Coyotes in our area

[Sharon in SC]

How alarmed should I be? :-{ One of our neighbors spotted 3 on their property one time in the last month. My dh and older dd thought they heard one the other evening (without realizing the neighbors had seen some). I knew we had deer and fox but....coyotes?

[Tarheel Heather]

How alarmed should I be? :-{ One of our neighbors spotted 3 on their property one time in the last month. My dh and older dd thought they heard one the other evening (without realizing the neighbors had seen some). I knew we had deer and fox but....coyotes?

 

 

I wouldn't think they would be but you never know. Is there some sort of wildlife agency out that way you could call? (I pm'd you)

[Jean in Newcastle]

We have packs of coyote prowling our area. I surprised one at night in our front yard. He was quite brazen and didn't back off when he first saw me (though he eventually did). There are a lot of "lost" posters up for small dogs and cats around here. Our cat of 11 years was one. So if you have small animals, keep them in - esp. at night. BTW I called animal control when we saw the coyote in our yard and no one wanted to deal with it - only if it was actually attacking someone. . .

[Danestress]

We've had some here too. At first I didn't believe it, but then a neighbor got a picture. I was very surprised.

 

We had lots and lots of coyotes in California, and I would hear them every night. I almost missed it when we moved back South. I wasn't worried about them because we had a largish dog and no cats. I would worry *a lot* though, if I had a cat that stayed outside.

 

Anyway, I wonder what's up - maybe coyotes are moving into the Carolinas?

[JudoMom]

How alarmed should I be? :-{ One of our neighbors spotted 3 on their property one time in the last month. My dh and older dd thought they heard one the other evening (without realizing the neighbors had seen some). I knew we had deer and fox but....coyotes?

 

We have a pack of coyotes that roam our hill behind our house. They've been nose to nose with our American Eskimo dogs (about 24 pounds each), separated only by wire fencing stapled to a split rail fence. There is a rabbit warren on the hill, and we've watched the coyotes make a kill and there is a mouse colony on the other side of the fence and the coyotes have snacks from there. To my knowledge they have never jumped our fence, but our boys are out back only with the dogs (they have strict instructions to come in if they see any wild animals bigger than a rabbit-there have been bear sightings around here, too) and I would not trust leaving a smaller dog back there (or even just one of our dogs-they appear more pack like with 2 of them). I call our dogs in if I see the coyotes, but I know I don't always see them.

 

So, to sum it up, I wouldn't leave them any snacks in the form of small animals, but I don't worry too much. They are interesting to watch.

[mcconnellboys]

They've reintegrated into all the urban areas around here that I'm familiar with and have displaced foxes here.

 

What's more concerning to me is the number of panthers being seen in major cities, such as Chicago, Cincinnati, etc. I had one cross the road right in front of me in the UP of Michigan several years ago, but right in downtown Cincy?

[Sharon in SC]

So, to sum it up, I wouldn't leave them any snacks in the form of small animals....

 

Oh, dear. Now, I'm worried for my poodle. :-{

[Sharon in SC]

...and have displaced foxes here.

 

Oh! We *love* our fox. I don't like the sound of this at all!

[Mom4Jesus]

We have coyotes in our ravine. I used to be worried, then I stopped worrying about it. There is much food in the ravine naturally and I've only see a max of 3 at any time and it was a mother with 2 babies. Here is something I copied from a City of Austin website. You can also search on Google under what to do about coyotes and learn more about them.

 

1. Do not feed coyotes, deer or other wildlife!

2. Eliminate sources of water.

3. Position bird feeders so that coyotes can't get the feed. Coyotes are attracted by bread, table scraps, and even seed. They may also be attracted by birds and rodents that come to the feeders. They are also attracted to deer feed.

4. Do not discard edible garbage where coyotes can get to it.

5. Secure garbage containers and eliminate garbage odors.

6. Feed pets indoors whenever possible. Pick up any leftovers if feeding outdoors. Store pet food where it is inaccessible to wildlife.

7. Trim and clean, near ground level, any shrubbery that provides hiding cover for coyotes or prey.

8. Don't leave small children unattended outside if coyotes have been frequenting the area.

9. Don't allow pets to run free. Keep them safely confined and provide secure nighttime housing for them. Walk your dog on a leash and accompany your pet outside, especially at night.

