Strange Coyote Behavior

[N80]

I think coyote behavior is a problematic issue for lots of reasons. As I already mentioned, they adapt to local conditions extremely well. That means behavior probably varies a lot. How they behave in cow country is probably very different from how they behave elsewhere. I also think coyote 'stories' get magnified and amplified and blown out of proportion. I also think people misinterpret what they are seeing coyotes do. The debate in my area, which is a cattle farming area, is whether or not coyotes are taking healthy calves. We see calves that have been eaten for sure and have even witnessed coyotes feeding on dead calves, but were they still born, or sick or abandoned by the cow? Those are common issues even without coyotes and something eats these calves even if the coyotes don't. We see coyotes prowling around the heard during calving but most of the time they are eating the afterbirth, not the calf. So far, no one has actually witnessed a coyote take a healthy calf with its mother around. But the rumors fly anyway.

The closest we have come is my B-I-L witnessed a coyote harassing a small calf. He watched for a long time through his rifle scope but could not get a shot because it was in with other cows (that did not seem too panicked). That's when he noticed that it never bit the calf but was nipping bits of calf poop out of the calves tail and off its hindquarters. When all that was gone, the coyote left. He examined the calf later and it did not have a mark on it. Strange. But if he had not observed as closely and as long as he did he would have assumed the coyote was trying to kill the calf. That's how things get confused.

But again, I have no doubt that coyotes comes up with adaptive behaviors very quickly so I'm not too quick to say what a coyote will and will not do.

I will say that I wish we did not have them. They are relatively new to us, maybe 15-20 years. Before that we had none. We now also have wild hogs, rattlesnakes and starting to see armadillos none of which were here 20 years ago either. Creatures adapt.

 

[aczlan]

I found an interesting post on the subject:

People’s interactions with urbanized coyotes have given birth to several myths over the years. These stories start from subjective interpretations of observations people make of coyote behavior interpreted through the lens of personal beliefs, biases and the deep-seated evolutionary fear of predators, and have no basis in reality or scientific fact. Which brings to mind a quote by Anais Nin: “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

One of my all-time favorites is the story that has been repeated over and over again about how a single coyote intentionally lures unsuspecting dogs away from their homes to become a meal for a hungry pack of coyotes that are waiting to devour it. Another popular version of the myth is that it’s a female coyote in heat that intentionally targets and lures male dogs away to be eaten.

I can understand the mechanism by which these myths can start: through lack of knowledge of animal behavior, specifically, how dogs and coyotes interact. Most times, animal behaviors have simple, uncomplicated explanations and it is important to objectively evaluate that natural behavior, if we are to gain an understanding of how to peacefully and safely coexist with wildlife that are sharing the environment with us.

So, what appears to be “sinister” motivations on part of the coyote is simply this:

1. A coyote investigates another canid (dog) in the neighborhood. Younger coyotes are more curious about new things in their environment. Alpha coyotes will also investigate if there is another canid (dog) in their environment to determine whether it’s a threat. Close encounters, interactions and direct eye contact is made.

2. Dogs are also curious about other canids such as coyotes, and the dog will sometimes follow/chase the coyote as it returns back into the woods/hills.

3. The dog at that point may encounter other coyote family members because young coyotes and alphas sometimes travel together – a natural behavior of social canids.

4. The dog entering the coyote’s domain may then be interpreted as an “intruder.” Either as a competitor over resources, or as a threat to their offspring if there are pups around (or the dog becomes defensive like in the video of the dog and wolves that was posted earlier).

5. An altercation ensues with the dog. Depending on the size and strength of the dog, it can either be injured or killed. Severity of the attack is also dependent on the coyotes’ risk/benefit assessment. During such altercations, coyotes are injured as well – and sometimes, nothing happens…

Traditionally, urban myths and legends always have a moral. The moral of this story is to have the proper fencing to keep your dogs confined to their yards and to keep them on a leash when walking them in areas known to have coyotes.

There are many instances where people have had their larger dogs run off and intermingle with coyotes without incident, as well as times where large dogs have chased down and killed coyotes.

Aaron Z

 

[N80]

My dog is a 15 month old Lab. He is 85# of muscle and is very athletic. His bark is deep and loud. When other dogs have approached our place he runs out in the yard, barks and bristles, hackles up but does not chase them if he doesn't know them. If he knows them all he wants to do is play. With this coyote he came to the open door and continued to bark, hackles up, but he would not even go out on the deck. So he knew it wasn't just another dog and he was afraid of it even though it was half his size at best and its bark was high pitched and it was 74 yards away.