[strawintogold]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/28/taylor-mitchell-singerson_n_337836.html

I know I've brought this subject up to friends before and they sort of pooh pooh the idea or think having a dog will protect them. I know in Big Meadows they have coyote warnings on some of the trails and even here in the Metro Area parks there are worsening issues.

Coyotes are clever. A bitch in heat will lure a domestic dog out so that the pack can kill it. They are fast, clever and victims of our own stupidity since we've caused the imbalance that now exists. They are a very real threat when organised and determined and this time of year along with Spring is particularly bad.

What a horrific death for anyone, much less someone so promising. So, that big can of bear deterrent isn't just for bears. Always assume that if you see one coyote there are more present, they rarely travel alone, but they do send out scouts and diverters.

Never, ever feed a coyote. They are wild, cunning and desperate. They aren't big, but they are organised. Don't approach a cub. Try to stay of a known area at dusk and after. There are signs on the trails at the National Parks.

If you hike alone, bring that spray, a big stick and a big voice or whistle and well, I don't mean to be alarmist, it just seems some people I've spoken to think they are kinda like small dogs. I have to say I find the attitude of the wildlife 'expert' a bit cavalier. Most animals are 'shy' but hunger leads to measures not normally taken. Living with humans does the same thing, just as it has to bears. To be frank, I kinda want to bitch slap him a little.

 

[PVR]

Good advice but, in B.C. at least, there is a lot more risk from bears or cougars. I think this is the first recorded deadly attack by coyotes in Canada ever.

 

[strawintogold]

We didn't have the issue here for years. But now we have dens of coyotes living in sewer and drain run outs along trails here. They've been in my neighbors back yard and killed a few small dogs and this is right outside of DC.

There's still a lot more space in Canada for sure, but a lot more human encroachment as well. I do hope you aren't facing the same things we are ten or fifteen years from now.

 

[Dom.five]

Around this yard, it's nothing that .20 cents worth of lead wont fix.

And it has, I might add!


Dom

 

[strawintogold]

What makes me angry about the guy's attitude is that is HAS happened and once it has happened, it will more than likely happen again. Attacks like this (like the lions in CA mtns) are indicative of a burgeoning problem, something is amiss. And that hey, maybe if the possibility that it WOULD happen was thought out, it wouldn't have. The idea that it's so bizarre it won't happen again is terribly flawed thinking.

Especially when all it takes is a few items to keep one safer.

It is incredible naive to think one can wander about where wild animals live without any sort of precaution. We wore bear bells and carried guns in AK in the brush. And that's about as out there as one can get.

Communing with nature is swell, but she might not always have something nice to say.

 

[Miss Ellie & Co.]

Every year since 2006 we have a EOC campout at Death Valley NP.
Coyotes own the park and they are everywhere.
At night you hear them howling like banshees outside the campground and stroll through campsites like they own the place. (which they sorta do)

At the campground the coyotes will go after unattended small dogs that are left on leashes while their owners are away out doing whatever they do.
I can't imagine how many little dogs get killed (too many) and while we were there last year the sign on the campground entrance said...
Coyotes 4 - Dogs 0

Coyotes haven't been much of a problem to humans at Death Valley although unattended small children could easily be vunerable.

A few years ago a family with small children were visiting Death Valley and decided to drive out to Racetrack Playa.
(a deslolate location accessable via a narly 26 mile dirt and gravel road)
On the way back they got stuck when their vehicle got several flats.
The best thing they could do is stay near thier vehicle and wait for help -
which they did for awhile but hours and hours passed and nobody came by.
By night fall it got very dark and they decided to walk out thinking no one would drive down that road at night.
So off they went and after a few miles they realized that they were being stalked by a large pack of coyotes.
The coyotes followed them for a long time - a frightening experience - the family was very tired and the kids were crying, but they kept walking and the coyotes kept stalking.
Had they stopped there's no telling what would of happened next and it's a good thing that they didn't.

Fortunately for them a ranger happened by and picked the family up and drove them out to safety.
Had that not happened there's no telling what the coyotes would of done but they were certainly up to no good if they were stalking humans.

That's one very lucky family.

I love coyotes and find them very cool critters so long as they stay in places like national parks where they're protected and free.
But even in National Parks coyotes can pose a danger to people who do stupid things -
like roam around a desert park the size of the state of Conneticut in the middle of the night with small children in tow.

 

[strawintogold]

I'm telling you sometimes, I figure the coyotes are looking at wild game, then the human and thinking "Eh, the humans make it so easy...." it's all about opportunity.

 

[MikeQBF]

We have coyote problems in our area, too (St. Louis metro). We were once awakened where we used to live in town by a coyote attacking a neighbor's golden retriever about three times its size, just outside our bedroom. I was able to chase the coyote off. It was solo, the dog would've been a goner if there were two.

We're out in the country now. Just two nights ago I heard coyote calls (not the first time), and used the opportunity to remind my wife that her thoughts about raising chickens might not be such a swift idea.

 

[Twilightzero]

Lots of coyotes over here both MN and WI, can hear them yipping at night.

I won't get worried until I see large boxes labeled "ACME" out in the woods...:shock:



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[hiker chick]

Big Meadows Campsite A-103 (smack in the middle of the campground, not far from the showers) -- some campers there this summer were awoken at 7:00a by the horrendous sound of a coyote killing a fawn in their campsite. Then watched as it dragged the fawn away.

This is the first year I'd heard of a coyote threat at the campground.

Pity the coyotes didn't eat all the skunks.

Several sightings of bears eating fawns, too.

The wild kingdom is brutal.

 

[lmdavis1004]

I live in a very urban area but because we have creeks that run through our neighborhood we have a lot of coyote and bobcat sightings and unfortunately too many family pets (mostly cats) that have become prey.

On a lighter note, I have been reading this woman's blog for a couple of years now and find it fascinating: http://www.dailycoyote.net/

 

[brwntrt]

I have to agree with dom. Plenty of coyotes here, but never in rifle range. They're smart and learn fast! Of course if you really want to thin the coyote population introduce a wolf pack or two.

 

[jiminwantagh]

I won't get worried until I see large boxes labeled "ACME" out in the woods...:shock:[/QUOTE]



BEEP BEEP !

 

[elementbryon]

We don't see too many coyotes around here since they are snack sized for the wolves. I see wolves while grouse hunting or biking and xc skiing all the time and have actually mistakenly shared my venison jerky with a slightly domesticated wolf once (funny story). But I have only seen maybe a dozen coyotes in the past five years, usually near the dump.
Wild animals I can handle. It's the inexperienced and uneducated hunters that scare me.

 

[FireBrick]

not as brutal

As the south and southwest sides of Chicago.

At least the Coyotes only kill to feed themselves and offspring.

 

[Twilightzero]

Wild animals I can handle. It's the inexperienced and uneducated hunters that scare me.

Quoted for truth. There's some real head cases out near our farm in WI that make us all want to wear blaze orange head to toe when we go out in the fall....:twisted:



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[LizKing531]

Quoted for truth. There's some real head cases out near our farm in WI that make us all want to wear blaze orange head to toe when we go out in the fall....:twisted:

I totally agree there - I won't hunt on public land during gun season for deer anymore.

As far as coyotes go, can't say I've ever really been worried. There's a bunch around my family's place. Hear them howling & carrying on at night. Human sprawl keeps pushing the critters around & they've got to go somewhere, crossing paths with humans is inevitable.

Hopefully this unfortunate case doesn't turn into a witch hunt of sorts for coyotes.

 

[Scotia4607]

I live on a small lake and have every type of fowl and aquatic animal, fox and deer, but have never seen or heard a coyote????:|