ferals and coyotes

I was talking to my eldest brother over the weekend and he told me that a friend of his had seen 2 coyotes dead on the roadside not more than 3-4 miles from where I live. Now, my county is full of parkland, so this is not terribly surprising news. However, I wonder what this means for our neighborhood ferals (beside becoming a tasty meal).

I'm smack in the middle of several housing developements, all the yards surrounding mine have dogs. Anyone have any ideas whether coyotes would be put off by any of this?

I think coyotes have a bad rap. We have a lot of them that live by me, and as far as I'm aware, we haven't lost a single feral in 11 years to a coyote. Neighborhood dogs, yes, coyotes, no. We even had a female (Willamena we called her) live in the field next to ours for about 3 years without a lost feral. Our dogs would try to play with her.

When coyotes are in packs, they will be more aggresive and do things like attack dogs that are either tied outside or within an enclosed fence. A pack attacked our neighbors dog who was in an open top kennel in his barn.

A coyote will hunt what is easy to hunt. If they get hurt attacking something, it usually means death to them so they are more cautious than you would expect. Thus, attacks on equal size prey is limited to when they have a full pack. If a feral cat has a sufficient number of escape outlets and is dog-savy, they can easily get away from a coyote.

Many people in the country keep more than 1 dog loose outside to keep away the coyotes. A pack of dogs will keep away a pack of coyotes. Doesn't always work with single dogs that are chained up or fenced in.

Does this help?

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Does this help?

Click to expand...

Yes, since I know squat about coyotes I had read a thread previously about a coyote living in the same space as a feral colony and none being lost to it, it must have been yours. I realize there's no guarantee that they will make an appearance in my neighborhood and that they are merely following their own nature (survival requires food). Can't fault them for that.

I thought it best to try and get some more info, as I am fond of several of the ferals and I know my neighbor (the main caretaker) will freak if/when I tell her about the coyotes sightings.

This is posted at the Arlington Welfare League:

Coyotes have been spotted in nearby counties. Coyotes are nocturnal predators and may occasionally be seen during daylight hours, especially near dawn and dusk. They typically weight between 25 and 40 pounds and have long, think fur that is often blond/reddish-brown or tan/grayish-black with a small white spot on the center of the chest. They have long, bushy, black-tipped tails; pointed ears; and a long slender snout. You should not approach a coyote as it may feel cornered or restricted which may, in turn, provoke an attack. Take steps to make sure your home is not inviting to these animals by not leaving pet food outside and securing trash receptacle lids. Exercise precautions such as closing pet doors, keeping all pet food inside. Please do not leave your pets outside unattended and don't let cats roam free. If you encounter a coyote, make loud noises to scare it off but do not run and do not approach the animal. More information about coyotes from HSUS.

Here is the article from HSUS:

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/a_close...fe/coyote.html

Thanks, Katie, for the info and the link, which has quite a bit of info and on more than just coyotes.

We have quite a few coyotes in town as there is a game reserve within city limits. It is a small town (population about 3500, I think) on a peninsula, and the game reserve is at the end of the peninsula. Only about one in four or five lots in the city is developed; most of the rest are wooded or in beach grass.

On a few occasions, I've seen a single coyote using the tideflats behind my property as it's highway. My neighbor has seen a coyote crossing my yard a couple of times at dusk. (I'm about three miles from the game reserve.) One of my friends saw a lone coyote with a cat in its mouth right near downtown (approximately five miles from the game reserve) in broad daylight a few years ago. We frequently hear of cats disappearing closer to the game reserve, and people attribute it to the coyotes. My auto mechanic lives close to the game reserve and he tells me that one evening his cat came running in through the cat door when he called and as he secured the door for the night he saw there were two coyotes right behind it. He has seen the coyotes in packs chasing deer. According to him, there are still feral cats on the game reserve, in spite of the coyotes being there for more than ten years. How many they get is anyone's guess.

I still allow two of my three cats outside in spite of the coyotes in town. I don't allow them out at night, though. However, one of my cats was an escape artist and either escaped or just didn't bother to come home, staying out all night maybe an average of two or three times a month for the first five years I had him. Thankfully, he is still with me. He'd been an outdoor only cat before I took him, so I assumed he was well aware of dangers. Maybe he had a good scare, though, as since March of this year he has not attempted to stay out overnight.