth or bathe him. He has all his claws, but no testicles. He's fifteen years old and slowing down. No hip replacements, liver transplants, false teeth, or other major surgery. He never had any and he won't get any. He is properly fed (beyond his appetite for wildlife), and I treat him for fleas and ticks when it's necessary.

This beautiful creature was rescued from the pound 14 years ago. He's moved three times with us and never complained. Our latest home once more overlooks a ravine, and we get crows, vultures, possums, raccoons, and -- you guessed it! -- coyotes. Here's a picture of the old man asking to go out and commune with the coyotes (pic taken 15 minutes ago), and I let just him out.

If he is ever taken by coyotes, I will cry like a baby, but I'll have no regrets. He will have lived the life of a cat, and has had a great time.

[joeybee12]

94. And he's indiscriminate, probably eating birds that are rare...

...keep the damn cat indoors!

[chrisa]

66. Cats can escape well.

[NNN0LHI]

86. If there is a tree nearby

Otherwise the cat loses.

Don

[Doremus]

88. They can escape as well or as badly as any other prey.

And let's be clear about it: cats left to roam outside are PREY.

They are out-weighed and out-muscled by every animal who would be their predator. Whether they would be able to escape depends a great deal on luck.

Anyone who willingly subjects their pet to a nightly game of russian roulette has a stone for a heart, imo. Pretending it's the cat's fault for wanting to go outside or reciting a litany of other stupid excuses doesn't change the fact that the lifespan of a cat allowed to roam outside is about 1/5 of an indoor-only cat. Coyotes are only ONE of a long list of fatalities awaiting them outside.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Coyotes have to make a living too.

We lost one of beloved cats to coyotes. We live in a rural area and now our cats are "housecats". I certainly don't blame coyotes for doing what coyotes do.

[Voice for Peace]

15. yeah nt

[Maru Kitteh]

43. +1

[Coyote_Bandit]

3. Ummmm......

I've got my share of problems but I'm not rabid. Promise.

Edit to add: I've not taken or killed anybody's pet or physically attacked anyone. But I'd love to be able to see the vet when I needed to......

[Kali]

4. It has always been like that out here, coyotes live on cats.

I always feel a mix of pity and "morans" when I see the "lost cat" ads.

[tblue37]

39. Yep. To a coyote or a fox (of which we have plenty within city limits here

in Lawrence, KS) housecats are just plump, yummy snacks. My cats are indoor cats, too.

[Jazzgirl]

47. Overland Park has a bunch of fox too.

I haven't lived there in a few years but I do know that there are a lot of foxes there. I worked in Corporate Woods and they were all over the place all the time. You just had to watch out for them.

[tblue37]

54. One summer evening a few years ago, I walked up the hill to the chancellor's residence

here at KU, and there, not more than 10 feet away from me, stood a gorgeous red fox. He as sleek and sassy, and not at all timid. He didn' approach, but he also didn't act scared or shy away. He just stood there and stared me down.

The KU campus has a lot of feral cats, which you seldom see, but which animal control is well aware of. It also has a lot of rabits. As a result, the eatin' is good for foxes on campus, so it's no surprise that Mister Sassy Fox looked so healthy and well-fed!

It was a real thrill to me, though, to see such a pretty fellow at such close range.

[tblue37]

71. Ooops! Got a phone call and the editing window closed before

I noticed the missing "w" in "He was sleek and sassy."

[Critters2]

5. I used to live in a very rural area, with lots of coyotes.

I made a few accommodations to them. My dog would like to have been outside all the time, but she had to at least sleep on the enclosed porch at night, and come into the house in winter. I suspect my one outdoor cat may have fallen prey to a coyote. My other cats stayed in the house. And on the occasions when I saw coyotes in my yard, which happened from time to time, I stayed inside and gave them a wide berth.

If you live in someone else's territory, you should be polite. Suburbanites keep moving into areas inhabited by wildlife, and should make appropriate accommodations.

[Voice for Peace]

16. yeah nt

[Doremus]

46. +1

I like your attitude!

:toast:

[Ian David]

6. We have a fox problem in Brockton, MA

Or maybe the foxes have a human problem?


Fox attacks shake up Brockton neighborhood

July 23, 2009 02:53 PM

By Jazmine Ulloa, Globe Staff

BROCKTON -- Animal control officers are hunting down two foxes involved in three attacks on people this week in a neighborhood on the city's north side, Supervisor Thomas DeChellis said today.

