The dingo ate my babies

ronin

ronin

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
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Actually, it was someone else's babies... and it was a coyote... and they only snagged 'em and tried to run off into the bushes before getting chased off.

But jeez, twice in the span of about a week a little ankle biter has been the target of opportunity for one of these scruffy ba$tards. And fish and game is warning people not to shoot at them. Not sure I would obey that directive if it was my child looking like a McDiaper nugget.
 
We live in a rural area that is infested with coyotes. We had a cat when we first moved out here. He became coyote poop in less than a week. The coyotes around here are not bold at all. I very seldom see one during the day but often hear a pack of them yapping at night. We have young grandchildren who visit weekly, including a two year old. We never let them out of our sight. BTW, our local wildlife officials policy is that any coyote bold enough to approach a home during the day is fair game:bat:
 
Maybe the officials meant don't shoot at the coyotes while they have babies in their mouths.
 
That vermin goes after one of my kids, then its next contestent. Thanks for being on the show!
 
Coyote attacks are extremely rare, and children are much more likely to suffer domestic dog bites.

If you must worry about improbable events, worry about your pet, or your neighbour's pet.
 
DW awakened to a Doberman v. Coyote showdown in Wisconsin. Our dog was one side of a link fence, Wiley on the other. Dog was going berserk and making sounds that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She was a big girl and pretty intimidating. Coyote just looked at her like she was nuts, very aloof, almost yawning. Size difference and all (coyotes go about 35 lbs), I would not have wanted to see what would have happened. Finally, the coyote gave up and just sauntered away.

There were stories when we lived in Tucson about how a coyote in heat would "tempt" mail dogs and have them follow out into the desert where the pack was lying in wait.
 
Rich_in_Tampa said:
There were stories when we lived in Tucson about how a coyote in heat would "tempt" mail dogs and have them follow out into the desert where the pack was lying in wait.
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Those mail dogs deserve whatever they get. Can't depend on them to deliver anything on time anyhow.
 
Milton said:
Coyote attacks are extremely rare
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The next day after the first incident, another coyote was chased away from a child in the exact same park moments before nabbing it. These animals have lost most of their fear of humans and are exhibiting predatory, stalking behavior.
 
OK, I just HAVE to tell a coyote story...

When I lived near the border in San Diego, I saw some interesting things. Lots of illegals passed through our neighborhood, lots of trucks and low flying planes, etc.

Anyway, one day a wild-eyed, muscular Mexican or Indian man came out of the hills, bare to the waist and deeply tanned, with a shotgun in one hand and a canteen slung over his shoulder. He had nothing else with him except a coyote with a stout rope tied around its neck, that was leading him or traveling with him as he hung on to the rope.

We saw a lot of coyotes out there but none like that! I didn't know they could be domesticated (if this one even was!! :eek:). This half wild guy must have had a real way with animals. And looking like that, and equipped like he was, he emerged from the wilderness into our suburb. Scared me half to death as I shoo'ed my toddler daughter back into the house and ran in behind her.

I sure saw a lot of interesting sights down there!
 
REWahoo said:
Those mail dogs deserve whatever they get. Can't depend on them to deliver anything on time anyhow.
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:D

Want2retire said:
I sure saw a lot of interesting sights down there!
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So it was a coyote with a coyote? :)

We have some coyote problems around here and also have the 'dont shoot' rules. I saw one hanging around down the bottom of the hill at my old mcmansion, looking for possible housecat meals. Took a walk around the open space behind the house until I found its den, spooked it out and threw a bunch of big rocks into the den to fill it in. Never saw it again.

The farmers found a way around the 'dont shoot' laws. They had a law passed in the county that allowed them to shoot domestic dogs that were harassing their livestock. Turns out there isnt much of a lobby protecting domestic dogs that are off leash and after farm animals, so they got it passed easily.

Turns out its very hard to tell the difference between a dog and a coyote in bad light.
 
Coyotes ate both of our cats last summer. I have yet to see one tho. Kept the rifle out just in case tho. I may try to bait/call them this summer if they come back.

One of the cats was a big old fat cat, running 27lbs or so. He got carried off in less time it took me to get up and run outside. So, there must be some big coyotes out there.
 
