Coyotes getting worrisome

[sidecarist]

I've seen and hunted Coyote in Kansas, as well as the Eastern US, mostly in Rural NY State. In the west Coyote ate smaller 30lb is a nice one, in the east, I have killed 50-60lb Coyote and their behavior is very different than in the west. There is much speculation that they are hybrid animals with Wolves from Canada, or feral dogs. Doesn't matter to me much but the eastern pelts are bigger for sure.

What I have learned is that west of the Mississippi they are smaller, and more solitary. Family groups will be together but young adults are driven off, pairs are common enough, but not a true pack like wolves. East of the Mississippi they are larger, and tend to work more socially. Its not uncommon to see groups of four, still not a wolf like pack, but they can take on larger game. Rarely are they a real problem for humans, but they will go after our companion animals as they aren't very wary. Fowl are of course easy pickings.

A large herding breed dog is a good defense against them getting to close. Most of the vocalization we hear is territorial, and not directed at us, its directed at other Coyote. We can defend against them by making life more difficult, They are very smart, and learn quickly about things like electric fence's, but we have to be persistent as they will come back and test our defense of our livestock regularly.

Just my 2 cents YMMV

 

[k0ua]

The one I was close to I saw while riding my ATV. Wife and I were riding Southbound on a straight hilly dirt road. Wind blowing hard from the South. Topped a hill and this cat was walking down the middle of the road about half a mile ahead of us. We stopped and watched it for a few seconds. Being the "Manly Man" I am, I said I'm chasing it!!!! Off I went!!!! I was within 100 yards of it, running 50 mph when it noticed me. From the middle of the road it leapt on top of the 8ft high roadbank to the right. The adjoining field was old CRP ground. Grown up in grass/weeds waist high. An occasional 6-8ft tall tree. I climbed the bank on the ATV and no cat to be seen. I knew it was hiding in the field somewhere. Standing on the ATV, I'm idling around in the field trying to scare it up. I rode past one of the small trees and after passing it caught something out of the corner of my eye. The cat was lying flat beside the tree. When my eyes made contact with it's eyes it whirled and ran the opposite direction. By the time I got turned around it was into a brushy ditch. I rode back down the bank and onto the road where my wife was waiting on her ATV. We sat there talking about it for maybe a minute and she suddenly gasped and said there it goes, pointing back to the North down the road. About 150 yards away it calmly walked across the road, never looking at us. Was not the least bit scared of us. It never acted like it was out of control and running scared. Simply out witted us......

I'll take Coyotes anyday.

Yeah, tangling with a large kitty does not seem like a lot of fun. They are very powerful. A single coyote could be kicked in the ribs and perhaps launched. A rabid one of course could surely bite you, but I don't have much fear of meeting one or two of them. Maybe a pack of 6 or 8 could be a problem for a human. Of course even a single coyote will eat your cat or small dog.

 

[DieselBound]

Cats vs dogs... unless we get to the Grizzly and Polar version of bears the cats are on top. Fangs and FOUR sets of Freddy Kruger knives! And cats can leap and twist really, really well.

Haven't seen any mountain lions in my area, though I recall several years ago the game department doing a catch and release further up into the mountains from me.

Black bears are around, though I have no visible siting of one: plenty of scat. When I go out on my property I tend to make sure I make noise (usually talking with/to my dog) so they have time to wander off before I stumble across them.

I'm also fortunate that I don't have any bad neighborhood dogs. Neighbors tolerate my dog (she will roam a bit- mainly goes and visits other dogs): I know that she doesn't cause any problems.

 

[beowulf]

Central California Foothills. We have lost some no-name cats to coyotes, and I have watched them try to lure one of our dogs away from the home area. They would do this in pairs - sometimes three - looking friendly but slowly backing up. The dog was cautiously following them into the woods and getting farther and farther away - until I took a shot at the coyotes - missed. They have stalked our goats but they are now penned. We worry about new calves and have lost a few but I cannot confirm it was from coyotes - but they seemed to come around more after a birth.

The coyotes also taught us we did not want to have chickens. They would pick them off one by one - and ALWAYS taking the plumpest one next in line. But the worse were the weasels - they would go on a killing spree and just kill all the chickens and leave them. At least the coyotes only killed one by one and took and ate them. I have shot a few of them. They can really get to yapping when there are a few of them.