Officers believe they may be guarding a den of pups, and the department is investigating the gender of the animals and whether they are rabid, he said.

"I have been working for 15 years in animal control," DeChillis said. "But this type of incident has never happened."

Officers are searching for a silver fox involved in two attacks and a red one that bit a third person last night, DeChellis said. But many grey foxes also have a lot of red fur, and there may be only one fox involved, said Marion Larson, a biologist with the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

More:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/07/fox_attacks_sha.html

[XemaSab]

60. A silver fox?

[Sandaasu]

7. Just another animal trying to survive.

There are "coyote problems" where I live as well, but I wouldn't call it that myself. The only problem they generally cause people is killing our pets, and they just means we need to be more careful about the safety of said pets. A tiny dog or declawed cat is pretty helpless when it gets down to it, and shouldn't be outside by themselves anyway. If it wasn't coyotes, it would be foxes (one of which almost killed my family's toy dog a while back), other predators, or even other people's pets who happen to be larger or otherwise less helpless.

If you have a pet who is small or weak enough that the local predators, and the ones mentioned are local to pretty much all of the US, then you really shouldn't leave it outside by itself.

[damntexdem]

8. Watch out: Coyote is a trickster.

Don't get him mad!

[hedgehog]

9. I don't think this is a case of animals being forced out of an environment,

but rather of animals moving into an environment. Another example of this is the white tail deer; I think there are more per square mile in my folks' suburb than out back on my 60 acres of woods.

[kenny blankenship]

22. White tail and squirrels are edge habitat species

they like farmland/suburbia better than forests.

[tblue37]

40. The woman and her dogs had been walking in the forest.

That would be the coyotes' territory. Although the attack occurred as they came back to the parking lot, they had been stalked in the forest.

[tularetom]

10. Years ago we lost several lambs

I can't say for sure that coyotes got them but I don't know what else it could be. About that same time I shot one coyote that was stalking one of our dogs.

Haven't seen one for years but sometimes I can hear them at night off in the distance.

[Jack_DeLeon]

12. Maybe a Puma...

or very unlikely a Jaguar.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. I doubt a coyote.

I'd sooner believe stray, feral dogs.

[tularetom]

19. The one I shot was definitely a coyote

I turned him over to the game warden so they could test him for rabies.

What got the lambs? The game warden thought it was coyotes although he thought it was possible a mountain lion got them. We never found any trace of them so I guess it's speculation.

There was one incident with a pack of wild dogs attacking a herd of goats about ten miles from here, but that was years ago in an area with a bit more development than here.

[havocmom]

57. eagles take lambs where I live

Hell, Havocdad has seen pairs of eagles attack and wear down full grown antelope, then dine like kings on the big, wild goats.

[Jack_DeLeon]

11. I have no problem with Coyotes killing other people's pets...

If you dont want your pet to be hurt you either keep it indoors or fenced in your yard where you have control over them. If you leave them free to wander about outside bad things can happen to them, either by people, wild animals, or just feral abandoned pets.

I have a couple of pet cats, they were strays we took in, I let them outside because they like to be outside but I understand that bad things can happen to them because of that. I figure its worth the risk because they are more happy, but if they were die I would be sad but move on, there are alot of strays out there without a home and we could probably find more later anyways.

IMO coyotes are just a way of keeping the stray population in control in certain areas. As long as they arent attacking people or taking up home in someone's yard they arent a concern of mine.

[Hugabear]

13. That's a pretty fucking callous thing to say

I get the point you're making, but what an incredibly callous way to say it.

[Jack_DeLeon]

21. I'm sure it was...

I just didnt want to spend the time trying to fluff it up to make it sound nicer.

I love my pets and enjoy their company and while I might personally value their life over that of a random stranger, I understand that they arent human and that they already will have a relatively short lifespan.

I just dont like people who get all worked up over their own pets like they are the greatest thing in the world and that they are irreplaceable, so we should kill off all of those dangerous wild animals so that fluffy will be nice and safe outdoors.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

59. People who let their cats out shouldn't be surprised if they fail to come back.

Simple as that. If you value you cat keep it inside.

[Chemisse]

37. I agree. I have lost a few cats to coyotes and fisher cats.

But I feel the risk is worth it for my cats to have the freedom to live a full life out in the sun and starlight (although I try to get them in at night), catching mice and climbing trees. I know that is what I would want if I was a cat.

