Lions & tigers & coyotes-Oh my!

[Deleted]

Went out front around 7AM & walked around the truck to put clothes to take to rehab for dh in the back. And I see my 1st coyote in the middle of the road about 30' away.

Was I ever surprised! I'd heard from neighbors, in last 6 mos or so, that there had been some sightings in the neighborhood but this was my first time seeing one. Raggedy looking creature he was.

Looked at me for a few seconds & took off straight down the middle of the road & kinda zigzagged thru a few neighbors yards til I lost sight of him.

To those of you who have had more regular experiences w them-I read that they are pretty much not interested in encounters w people (& my chi never goes out w/o being on a short leash) But do they ever hang out or go into open sheds or carports or do they stay more in woodsy places when they're not looking for a meal?

About 25 yrs ago we used to have a circus guy at the end of the road who kept big cats at his place between shows (not cool) but never did see a coyote up close before.

[Deleted]

Typically they stay back away from people but if they are use to being around them they will enter barns, come up on decks etc. The ones here are not very afraid of people. They are on our back deck a lot at night. I don't allow anyone out back after dark or even when it's getting dusky. When we tore an old barn apart that is right out back we found a large coyote den under the floor. Judging by all the fur and the piles of bones it had been used for a long time. Lucky for us nothing was in it when we uncovered it. So they do come in close.

I wouldn't worry much about it though. Attacks are rare but they will grab a dog, cat etc if they get a chance. Even small children need to be watched if there is a coyote around. They have been known to attack children. We saw a Momma and her pup the other day. It was so adorable tagging along behind her.

[val2525]

They've been known to grab a small dog or cat here even in daylight. THey don't usually bother people though, unless really desperate, or as peek said, used to be around humans.

[zoesam]

We have tons of them & yeah, they tend to stay away. We have a neighborhood pack, lived here 15 years & I've only seen them 3x, tho I can hear them every night, so that gives you an idea how elusive they are. I can't imagine wanting to enter a garage or shed when people are around.

Definitely keep your dog on a leash. They can habituated to people, we have had them come up & get dogs or even go after people on some trails up in Boulder, but it's unusual.

The main other thing to watch out for is if they are in a pack! Their behavior can change if they have the whole pack with them & they are braver & also not as elusive. A lone coyote will generally leave you alone.

[Deleted]

Ahhh...Thanks, peek. I have a old kinda falling down shed out back that I've half heartedly started to clean out before I can get it torn down (don't think it's worth propping up anymore) I think I'll be a little cautious going in there now.

The "carport" is not really a carport anymore-closed in on 1 side & part open in the back toward the yard.

I did go out today & did a quickie (and totally laughable) temp fix to close in openings where they broke out some blocks under the house when a pipe broke. Don't want any kind of critters deciding to make a home under there.

[Deleted]

Thanks, guys. I can't say I'm too thrilled about this but would rather know about them being than not. Guess they're turning up in more & more areas these days. Sigh...they've messed this area up w so much development since I first moved here too. We used to see all kinds of armadillos in the yard & even good & useful snakes that we don't see any more.

[chapeaunoir]

We had two big rangy coyotes here and one attacked and killed a large sheep that belonged to a neighbour just a few houses down the road. We went from being a road filled with houses with goats, chickens, geese, even emus, to a road with almost no animals. They are not indigenous here - they came down from the mountains.

A neighbour almost had her little dog (on a leash) snatched in mid-day by one of these. I saw a dog barking at a coyote pup not long ago when I was out running, but that has been the only sighting. People are keeping chickens again, but they're securely housed at night.

When I used to mountainbike ride in the high trails I'd hear the coyotes howling as the sun was going down - it was really eerie.

ETA: I was very patronisingly told by a man that "Of course you know coyotes don't attack humans, we're too big." That sheep was bigger than I was if I got on all fours.

[Deleted]

Yeah...a sheep is not a chicken. That's a sizeable animal.

I walk my lil guy but not very far anymore, as he's getting up there & runs out of steam early. But I think if I'm out myself in early AM or at night (and I like to walk at nite when it's hot here) I may begin to carry something besides a soda can w pebbles in it, as suggested on the Fish & Game website.

[val2525]

Maybe a really big stick or cane. Or Taser.

[Deleted]

At least. I'm a peaceable, live & let live in the kingdom sort of creature. But do not mess w my dog.

[Deleted]

As others have said for the most part coyotes will usually stay back. That being said like other wild animals they do acclimate to where they are and if a pack hangs around long enough they can lose their hesitation around humans. In some areas the coyotes are extremely aggressive and in others they will just back off. Also depending on region some hunt alone and some hunt in packs using one as a scout who will try to get their prey to follow and then the group does a group attack/hunt.

I am on a rottie forum and know of several cases where coyotes have went after rotties with the owner in the yard so it is not something that can't happen but I do think it's more rare.

We have coyotes...quite a few of them actually...out at the country home. While they might watch and follow from a distance I have never seen them in close proximity to the house. Of course we do not have any livestock out there now although I do believe a coyote is what killed Brit the peacock. That being said I was talking to one of the neighbors the other day and she mentioned the coyotes are getting bolder. Apparently about 5-7 years ago the ones in our area were getting extremely aggressive and there was a hunt for them. Around 50 in a weekend were killed.

Here coyotes are considered a nuisance animal and can be shot with no permit needed. For the past 5 years or so there were no coyote spottings out at the country home but now since they are showing up again and getting bolder they might need to be destroyed.