Some were skittish but some came right into the yard. I have heard that having a donkey works as they will attack the coyotes.

 

[ovrszd]

I've seen and hunted Coyote in Kansas, as well as the Eastern US, mostly in Rural NY State. In the west Coyote ate smaller 30lb is a nice one, in the east, I have killed 50-60lb Coyote and their behavior is very different than in the west. There is much speculation that they are hybrid animals with Wolves from Canada, or feral dogs. Doesn't matter to me much but the eastern pelts are bigger for sure.

What I have learned is that west of the Mississippi they are smaller, and more solitary. Family groups will be together but young adults are driven off, pairs are common enough, but not a true pack like wolves. East of the Mississippi they are larger, and tend to work more socially. Its not uncommon to see groups of four, still not a wolf like pack, but they can take on larger game. Rarely are they a real problem for humans, but they will go after our companion animals as they aren't very wary. Fowl are of course easy pickings.

A large herding breed dog is a good defense against them getting to close. Most of the vocalization we hear is territorial, and not directed at us, its directed at other Coyote. We can defend against them by making life more difficult, They are very smart, and learn quickly about things like electric fence's, but we have to be persistent as they will come back and test our defense of our livestock regularly.

Just my 2 cents YMMV

Good post without bias. Didn't realize the differences between Western and Eastern Coyotes. Only have experience with them here in Missouri. Thanks for the post!!!

 

[cqaigy2]

While i can't absolutely say coyotes will or won't kill deer but had an incident several years ago of coyotes apparently killing a medium sized doe. We live next to a creek that has fairly steep sides very close to the house. One night i heard coyotes making a real racket sounding like they were chasing something in the creek. After about 10 minutes of what sound like the coyotes and something struggling, i heard a deer scream. Next morning went down the side of the creek over to where I'd heard the sounds, and found a dead doe, with chew marks, the vegetation was partially tore up and what looked to me to be coyote tracks scattered around. This wasn't a fawn but a full grown doe, looked to be 100+ lbs and healthy. I left it alone and over a few weeks, coyotes would come in and feed off it till it disappeared.

 

[westcliffe01]

A problem that is developing in a lot of places is the ban on shooting within certain city / municipal jurisdictions. When one has this for 20 or 30 years, it means one has many successive generations of predators who never experience hunting or hostility from humans and critters kept by humans. These predators do not behave in the same manner as others who live in places where farmers or hunters are likely to shoot at them if they approach closer than a couple of hundred yards. Even rural areas are not free of this curse, many recent "sub divisions" consisting of 36+ acre parcels have covenants prohibiting any form of shooting. I found many remote areas in Colorado to have this infection...

In the meantime there have been many attacks on humans by coyotes, especially in California and Colorado, usually in these "no shooting" zones. The guy attacked while walking to work in Denver, pre-dawn, was a good example. I believe 3 coyotes attacked a full grown able bodied male and he needed quite a few stitches to close his wounds. In California, it is mainly infants, children and the elderly being attacked. And pets of course.

The best thing to do if they are coming closer than you feel comfortable with, is to rifle up and shoot them. It will require the investment of quite a bit of time, but getting the boldest ones will be the easiest. After that it gets progressively more difficult, but you will see a change in their behavior pretty soon if you keep it up.

 

[ovrszd]

Westcliffe01,

Very well written and in my opinion accurate. Coyotes naturally fill whatever void is available. Their personality in that void becomes whatever is most successful. They only fear and respect the superior species in that society that they have experienced. No different than the Canadian Goose attacking the Golfer.

 

[k0ua]

That is why it is a good idea to fire a few rounds at them whether you hit them or not. It if probably better if you don't hit them. That way they can "smarten up" and learn that man is to be feared. "Keep your distance, those things can hurt us."

 

[beowulf]

It if probably better if you don't hit them."

If it is better that you don't hit them, then I am doing it precisely right. I have managed to hit only about four out of the 20 or so shots I have taken at them. Granted that they are wary and usually some distance away, but I have missed some good shots as well. Glad to see I am smartening them up. LOL