[roseBudd]

76. To be indoor only and not enjoy nature would be like being in jail.

My cats team up to control a major portion of the dead end street, that abuts the woods. The other cats have to make due with a smaller territory.

They come in every night between 9-10:30

And of course winter curtails their outside time as they aren't as keen to be outside for extended periods.

One of my cats plays soccer with mice, but does not harm them otherwise.

The only issue was a black rat snake bite that became an absess. Seems that rat snakes are not as docile when picked up by a cat as garters.

There are no coyotes where I live and I have been told cats are too large for red tail hawks.

[michreject]

53. If I see a Coyote

I shoot it. Well, try anyway.

[FarCenter]

18. Coyotes are not native to Essex County, MA

Coyotes are native to western praries. They are not an Eastern woodland species.

The canid native to the Eastern woodland is the Gray Wolf.

However, coyotes are probably more compatible with humans than gray wolves, and hopefully they will eat a lot of fawns and goslings. A reduction in the unleashed dog and outdoor/feral cat population would be welcome as well.

[hedgehog]

77. SInce it's been determined that wolves and dogs are essentially

the same species, what about wolves and coyotes?

Also, are the coyotes seen here in the East larger than the ones native to the south west?

[pinniped]

20. I've seen a coyote roaming around here at night in two separate incidences.

I should've had my camera.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

23. I have coyotes as neighbors and there seems to be a cougar moving in

I've seen tracks. I don't have any pets currently, so its not that big a problem. I am on acreage that backs up to government land in the foothills, this is pretty much what I would expect. Those kinds of critters and the snakes are why I am normally armed when out and about there.

[Buzz Clik]

26. Cougars and humans are a bad mix. Good plan to be armed.

If you ever see the animal, I hope you call animal control or someone who will remove it. Once they start mixing with humans, a tragedy is soon to follow.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

30. I need to check with the local rangers, I do not think they will relocate it

Cougars have special legal protection in CA which is neither required nor deserved. Its one of the reason we have so few deer here.

[Buzz Clik]

31. Wasn't it in California that a cougar killed a jogger?

geez.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

34. Indeed

There was no hunting pressure to control the population, they ate damn near all the deer and the population exploded. When the deer where gone, they looked elsewhere. Stupid initiatives are not just about marriage.

If you have to kill one, depending on the ranger it could go easy or hard. I know the local guy pretty well and give him access through my property, so I would hope I would get a fair shake. That said, others have told me the right approach is shoot, shovel, and shut up.

[MuseRider]

25. I love them.

They are all around out here in the country. I had one drag itself into one of my barn stalls a few weeks ago after apparently being hit by a car. I tried to feed it and feel where it was hurt. It was horrible, the rescue people ended up having to put him down. A couple of years ago I was standing outside my barn watching some post 4th fireworks going off down the road and something big hit my leg. I looked down into those yellow eyes and it looked up into my shocked face and ran off. The fireworks must have scared the poor thing to death. They come through no more than 20 feet away from me and just move on. Yes they will take your cats, or harm your dogs if you do not take care of them. Out here I really have little to worry about since they have plenty to eat with all the rabbits, wood rats, etc. Rarely do we have a problem with all the pets that people let roam, not even with a healthy population of bobcats. I feel sorry for them, especially because they will really start to take the heat if this continues and it is bound to.

[Bigmack]

27. Several points...

Dogs are a much greater danger than coyotes.... Only 1 death attributed to coyotes. (a small child in California died after an attack in the 1980's). Dogs kill an average of 17 people in the US in one year.

Coyotes have extended their range over the last few decades. They are now native to all of the Western Hemisphere from Panama to the Arctic Circle. They are found in large cities, the suburbs, and the wilderness.... wherever there's food. What will a coyote eat? Anything that fits down their throat... animal, vegetable, or mineral.

Coyotes are smart... very smart. No... smarter than that, even! They often learn in one repetition.

If a coyote kills something as large as a sheep, they eat it there. If the prey is missing, look for some animal other than coyote. Dog - feral or not - are the main culprits.

Most states have regulations against your animals (pets) wandering around uncontrolled. In our area, the state, county, and local homeowners associations all have regs against unconfined/uncontrolled animals including pets. Still... we have lots of posters on poles advertising missing cats. People who let their cats and dogs roam aren't bad people... just ignorant.

[joeybee12]

28. Cats are indoor pets...

...if this doesn't convince you, nothing will.

[Buzz Clik]

32. Cats are survivors. They are smaller and quicker than coyotes.

Cats tend to have a bimodal life expectancy -- the weak and stupid ones die before they are two years old. The rest live past ten years old. A little Darwinian action there, no doubt.