10. If you start seeing coyotes around your home or property, chase them away by shouting, making loud noises or throwing rocks. Carrying a stick, baseball bat or a golf club will also scare them away.

[Colleen]

Coyotes are par for the course around here ~ and in many others parts of Washington. Growing up here, racoons were more of a threat to small pets than were coyotes. I hear packs of coyotes every night and we see a few a week. They generally lay low and we've yet to lose a calf to them.

[Michelle T]

We no longer allow our cats to go outdoors, as we had several cats eaten by coyotes, a common fate in coyote areas.

 

We often hear their eerie howling at night, and it's sort of neat.

 

Michelle T

[Lady Katherine]

What's more concerning to me is the number of panthers being seen in major cities, such as Chicago, Cincinnati, etc.

 

We had a mountain lion in a nearby neighborhood just a month or two ago. And we have PACKS of coyotes. They've killed two of our cats, but the ones I've seen are small, mangy, and hungry looking -- too timid to approach humans. It's creepy, though, when the packs howl at night.

[Lady Katherine]

Oh, dear. Now, I'm worried for my poodle. :-{

 

They'll have a poodle for a two-bite snack. I'd keep it inside!

[PrairieAir]

There is rarely a night that we do not hear coyotes. I've looked out the window and seen one just a few yards from our house staring back at me. They don't worry me a bit. I don't think they're really a threat to people, just small animals. If you have chickens, cats, or small dogs, you may want to take extra precautions to keep them safe. I'm sure we've lost a few farm cats to them, but the kids know those are the facts of life in the country. I actually love to sit and listen to them at night.

[tiffanyl]

We have them near our property here in Az. The main problems they cause are to small animals like cats & dogs. We have had a few come up on the property of neighbors to attack their pets and drag them off :(

[Jenny in Atl]

We got um in Metro Atl. You could here them at night from our old house, and they often ran down our little road through the woods.

[kalanamak]

They howl a lot at night and we have them right in the yard, now that our shepard mix is gone.

 

I am not alarmed at all (but don't have cats). We did have a bear just a mile up the road in March that was seen, filmed but NOT caught. It was in a park right across from a huge walmart and two blocks from a mall with houses all around.

That makes me quiver.

[shell in SC]

Hi Sharon,

We've got a pack around our neighborhood too. . .and I've seen a fox or two dead by the side of the road as well. Our section of the county is growing SO FAST and they are being displaced. I'm not sure what part of the county you're in but that could be happening there too. 15-20 years ago most of my area was game management land, and it's all built up now so the deer, foxes and coyotes are all around us. We set a bag of trash out on the deck one night. DD got up b/c she heard something out there in the trash, so she opened the door to scare it off and freaked out when she saw a "wolf". She ran up to get DH saying that there was a "wolf" outside. Till DH got downstairs and out the door it had started to run out in the yard, but he said there was a whole pack of them scavenging around our street. I haven't seen one but DH has mostly in the middle of the night so your dog should be ok during the day.

 

Hope you're doing ok. . . I was thinking about you the other day b/c I hadn't seen any posts from you in a couple days.

 

HTH

shell

[Jennifer in MI]

We live in a fairly urban area - outside Detroit. We have them here in Grosse Pointe!! I never would've suspected it! They are eating small animals here too.

[Linda in NM]

They've now killed three dogs over the last 13 years...and they were big dogs (two border collies and a chow cross). I HATE coyotes.

[Pamela H in Texas]

We have coyotes...just part of life here. I'm more worried about wild boar. Anyway, we don't let our small dog out unsupervised after dark and we got another big lidded trash can so they couldn't get that. Otherwise, we don't worry about it other than to honk the horn if we pull up and one is there.

[Sharon in SC]

Shell, thanks for thinking of me. :-) we're actually a stone's through from town proper. Interesting. We've really enjoyed the fox and the deer. Can't say I feel the same about the thought of the coyote. :-{

[JFSinIL]

There was a cougar shot in Chicago last week - and the authorities are pretty sure it was wild, not someone's stray "pet". They are doing DNA testing to see it it matches blood samples from kills elsewhere - they may be able to figure out where it came from and how it ended up here.