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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCoyotes 30 miles from wilderness, first time seeing it in my neck of the woods
I live roughly 30 miles from total wilderness. Today I saw a sign at my grocery store advising us that coyotes live amongst us. I know this is common in other areas too. I found it interesting. I hope people are nice to the coyotes.
newfie11
(8,159 posts)I live in central Vermont, where we have lots of coyotes. A coyote took a cocker spaniel from the back porch of my neighbor's house in broad daylight while the neighbor was inside.
I have had two customers (I landscape) loose their small dogs to
coyotes ..... coyotes know if you have a small dog and they will
wait close to the house and grab up a small dog when they get a
chance.
postulater
(5,075 posts)We have had them rip our roof downspouts off the house trying to get at chipmunks, finish off and eat a wounded deer ten feet from my patio, and kill neighbors kitties.
And that is in a near suburb of Milwaukee.
Cleita
(75,480 posts)and don't let them outdoors until after sun rises. If you are in an urban area you may have to secure your garbage cans and above all don't feed them. They are wild animals and predators.
Gormy Cuss
(30,884 posts)I would also add that if you see coyotes in daylight keep your pets inside period, at least for a few days. When they're near houses during the day they are very desperate for food -- or they've figured out that dogs and cats are easy pickings.
littlemissmartypants
(22,588 posts)They are really scary the way they walk together. I saw three bobbing by so close to each other and in lock step that I had to do a double take because they almost looked like one creature instead of the three that were actually there.
FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)They are fairly common in Florida. They get a neighborhood cat or small dog every once in a while.
Bigmack
(8,020 posts)...because we bring lots of food for them. Dogs, cats, pet food, bird feeders, birds, garbage, rats, mice, dumpsters....
A suburb has more coyote food than wilderness for them.
graywarrior
(59,440 posts)Fawke Em
(11,366 posts)They play with the dogs. They aren't a bit aggressive. Maybe their "suburban coyotes." LOL.
justabob
(3,069 posts)I saw a coyote last year right down the street from where I sit, right in the heart of a big city. I called animal control but they don't do anything about it except make a note. Apparently there are a pair of them that range through here and the local animal control just tries to keep tabs on them. Several dogs and cats in the neighborhood got injured and eaten which is a bummer. Cool to see a coyote though. I have only ever seen them from the car on road trips etc.
tularetom
(23,664 posts)I'm afraid we weren't very nice to them. But when we got rid of the sheep, the coyotes more or less disappeared. I only see them a few times a year anymore since we aren't providing them with a free meal.
Maybe they all went to your area. Good luck with that.
newfie11
(8,159 posts)Once the calf was born but before mom could get up they had the calf.
wyldwolf
(43,867 posts)Fawke Em
(11,366 posts)I have a both a Chihuahua and a Rottie mix (in addition to a Cocker, a Golden and a hound). I could just imagine Snap trying anything to save Gordy.
Warpy
(111,149 posts)produced by coyotes interbreeding with domesticated dogs. Fortunately, the hybrids don't seem to be very fertile. Still, castoff dogs have been helping the coyotes increase their range in that fashion.
The only sure fire way to decrease coyote populations is the reintroduction of wolves. With wholves competing for the same food sources, coyotes decrease their breeding. With no competition, they increase their breeding to compensate for being shot or poisoned.
I used to let my cats outdoors during the day here in NM until I saw a hawk licking its beak while my kitty sat obliviously washing her face. That was that and cats have been indoors beasties since then. Given window seats, they didn't seem to mind much. Coyotes aren't the only predators out here.
hack89
(39,171 posts)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_coyote
indie9197
(509 posts)I saw a TV show about them and they are expanding their territories into urban areas also.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/coyotes-kill-toronto-singer-in-cape-breton-1.779304
pipoman
(16,038 posts)The have killed two flocks of chickens, and more cats than I can remember. Every winter I end up shooting a couple. An old Indian friend (he despised the use of 'native American') once told me that he and his ancestors protected their living area by killing one, cutting it's body cavity open and urinating on it, then leaving it on the edge of their border keeps coyotes away. He said that if more white people did this and made a habit of urinating around their property coyotes wouldn't be a problem. Sounds bizarre...but, I have done this and found it the most effective way to keep them away.
FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)Where are they supposed to go when their natural habitat has been turned into housing divisions?
Frankly, I'll trade some cats (which we have more than enough of and are destroying bird populations) and let the coyotes live.
pipoman
(16,038 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)They are moving into suburbia because they have adapted to it and it is easier to eat rodents and the occasional pet than it is to survive in the wild.
I grew up in rural Minnesota and we never saw any coyotes when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)JCMach1
(27,553 posts)no idea if it works, or not...
pipoman
(16,038 posts)I am surrounded by thousands of acres of habitat, the only place I do this is a 3 acre area right around our house...don't want to kill them all, don't want them living under my porch either...
hack89
(39,171 posts)Last edited Thu Sep 4, 2014, 04:51 PM - Edit history (1)
there is no way to eradicate them - guns are not common and there are too many pets to put out poison. The next town over hired a professional hunter who killed about 50 of them. Two years later the packs are back as large as ever - turns out that coyotes will increase the size of their litters if there is enough food.
pipoman
(16,038 posts)hack89
(39,171 posts)they can live anywhere - I watched a NOVA program on coyotes that tracked a pack that lived within the city limits of Chicago.
tularetom
(23,664 posts)Have to admit I didn't urinate on the carcasses but in the almost 30 years we've lived here I've probably peed on every fence post we have.
When we sold the last of the sheep, the coyotes pretty much left us alone. I may see one or two a year, but I don't bother to shoot them anymore.
Our neighbor had two pigs killed in 2012 by wild dogs.
pipoman
(16,038 posts)However around twice a year they'll forget and start hanging out too close to our house. ..
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Have never killed any of my animals.
A raccoon got in my chicken house and killed a chicken.
I had to shoot that raccoon. Never had a problem with the coyotes and have seen them very close to the house.
pipoman
(16,038 posts)At 10am one morning. They took 8 chickens and were gone before I could get my shoes on. Shotgun by the door and didn't get a shot. Prior to that they got in the chicken house and took all but 2. They ran away and would never go back in the chicken house. We lose farm cats every winter.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)I actually slept outside by the chicken house with my 22.
Wish I had a shotgun, but I don't.
I'm good with the 22 however (learned as a child). He/she did not suffer.
But my favorite hen still died. Miss her.
Bigmack
(8,020 posts)We feed them....our garbage, bird feed, KFC dumpsters, pets...
The love us.
Where is it easier for a coyote to find food...a howling wilderness, or an artificial all-you-can-eat buffet like we give them?
Boudica the Lyoness
(2,899 posts)in the west were coyotes started out from. They don't bother our chickens, pets, cattle, because there's plenty of what they are supposed to eat around here.
Here, in the non to distant past, people would kill every wild creature they could, including hawks, owls, magpies and of course bunnies. As a result, their chicken coops were not safe from coyotes.
We let nature be and now the balance is back.
Hemmingway
(104 posts)These critters are nothing more than pests that wreak havoc.
bhikkhu
(10,712 posts)I don't suppose it would be any better if they were replaced by coyotes, but "balance" is long gone in most places, along with much of the wildlife.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,596 posts)I used to see them pretty often in the field behind the building where I used to work, just south of St. Paul in the suburb of Eagan. Once saw a pack of five of them. Another time a coyote got tangled up in the wire fence in the field and animal control came. We were afraid they were going to shoot him but they didn't. They just cut him loose and off he went.
kimbutgar
(21,055 posts)The man standing next to me both looked at each other in amazement that we would see one in the city. Thereafter reports started coming in from people who saw them on the streets at 2AM in morning.
The drought will probably bring more critters out into the city.
beltanefauve
(1,784 posts)has coyote warning signs posted throughout.
I've seen one cross Geary St down near the Avenues.
kimbutgar
(21,055 posts)And they also go up to Mt. Davidson at night. At night they go between the 2 areas about a 1/4 mile apart.
Puglover
(16,380 posts)We have heard them and seen tracks down our alley in the winter. I'll be nice. And my cat is never outdoors after dark.