[joeybee12]

93. Tell that to the cat I saw caught by a coyote...

...and tell it to the ones that get hit by cars.

[ContinentalOp]

29. Wow, lots of weird fear about coyotes here. I think there are pretty much no cases ever of a coyote

attacking an adult human. Maybe only a few cases where small children were attacked.

Yes, coyotes will eat dogs and cats. Duh.

There are tons of coyotes where I live and I'm near them all of the time, see them nearby in broad daylight, etc. It's not that big of a deal.

[Critters2]

33. I found, whenI lived around them, that I wasn't afraid of 'em.

I'd stay away from 'em, mostly because it was clear they were so afraid of me. They get into my fenced yard once in a while, and then completely panic if they saw me. I just stayed inside and let 'em leave the same way they came in.

But, in general, apart from their penchant for eating cats, I found 'em pretty good neighbors.

[ContinentalOp]

38. Yeah, I agree, but I just realized that I totally misread post #26

I was reacting against the idea that we need to arm ourselves against coyotes and that humans and coyotes can never mix, but buzzclick was actually talking about COUGARS. Oops. :blush:

[boppers]

35. Fish swim, birds fly.

News at 11.

[Mugu]

41. The coyotes usually aren't much of a problem for me.

But, every so often I get a crew that isn't respectful and will come right up to the house after my barn cats and don't even bother to run when I go out and holler at them. When that happens I just get out the 12ga. and load it with #4Buck. That drops them like a wet dishrag and the survivors don't cause anymore problems. After a couple of years the new generation gets brave and decides that they don't have to follow the rules and then we do it again.

[Bigmack]

65. It won't change the overall ...

coyote population, and it sounds cruel at first blush, but the situation you describe is probably the best for the coyotes as a whole. Teach the survivors the rules.

The State Park where I volunteer has a motto: "A fed coyote is a dead coyote" Not that the rangers would shoot a coyote.... they are soft-hearted naturalists... but if somebody in town or in the Park feeds the coyotes, it's only a matter of time until the Game guys have to kill some coyotes.

I think cities and suburbs should get volunteers to hunt the coyotes with paintball guns. No lasting harm, but it would teach the coyotes something they need to know...that humans are CRAZY and DANGEROUS and UNPREDICTABLE.

Another thing... if you kill a bunch of coyotes, you're very soon up to your ass in bunnies, rats, mice, and other natural coyote food.

[Forkboy]

42. A coyote killed my current cat's mother.

And two of my sister's cats. It sucks big time to lose a pet, but I've never had any animosity to the coyotes. I respect their intelligence in surviving, and apparently thriving, in many areas you wouldn't expect even a decade ago.

[MajorChode]

44. I can often hear them howling at night when my windows are up

They hang around my neighborhood because some of my neighbors keep giving them a fresh supply of live cats to eat.

I really enjoy hearing them. It almost balances out all the dickheads driving around with loud mufflers at 3am.

[Mugu]

48. I agree, I like listening to them as well

and I'm alright with them eating the neighbor's cats or even coming on my property to get a drink. But, I draw the line at coming to my home to cause mayhem.

As long as they observe that one rule only thing that I'll shoot them with is my camera.

[MajorChode]

50. I would just as soon the neighbors not put their cats out for them to eat

It's not the cats' fault. But if they did stop the coyotes would probably go somewhere else as there isn't much else for them to prey.

[Mugu]

52. There's plenty for them to eat around here

but, coyotes like everybody else, prefer to not work any harder than absolutely necessary for their meals.

[X_Digger]

49. We've been getting 'yotes, feral pigs, and racoons..

You'd think being smack dab in the middle of the DFW metro area that it'd be a rare occurrence to bump up against wildlife that big. I've been driving home late at night and seen a string of trashcans turned over with a 'yote (or more often, a racoon) in the last one chomping down. We regularly have racoons and possums along the back fence (we back onto a 30 acre field that is overrun with rats and mice in the fall.)

Fort Worth had to hunt down ~100 feral hogs that had invaded their local nature center. I have a friend who frequently sends me pictures of hogs in the field across from his house in Arlington.

As long as they have a healthy fear of humans and don't interfere with the local ecosystem (like the hogs in Ft Worth) I don't have a problem with wildlife. (Of course, I was the country kid who raised baby racoons, possums, squirrels, a ground hog, baby rabbits that the dog had mauled..)

