Coyotes

As others have said, you should probably be cautious with such a small dog. Coyotes are extremely intelligent and, like all wild animals, are merely trying to survive; i.e. they gotta eat too! I'm always amazed that people don't consider their pets FOOD in the eyes of a wild omnivorous animal.

I myself lost a beloved cat to coyotes back in Vermont a few years ago, but I still like them. Subsequent cats were strictly indoor cats. (Voila, problem solved!) A few birds and small rodents lives were probably spared as a result. But I digress.

IMHO, there is nothing wrong with being an animal lover. Not meaning to open up a can of worms here, but many people think trapping is cruel and barbaric. Just sayin'.

Where I do most of my running and hiking these days (Point Mugu State Park in southern California) there are a lot of coyotes, way more than I ever saw in New England. Pets are prohibited. Fortunately for the coyotes, there are a lot of rabbits to eat. The other day while trailrunning there, I followed a coyote. It would stop at every corner and look back to see if I was still coming. This went on for about two miles. Really cool experience.

Chip said:

I thought DNA testing had established that the eastern coyote was a coyote/wolf hybrid (as opposed to coyote/dog or just healthier western coyotes).

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Yup: "Study links wolves, coyotes of Bay State."

There were several coyotes living in the woods near my old house in NY. I lived on 60 acres adjacent to 2400 protected acres, so in essence, I had my own park.

I had a coyote once tail my dog, and on another instance, a coyote appeared at the edge of the woods and my yard and barked like a dog for a good 20 minutes before going away. I was told (and believe)that it was a pack tactic to bait out my dog.

My dog is 45 pounds and no slouch, she's a gutsy little herding dog and did a good job chasing coyotes off the farm where I lived (to protect the sheep).

I would be concerned about a small dog -- given the few experiences we had. I kept my dog in sight and on strong voice command at all times, but I let her hike offleash, and didn't curtail our daily hikes and bushwacks. If I heard pack activity, (which was a fairly often occurrence) we'd head home. And I NEVER let her outside unattended.

As was mentioned, coyotes are opportunistic hunters -- if your dog is close to you and not apt to give chase; you are probably going to be OK but I would certainly be vigilant.

Hey Chip, I have also read that eastern coyotes are closer in genetics to red wolves -- and not dog hybrids -- I think that is an urban myth.

The pack that ranged in my woods was definately working as a team. In the spring, they'd sweep the understory and flush out fawns -- very efficient. I also saw them chase and take down a deer right in the back hayfield one day while I was looking out the window. At night, they'd be very vocal, especially in the fall.

Interesting question, though we've lost a cat or two over the years to fox or coyote, maybe to a Fisher . As much as I liked the various cats they tend to be "more on the menu' than dogs.

It would be nice to see some comparisons on how many small dogs are killed by other dogs, to get a better idea on how things shape up in the canine world.
It would be also interesting to see if the dogs are killed for food or because they compete for the same food and are killed as a competitor of the available food sources.

We try to keep Emma close on the trail, but she does things her way. I think she would stand her ground and not get lured into an ambush, but we've never been in that situation so I can't say.

There is a pack near our house. We hear them at night and find their tracks on the frozen pond quite often. Emma certainly knows they're there.

Before we had Emma we had a coyote cross our path in the town forest near sundown. He was huge, well fed and had a beautiful coat. Nothing like the scrawny shaggy things you see on TV. He was magnificent and I thought for sure he must be a wolf hybrid. I almost thought at first he must be someone's pet, but as he crossed the trail he stopped, glared at us and disappeared. I knew right then it was a wild animal.

I'm glad we didn't have Emma then. This guy might have swallowed her whole.

KDT

Hey Kevin,
I've seen some coyotes in NY that look more like wolves and nothing like thier western bretheren. Once trail riding, a coyote stepped right in front of my mare on the trail, approx 70 pounds, reddish coat, brilliant yellow eyes.

Terra was tailed by a silvery coyote, also about 70 pounds.

And one other time in the woods while bushwacking in NY near the AT/Rt 55 NY crossing; we flushed a sable coyote, nearly black in the face and paws with brilliant amber eyes.

They are certainly beautiful and come in many variations.

Stinkyfeet said:

IMHO, there is nothing wrong with being an animal lover. Not meaning to open up a can of worms here, but many people think trapping is cruel and barbaric. Just sayin'.