While I am not afraid of them....one actually followed/watched me from a distance of about 50 years during dear hunting season....and I do believe in the live and let live, I also believe in being safe. If they do start to encroach too much they will be shot.

You should be totally safe but never let your dog out unattended and if it's at night always scout the area before heading outside.

[Deleted]

We've had coyote issues but not as much as with raccoons. There very sneaky and quiet. Chickens have come up missing and not one trace is left behind. I thank my lucky stars and knock on wood as we have not encountered them with our dogs. We don't live near wooded areas but there is a creek less than 1/2 mile away which is their run. They stay on the outskirts of our property for the most part.

We have a friend that was outside with his lab a couple months ago. She was on a leash and they were close to the house. Two coyotes came charging after the dog. He pulled her behind him and one of the coyotes bit his leg. He kicked it away and they both took off. Thankfully, it wasn't a very serious wound and they both ran off instead of attacking. That is so scary!

[Deleted]

We have had a couple of suspected coyote sightings in Omaha but we don't really have a problem with them yet. But a couple of weeks ago we did have a Mountain Lion that ended up right in the middle of the city. The DNR thinks they follow waterways east from western NE or south from South Dakota into the city area. This one had a broken leg - probably hit by a car- and the police ended up shooting up. It was sad becasue it was a beautiful animal but the zoo & humane society there was no way to tranquilize it safely. A few years ago another one ended up in the city and they did manage to tranq that one and he now lives at the Omaha Zoo. He's beautiful but I wouldn't want to see him in my backyard!

[Deleted]

Racoons are biggest chicken killers around here and very plentiful here.

My mom's country home has a group of coyotes that roam her and her neighbor's land. They have a den at the edge of her property that gets used in the summer. They are very cautious and avoid humans. I've heard them many nights, but only seen them 4-5 times, usually heading the opposite direction. Unlike urban coyotes that get used to looking around homes for food, these guys have lots of food options around there with field mice, ground squirrels, rabbits, and sadly feral barn cats.

Her neighbors' dogs haven't had issues with them and everyone leaves them alone. The coyotes keep the rodent population under control and everyone appreciates that.

[Pantlandia]

You know, it's not going to be the zombie apocalypse that wipes us out. The animals are going to rise up and take back their land.

We've had coyote sightings at my job and I work in an industrial area.

[chapeaunoir]

Years back a coyote was seen being chased down 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle by a couple of big crows. The poor coyote ran through the door of one of the big office towers that happened to be open and into an elevator, which fortunately had just been emptied. A couple of police officers who knew how to deal with the situation I think took care of the animal, but I can't even imagine how the people felt on whatever floor the elevator headed to next when the doors opened and there was a coyote in there!

It was tranq'd and taken back out to the mountains.

Yeah - that big sheep, that really startled me and I think is what unnerved people on my road. I don't think anyone expected that.

[Deleted]

Odd that you just started this thread a couple days ago and this was just posted on a dog owners forum.

www.urbancoyoteproject.com/blog/2015/5/16/what-to-do-if-you-encounter-a-coyote-while-walking-your-dog

Normally I would C&P for those who do not want to click the link but this is not copy and pastable.

[val2525]

www.weather.com/news/albuquerque/koat/video/coyote-carried-away-pet-cat-neighbor-says

City says they only interefere when animals are a threat to humans. Um, three coyotes sleeping by my car would threaten me.

[titus730]

I didn't realize coyotes were so large. I've only seen one once. Someone in Center City had one as a pet and walked it on a leash. It might have been crossbred with a dog and it was thin and the size of a medium dog.
But we have our share of wildlife here in the middle of the city. Raccoons, possums, hawks along with the rats and pigeons.

[Deleted]

We have coyote's around all the time, but we live somewhat rural with 25 acres of mostly woodland, and surrounding that is all farm fields, so they have a pretty large area to avoid us. We will only ever have large dogs though. My mom asked if our current dog was part horse.

[Deleted]

Some coyotes stay small, more like a big fox and some can get big, think small wolf size. We have a mix of them here. The big ones are pretty intimidating when they come around. The smaller ones I know could still do serious damage but I don't worry as much about them. Coyotes get a bad rap though, especially with farmers. A lot of things they get accused of doing turns out to be packs of dogs, not coyotes. They will take down calves if they get a chance though so farmers here shoot on sight, doesn't matter if it's a dog or a coyote. The dogs got so out of hand when I was a teen the sheriff declared open season on them, too many farmers were losing stock. Any animal seen as a threat or causing damage on your property is allowed to be shot on sight here. Cats, dogs, doesn't matter.

[Deleted]

Do coyotes pack up like dogs sometimes? That might explain the sheep.

[chapeaunoir]

Jun 2, 2015 19:32:48 GMT @gracefulthingz said:

Do coyotes pack up like dogs sometimes? That might explain the sheep.

There were two and that may very well be the case. The one I saw was a big, rangy young animal, though - capable of taking down a pretty large sheep though it still really surprised me. I was out running and going down my road towards my house and I saw it bounding across the road from the woods on one side to the woods on the other and thought "Oh no!" Then the trouble started, the sheep was taken, and now all the wonderful animals are gone - adopted out. We even had emus on our road, and I used to enjoy seeing the sheep grazing along the side - the owner would bring them over to a neighbour's hard to 'cut their grass.'  There are still chickens (which tend to be kept up on my area in the strangest places, like behind small apartment houses, etc.)