[XemaSab]

62. I live right in the middle of the city and we have

raccoons, skunks, and possums in the yard.

Never heard a coyote, but I would be really surprised if they weren't around.

When I lived in Santa Barbara I used to hear them all the time.

[chrisa]

69. Haven't hogs been absolutely ravaging texas lately?

Nothing to chew them up, and they're much meaner. Much more dangerous that a coyote.

[X_Digger]

72. Yup, I'll see if I can find the article..

.. a couple of years ago, a feral sow protecting her babies had a guy stuck in his car in his driveway.

[formercia]

51. Coyotes in Maine are Wolf-Coyote hybrids

Genetic testing by the fish and game folks verified it. They are considerably larger than the Coyotes out West.

I've seen them in the woods several times and they were always on the run.

[hedgehog]

78. Back when I went to school in the Dark Ages, we were taught that

if two animals bred and produced fertile offspring, they were the same species by definition.

I suspect that dogs, wolves and coyotes are all different breeds of the same species. Just look at an Irish Wolfhound vs. a Chihuahua to see how adaptable this species is.

I haven't heard how foxes fit in.

[L. Coyote]

55. HELLO! Why doesn't this say, "Coyote has lunch, as usual." ?? When people eat a burger

I don't write a newspaper article about how they killed a cow. This is how coyotes eat! Simple enough. Dang.

People should be happy they are not being driven out of the coyote's neighborhood, instead of vice-versa.
Oh yeah, and try not to tick them off, because they could start eating children if pushed too far! :rofl:

[graywarrior]

58. Coyote's drove me out of their neighborhood.

No way will I hike/jog in those woods again. I can take the hint.

:rofl:

[L. Coyote]

81. Your wisdom will be rewarded.

Your first-born will be spared when the day comes! :rofl:

[graywarrior]

84. My first born already had their chance

They never showed up...bwahahahahahaha!

[havocmom]

56. When I lived in Tucson, I saw coyotes regularly, in mid-town, not the fringes.

Go out late or very very early, and you usually have coyote shadows there. I figured they were using me as a 'hunting dog', startling small game animals as I walked, making meals easy for them.

There are so many coyotes, in the heart of that city, that I would bet many have never lived outside the city, probably for generations. Pet food on the patio makes for easy eats, as do pet cats and small dogs. Lots of 'vermin' find it easy to make a living along side humans, and the trickster coyote probably likes that smorgasbord too.

Where they get aggressive in front of humans, there might be cause for alarm, but not just because of coyotes. I would be more concerned with the possibility of rabies. And the coyotes would not be the only species that should be checked out.

Keep cats inside home, or WELL fenced yard and always with supervision. Small dogs too.

In Tucson, it is not just the trickster who will carry off a small pet. Hawks and owls hunt too and there are lots of them around.

My sister has a neighbor who is a mountain lion. It saunters past her house, into the tract home neighborhood across the street and comes out with someone's pet pretty regularly.

Seems the animals have adjusted to our encroachment on their territories. Seems they figure they will make a living where we live if we keep expanding out from small urban centers.

[havocmom]

61. Pic of bobcat someone took on their patio today

Not really uncommon either. check out the Tucson Daily Star gallery (with tag: wildlife) for some amazing pictures, many of wild critters making themselves at home, at homes.

http://regulus2.azstarnet.com/gallery/tag/wildlife

Lots of talented shutterbugs upload pictures to the paper's gallery. Always worth a look. Go to the 'Galleries' link on left and find other tags to amuse and amaze. I use the site to lower my blood pressure when news gets too weird.

[havocmom]

63. bobcat mom nursing baby

on chaise lounge

[havocmom]

64. urban pigs

Javalinas









moral of story: the animals decided to deal with us

[L. Coyote]

85. In Apache Junction, they use the storm drains for freeways, they

pop out on US 60 amidst dense traffic in mid-town to switch "freeways" which run long distances underground.
Quite well-adapted to the urban world! I'm sure they do a real service keeping vermin like rats and mice down.

[havocmom]

92. Someday, I will tell you about my coyote escort through a rough 'hood

in the wee hours of a morning. They may well have saved my life.

[Bigmack]

67. Read this book.......

Don Coyote: The Good Times And The Bad Times Of A Much Maligned American Original by Dayton O. Hyde

Guy is/was a rancher, and he found that coyotes actually helped his ranch.

Amazon gives it 5/5 stars.

I give it 6/5.....