CottonBear
(21,596 posts)A friend of mine saw one walking along the street at dusk in his intown neighborhood!
GoCubsGo
(32,075 posts)I've only seen them in the rural areas, but I have little doubt they thrive here in town, too.
CottonBear
(21,596 posts)They roam the university golf course and adjacent research forest area in my city. On a recent afternoon, I saw one eating road kill in a roadside ditch next to a large field while I was driving home from work.
I am sure they are all over SC. I love SC! It is a beautiful state. Beaufort and Hunting Island State Park are my favorite places in SC.
GoCubsGo
(32,075 posts)The only place I like better in this part of the world is Sapelo Island, GA, but it's a pain to get there.
Earth_First
(14,910 posts)I hear them frequently in the forest across the creek behind our property.
I enjoy their calls, soothing, yet eerie.
We know enough to leave well enough alone and not present the opportunity, however we enjoy living with these creatures among us.
Last night there was a great big horned owl in the wood line hooo-hoooing away.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)and we hear them yipping at night. Seen them in the woods.
They're sweet creatures, but watch small dogs, cats, chickens. etc
Texasgal
(17,038 posts)that live in many populated areas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_coyote
jen63
(813 posts)I'm in rural SE Ohio; coyotes are the only animal that gun hunters have "open season" on all year long.
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)They've moved into the neighborhood, along with foxes and one bear we know of. Mostly they stay away from people, but you can't let cats and dogs out at night.
LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)The latter are bigger, scarier animals but very shy around people and thus not much of a threat.
Maybe your area needs mountain lions.
Keep your critters inside. Which you should do anyhow.
taught_me_patience
(5,477 posts)Check a map... no wilderness anywhere remotely close to us.
denbot
(9,898 posts)I have seen them on several occasions. Try and wrap your head around that..
Zorra
(27,670 posts)not far from my bedroom window. It was really loud, at first i thought some random phantom audio was playing on my computer.
Coyotes are awesome, they've been my good neighbors ever since I was born. One of my son's name is Coyote.
panader0
(25,816 posts)I love coyotes too. When the conditions are right, they can have beautiful coats. I live in the boonies and there are many here. They get together after sunset, yip and howl, and then repeat it at dawn when they break up and head back to their dens. Very intelligent animals.
Kaleva
(36,251 posts)Bigmack
(8,020 posts)1StrongBlackMan
(31,849 posts)We have coyote everywhere. I live less there 5 miles from the Catalina Mountain Foothill and there's a wash less than a half mile. Whenever there's "development, we see/hear them closer and closer to our sub-division. (Thank the universe, by Town Zoning statutes, we are just about built out).
The person that we bought our house from had a smallish dog and had a "Doggie Door" that opened to a walled in yard. Mrs. 1SBM thought this was a good idea, since we both worked and own dogs. The first project I under-took after the purchase was to install a new door.
As I was headed to the hardware store to get the door, Mrs. 1SBM asked me why I was replacing it ... I told her, "Just like our dogs can come in and out of the house at-will, so can other critters!
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)And we're glad to have them since they keep the rabbit and rodent populations in check. Our neighbor keeps chickens and they've never lost one.
When they get too close our horses chase them off before the dogs even know they're there.
I love listening to them at night.
riversedge
(70,084 posts)they have a peaceful 'voice'. Saw one prancing at the end of lawn--a few summers ago. Just one night. It never came back.
Paladin
(28,243 posts)Beautiful, adaptable animals.
meaculpa2011
(918 posts)on a golf course in Paramus NJ two weeks ago.
It was no more than about ten miles from the George Washington Bridge.
Vinca
(50,237 posts)This morning I went to a yard sale in a southern Vermont town and while loading items into my car a man yelled, "Hey . . . isn't that a bear?" I turned around and, sure enough, not 100 feet from a main highway there was a big black bear ambling up the road. He ran off as soon as he realized what a ruckus he was creating. I hope he got back to the woods safely.
beevul
(12,194 posts)The name of the breed is Boerboel.
Coyotes learn to steer well clear of them. This is a hyper protective breed, particularly when it comes to the boundaries of your property.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)problem...
Damn! I could put my saddle on that thing and get rid of the horses.