I live in the midwest and I can remember when I was young seeing coyote carcasses hanging from rope strung up like a clothesline in farm yards. So, I know at one time they were hunted. Are they no longer being hunted? I might be imagining things, but, didn't "they", whoever they are, used to pay people for hunting coyotes?
 
I love coyotes, especially hearing their howls at night. Am I weird? Probably. Anyway, early Monday morning I was hiking in the mountains and my dog spied a coyote on a trail along the mountainside. The coyote stopped a moment, took a long look at us, and my dog stared back but didn't seem at all perturbed. I was kind of surprised that he would just be interested and not alarmed., Maybe because the coyote was so far away. Then he took off again. Very cool!
 
Ahem.

Another point of view, if I may.

I actually love coyotes, and have spent many a camping trip letting them serenade me to sleep. They are smart and resourceful, and they do a great deal to control mice, rats, and other pests.

Further, much of the problem with human / coyote interaction can be traced to our sloppy human habits -- leaving our garbage out, not spaying or neutering our dogs, letting our small pets outside and feeding feral cats, all of which attract coyotes to us.

This site has some good information on why certain controls don't work well, and what efforts might be more successful in maintaining the peace between species.

Coyote Solutions
 
As I understand it, coyotes actually reproduce faster if a population is being killed off. So maybe that is the rationale for not shooting them.

To my amazement, here in suburban Jersey there have been coyotes coming after toddlers. I suppose that if one got into my yard and went after a kid, I would charge first and worry about rabies shots later, since a coyote would go through either of my marshmallow dogs like a wet paper bag. But if it were a regular occurrence/threat, the beagles would be getting a new German Shepherd mix (possibly mixed with pit bull) to play with in a hurry.
 
Want2retire said:
Anyway, one day a wild-eyed, muscular Mexican or Indian man came out of the hills, bare to the waist and deeply tanned, with a shotgun in one hand and a canteen slung over his shoulder. He had nothing else with him except a coyote with a stout rope tied around its neck, that was leading him or traveling with him as he hung on to the rope.
We saw a lot of coyotes out there but none like that! I didn't know they could be domesticated (if this one even was!! :eek:). This half wild guy must have had a real way with animals. And looking like that, and equipped like he was, he emerged from the wilderness into our suburb.
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Aw, I bet he was just a feral pig hunter ("feral" referring to the pig, not the hunter) with a "pitbull mix" (this time referring to the dog, still not the hunter) on his way back to Kipahulu...
 

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I think that coyotes are a problem.

My solution is to reintroduce wolves, mountain lions and grizzly bears. The coyote population will be under control real fast.

MB
 
brewer12345 said:
But if it were a regular occurrence/threat, the beagles would be getting a new German Shepherd mix (possibly mixed with pit bull) to play with in a hurry.
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I dunno... my dog (probably a boxer / american pit bull terrier + other stuff mix) has chased off rottweilers and staffordshire terriers (maybe what you're thinking of when you say pit bull? that's what most people mean by pit). However, I don't think he'd fare well against a coyote. He wanted to go after a small wolf (smaller than him) once and it was pretty obvious that the wolf wanted to and could have taken my dog. When it comes down to something that needs to be cagey and needs to kill and fight to survive versus something that sits around the house licking himself all day, my money would be on the former.

One thing that might just work on coyotes would be this spray called either Direct Stop or Spray Shield. I'm going to start carrying that in case we run into stray dogs on our walks. The benefit of it over a pepper spray is you can't accidentally incapacitate yourself when using it.
 
Marquette said:
I dunno... my dog (probably a boxer / american pit bull terrier + other stuff mix) has chased off rottweilers and staffordshire terriers (maybe what you're thinking of when you say pit bull? that's what most people mean by pit). However, I don't think he'd fare well against a coyote. He wanted to go after a small wolf (smaller than him) once and it was pretty obvious that the wolf wanted to and could have taken my dog. When it comes down to something that needs to be cagey and needs to kill and fight to survive versus something that sits around the house licking himself all day, my money would be on the former.
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We had a pitbull basenji mix (don't ask; probably involved a step ladder) when I was growing up. I've little doubt she would have shredded a coyote that went anywhere near one of us kids, even if it meant losing her life in the process.
 
On Wednesday, a Temecula woman was baby sitting a 4 yr old and found a coyote in her house. She threw stuff at it and it still wouldn't leave. Finally she beat it with a ruler until it left. No word on whether she was a nun in an earlier life.
 
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