[xchrom]

70. coyotes are moving into urbanized areas all over

the country.

they can make a living.

[msanthrope]

73. I've heard them in Cape May, New Jersey....

I thought I was going crazy one night. Kept hearing coyote sounds, which I last heard on a trip out to New Mexico.

Next day I spoke with a town cop. At first, he was close-mouthed, but then told me that yeah, there were reports. Probably came out of the Pine Barrens, and followed their nose.

Cape May has a tremendous bird population (it's well-known for it's bird watching,) a feral cat population, and rabbits galore. I'm sure it's like a buffet for the coyotes.

[xchrom]

75. they do fine in urbanized areas, amazingly.

but mostly they stay out of sight.

it's eerie that you heard them calling. -- what a sound.

[Withywindle]

74. One walked into a Quizno's around the corner from my office a couple years ago.

The Loop, downtown Chicago.

The toasted Italian subs were terrified! :scared:


It created quite the media scene, and Animal Control eventually took him in, checked him out, and released him in a forest preserve.

The Quizno's still has a Wile E. Coyote doll on their drink cooler to commemorate the visit. Like a signed photo of a movie star.

[hedgehog]

79. A little off-topic, but the first time I heard a fox bark I woke up

with my heart pounding. It really sounded like something screaming. I had no idea what it was until I heard it repeatedly outside my window one winter night and could tell that it was a high pitched bark. I looked out to see what could make such a noise, and there was a fox up on top of the 10' snow pile from plowing the driveway. The fox was barking at the critter that had it tree'd on top of the snow: our cat Smokey.


Smokey would chase the fox out of our yard and the fox would chase Smokey away from it's den. Eventually, they fox got the east side of the road and Smokey stayed on our side.

I did have one naive fox grab one of my hens one afternoon. The fox didn't know how to kill it, so when I came tearing out of the house with a broom, the fox was pleased to drop the hen and run. The hen just settled her feathers and went back to eating.

Last summer we had 2 foxes denned up behind the barn. They never bothered the chickens.

[Autumn]

80. We used to have a real problem with coyotes,

they would come right up to the porch, until I got my mustang. First time he saw one on the property he went after it. They don't come on the property anymore. I haven't seen one in over a year.

[northernlights]

82. my last year in Mass they were increasingly brazen

back in '03. That building boom overdeveloped Mass to where there is very little open space left for them. Their habitat is gone.

At the farm where I kept my horse, a coyote walked right up through a pasture, through the gate and stood just a few feet away from several men standing around talking.

On the other hand, up here in Maine I almost lost my puppy when a pack was yipping out in the woods. From the center, there was a single dog barking. My puppy heard the dog and bolted for the barn door. It was sheer luck that my hand slipped through his collar and nabbed him -- just a short time earlier I'd been cussin' cause I forgot my gloves.

We have coydogs here -- they recruit and interbreed with dogs and end up with the worst traits of both. It seems every winter I read about entire herds of deer slaughtered -- as many as 20 bodies will be found. That's coydogs -- they thrill kill in packs, unlike coyotes that generally hunt small game solo (or in family packs when they're teaching their young).

I haven't heard coyotes or coydogs around in a long time. I think they stopped swinging by after my goat died. One made a beeline for her once, but my horse chased him off :D The goat ultimately died of old age and I did leave her carcass out for them. They haven't been around since...

[mitchtv]

83. they were all over earlier this year

in the Palm Springs area( including someone's back yard in Indio they captured a family of youngsters) living on poodles and pomeranians. quiet now;

[kentuck]

87. Coyotes run in packs...

They will attack another animal from different angles, usually the hind legs, until they get it on the ground. Then they go for the kill.

[graywarrior]

89. Well everyone in my area is all in a dither about them

Everyone walking their dogs on the trails has their own theories on who they will attack and how to scar them off. It's the talk of the "park crowd."

[Robb]

90. Used to. Then I moved to mountain lion country.

Sort of put the coyote problem in perspective.

[janx]

91. It's best to have dogs on leash in coyote country.

I used to take my dogs out to run free on some trails in Colorado, where coyotes regularly visited. My dogs were mid-size to large dogs, but I still called them back and leashed them whenever I saw a coyote.

Several years ago a friend of mine saw a coyote with a dead cat in its mouth--trotting under the I-25 bridge near downtown Albuquerque. There were reports of coyotes in our neighborhood some months ago, but I haven't seen any. That doesn't mean that they aren't here. They are all over.