Saw a Coyote? on our Land

[VonD]

I have them on my property too with a lot of rabbits, armadillos, raccoon, turkeys, and deer. They run in a pack of 4 or more and I hear them several times each night while they're cornering some prey. FL allows taking coyotes anytime without a license because they're multiplying like hogs. I haven't yet but if I find evidence they're taking fawns or turkeys I'll put them on the hit list. I bet with a little butter and Cajun seasoning I could make a coyote taste good!

 

[dragoneggs]

Here's a couple pics of coyotes that I took in our backyard in Seattle. They look like showdogs.

Yes, beautiful animals... here is a pic of a pic (so quality isn't so good) of my Coyote/Shepherd mix. Best 'dog' I ever had and as smart as I have ever seen. Rescued from the wild, trained her well, and she lived 13 years before I had to put her down... one of saddest days of my life.

 

[Raspy]

That beautiful picture of Nikki is really touching.

I keep wondering how I might find a coydog.

 

[dmccarty]

I have not deer hunted in the last couple of years because of lack of time and the deer herd has been reduced by about 2/3s by coyotes. We used to see 6-9 deer around the house. Now it is 3 with maybe a fourth from time to time. Of the 3 or 4 I see, only one is yearling. Many of the fawns we saw in the spring are dead. We did have at least two fawns that were around the house and one is for sure dead. There are 4-5 doe herds I see in our area and a couple of those herds had 10-15 deer. I went past one area yesterday and saw a doe herd with 5 deer and it should have been 10-15. Most of these herds are in a subdivided woods with lots around 2-3 acres. I don't hear any gunshots up there so I don't think the deer are being hunted and the deer do not go near major roads. The decrease is coyotes.

The coyotes have taken a couple of deer in our back yard which is only a few feet from our bedroom. I have found deer "parts" all around our house. A few months ago I found a deer leg bone a foot off the front porch. Last December we heard a pack running deer on trails south and east of the house one night. My oldest and I went out to try to see the coyotes since the deer was running in a circle trying to escape. We knew which trails they were using but we did not see the deer or the coyotes. The deer headed west and kept running with the coyotes following. We have gravel around parts of the house for walkways and driveways. We have seen pee stains on gravel within a foot or two of the house doors. It is not pee from our dog but from something else. What animal would be marking territory around the house? Our dog, a Golden, will not venture far from the house especially at night, dawn or dusk. My wife has to escort the dog outside before bedtime. The dog will NOT go outside by itself at night...

Later,
Dan

 

[eventer79]

Didn't read the rest of the replies, but cool! Love seeing wildlife (well, I am a wildlife biologist, haha), especially predators, although coyote are extremely opportunistic and are happy to scavenge as well. I like to hear them sing at night, it is amazing that 2 or 3 can sound like 50 and they can sound like they are outside your door from 1/2 mile away.

 

[eventer79]

And DMC, don't worry, there are a LOT of deer in the triangle area. Urban sprawl and development have created a near-unending supply of the edge habitat they love. I'm not sure where you got your 2/3 herd reduction number, but it is certainly not the case. Most deer mortality comes from vehicle encounters, starvation, and stray or unsupervised dogs, particularly when the latter pack up. You may also be seeing the work of coy-dogs -- these hybrids are more aggressive and visible than their wild predecessors.

If you'd like some more accurate deer numbers for the area, I can go down the hall for you (I focus on the fish so don't have the numbers at the top of my head). Domestic pets and other small animals should always be contained and/or supervised outdoors, cats should be kept indoors not only for their own safety but to prevent their wildlife serial killer habits (I love my INDOOR cats), and donkeys are indeed excellent guardians, as are llamas or a particularly cranky horse.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

"any wildlife biologist will tell you coyotes do not impact the deer herd to any great extent."

Actually, that view isn't held by all wildlife biologists anymore. Over the past few decades, coyotes in the northeast have been changing their behavior as a species, becoming more wolf-like. They are running in packs, they are cooperatively hunting, and they are taking down big game (deer) on a much more frequent and consistent basis. Their worst depredations are winter deer yards, and have been on record as completely wiping some deer yards out. Worse, coyotes are also known to sometimes attack and kill solitary unarmed humans in the wild.

 

[rsallen]

I'd like to see just one instance of a documented event of coyotes or wolves killing a human.
Will they feed on the remains of a dead or deceased human carcass yes.
But for actually taking on and killing human? That is an urban myth that should be refuted at every chance.

 

[rsallen]

What's the big mystery?
We've so 'managed' the wild life to suit our 'needs'.
Now everyone is upset and surprised that an animal as opportunistic as the canidae species is over whelming what's been so carefully crafted.

Yeah let's kill the coyote to conserve the deer so we can shoot them. That sounds like a good plan.

 

[dave1949]

I'd like to see just one instance of a documented event of coyotes or wolves killing a human.
Will they feed on the remains of a dead or deceased human carcass yes.
But for actually taking on and killing human? That is an urban myth that should be refuted at every chance.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...=lcWUkuSSehD2zC8cgm422A&bvm=bv.57155469,d.aWc

I can happen apparently but it is very rare.