Coyotes are coming into our cities in America.

Happyflowerlady

Happyflowerlady

Vagabond Flowerchild
Location
Northern Alabama
When I lived out in the country in rural Idaho, we had coyotes coming around the house all the time, and I made sure to have my little dogs all inside when late afternoon came, and went outside with them if they went out before bedtime.
Now, the coyotes are moving into the cities, where food is easy to come by, and there are no natural enemies for them. It used to be that people shot at a coyote when they saw one, and wild animals were afraid of humans. Now, the new laws often protect wild animals, so they are becoming bolder and bolder.
Chicago is probably the worst, with an estimated coyote population of over 20,000 of the predators.
This is not just a case of the suburban sprawl taking over the animals homes, and they now live with the people. These coyotes are actually in the heart of downtown Chicago.

They are also attacking our pets, and people who live in the cities where the coyote population is rampant have sometimes had to fight off coyotes that were trying to kill their dog (or cat). Even children have been attacked by coyotes, but the local government is not doing anything except telling people that they have to learn to live with the urban coyotes.
It used to be the country folk who had to worry about being attacked by a pack of wolves; but soon it may become a very real hazard in the cities.


http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Man...32741.html
 

They've been a problem near my house too, mostly stay in the green areas nearby, but kids and pets have been attacked. They're not fearful of humans at all, and when I see one, and my dog is with me, I put him on lead and keep him close to me.

Here's one that was watching me as I walked alone on a path behind my house. the picture's not good, but he's sitting to the right of that big tree, toward the back. Some are big like Huskies, well fed.

I saw one carrying a fat prairie dog one day. On another day there were three of them, surrounding a small group of deer, I thought I might witness an attack close up. One male deer charged toward them, and they backed off a bit, but stayed close and watching.

IMGP2265.jpg
 
The fox population in Denver is growing... it is thrilling to see them, actually, because there have been no reports of attacks on animals or people... It is so weird, though...where they have their 'dens' is totally beyond anyone...Strange indeed.
 

San Francisco has been having problems with them in Golden Gate Park. We have them here at our place but we are out in the sticks. And we have yet to se one-we can just hear them when they get to yipping and they are very close by. My Siamese kitty Violet disappeared a couple of years ago when we were hearing them every night and I fear that she may have been a victim of them :(
 
Bold as brass they are.....they come right up to the house. Sends the cats into a frenzy, they know they are only a few feet away. Used to have a lot more cottontail rabbits around, not so many any longer.
 
I hear coyotes and once in a while might see one but they aren't a problem around here. Of course, being out of the city limits, we have the means to keep them from ever becoming a problem.
 
That is exactly the thing, Rkunsaw ! When we lived out of town, we rarely saw the coyotes either, and when we did , it would quickly disappear, since those coyotes were afraid of people, and seemed to know that they would be shot if they were visible.
At first, it was just mostly the "varmint" type of critters moving into the cities. I remember reading that they think there are probably more opossums and raccoons living in cities than out in the woods now.

There are pictures and videos of deer, elk , and even moose just strolling through the smaller towns, especially in the winter when food is short up in the snowy mountains.
Now, even the predator animals have discovered that food is easy to find and catch , and no one disturbs them in town. I just watched a video not long ago about a bear strolling through a California neighborhood, and he seemed to just be going from house to house, checking out the trash cans for food scraps.

I don't know what the cities are going to do about the coyotes. this is not just in Chicago, but cities all over are having this problem that animals are no longer afraid of humans, and moving into the very heart of a city, not just the suburbs.
Animal control is not really trained to deal with wild animals, and coyotes can be very vicious when they are trying to catch them like they would do with a stray dog. But, with a crowd of people watching, they can't hardly shoot them either, for fear of hitting a bystander.
 
Hardly any real coyotes around now, they've all cross bred and are Coywolves. Much bigger and less skittish and braver. They're everywhere. Not afraid of anything much and are about in packs. Used to see single coyotes, but the coywolf packs are often howling and 'yipping' (female) nearby.
 
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/coyote.htm

The researcher featured in this link is my wife's cousin. He's studied coyotes for many years. Stan was called to Nova Scotia when a lady jogger was killed by coyotes. Nova Scotia has a large black bear population. Yet, they have had more people attacked and killed by coyotes than by bears. The bears eat berries, etc. and will only attack humans when agitated. Coyotes, on the other hand, are carnivours and will attack and kill anything on foot if hungry.
Growing up some decades ago, the County offered a bounty on coyotes. $1/ear. We could make some pretty good money killing coyotes, stringing the ears on baling wire, and taking them to the County Seat every couple of months. That program certainly did not wipe out the coyote population here. I still see a number of roadkill coyotes as I drive our local highways.
 
Many coyotes where I live, I see them more in the winter, they are usually in packs...although there is one lone female that I've seen pretty often always by herself, I've been watching her for about 2 years now. They howl and scream at night really close to the house....scary.
 
From all these stories Im reading,looks like it time to get out the shotgun.
 

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