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No, nothing wrong with being an animal lover. I was just making an observation that animal lovers fought to get the traps banned and since animal lovers tend to own cats and dogs that those same people are some of the people who are losing their cats and dogs to coyotes. I just find the whole situation very ironic. I'm a dog lover myself (well, most dogs - or should I say dogs with good owners) and I certainly don't like seeing dogs like my brother's getting attacked by coyotes.

- darren

sardog1 - that was an interesting article.

From the study of Mass coyotes:

"They are not Western coyotes nor Eastern wolves. They are a hybrid (of the two) and probably should be classified as a new species."

Very interesting. The part about the western coyote migrating through wolf country north of the great lakes was very cool.

- darren

darren said:

sardog1 - that was an interesting article.

From the study of Mass coyotes:

"They are not Western coyotes nor Eastern wolves. They are a hybrid (of the two) and probably should be classified as a new species."

Very interesting. The part about the western coyote migrating through wolf country north of the great lakes was very cool.

- darren

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"Don't feed the (canid) troll" -- he's mildly obsessed with the subject matter. (You probably know that eastern coyotes and wolves are hot topics these days in government agencies, academic research, and popular discussions.)

Some more reading material from my archives -- this one's now seven years old, but still good for background:

The Ecology of Northeast Coyotes

I did warn you above, and yet you still haven't shut off my access.

Here's why you aren't going to see wolves hauled into the Northeast by the feds under the Endangered Species Act. (Yes, it's coyote-related.):

"The Big Bad Wolf Hybrid: How Molecular
Genetics Research May Undermine Protection for
Gray Wolves under the Endangered Species Act"

a bit off topic here but involves wildlife eating domestic pets...

when i lived in Douglas Mass(had 2 acres of land bordering some of the Douglast State Forest) i heard our cat screaming late one night, i grabbed a flashlight and went out to see what was going on. She was being eaten by a racoon. I yelled and threw rocks at the racoon but it wouldnt drop the cat. After shining the light in its eyes it ended up taking off with my cat in its mouth. It was pretty crazy and of course everyone thought i was crazy, people were telling me it was a coyote, not a racoon. i clearly saw it for about 45 seconds i do know the difference between a racoon and coyote. it was pretty crazy. after that i was more cautious about letting my dog out unleashed.

Thank-you everyone, that answered my question though not what I wanted to hear. I think that is humbling to realize that we don't have control over nature like I sometimes think we think we do.

Ever since the coyote scare, I have been afraid to let Domino outside in the yard, especially since she always barks at something in the woods. I was glad to see a feral cat out there this AM which to me is a good sign.

About pack hunting: while riding a few years ago in Foster RI, directly south of where that high pointing hiker was held at gunpoint for trying to climb RI's highpoint-I was chased by a pack of dogs from a yard of one those questionable, rundown dirtbag places. The dogs chased me and while scary as heck, in retrospect it was interesting to see how they did it, two dogs chased from the sides trying to nip and another got ahead and tried to slow me down, so just one of the others could take a bite of my down tube, the vibration of which I can still feel today.

By definition a Species is a particular group of organisms that have similiar anatomical similarities and have the ability to interbreed and have fertile offspring.

By this definition maybe we should re-classify the wolf and coyote as sub-species instead of separate species. Just a thought.

I remeber the Anti-Trapping ads in MA. The traps and techniques in the ads were all illegal in MA. Besides the coyote population increase since than, the beaver and muskrat populations have also increased. Both of those have damaged farm lands, crneberry bogs, roads and private property.

We had a coyote problem raiding our chicken coop back in NH. Only thing that worked was some well placed lead. However I wished we could of solved it another way. They are truely wonderful creatures.

There is a very noticeable difference in the coyotes that were around twenty to thirty years ago and those we have in the area today. I grew up in the NH lakes region on a large beef farm, about 100 cleared acres and 260 woodland. We had multiple packs initially, then over time it seemed to be one big one. Once in a while you would see one cross the corner of a field or come toward the barn if a cow gave birth. They were timid and unhealthy looking. For a period of time the packs died down and it seemed like a few loners with territories. Since then it has reverted to packs of healthy animals. Now they are brave even around people and our buildings. On the family farm last fall they took down a healthy buck in the front yard between buildings and stayed to eat a hind quarter. They are braver at night but will, IMO, become more troublesome and exhibit more pack-like behaviour during the day, eventually even to us. They deserve as much cautious respect as the bears, and moose!