Coyotes

[Ruth]

My city is being plagued by coyotes.  A little dog was killed yesterday morning.  I saw this on tv and it had me crying. I don't know what the answer is but know the problem is that these coyotes are hungry.  They have been attacking small dogs for the past few years here.  This is the first time I've heard of the dog being killed in my city.  I think one was killed in the neighboring city last year.  They are setting live traps for the coyotes.  When they catch them they euthanize them.    

http://fox8.com/2017/06/21/coyote-attack...loved-dog/

I am afraid to take Suzy out but I do once a day.  She has pee pee pads to use the rest of the day.  I haven't seen a coyote but a man in the building I live in saw one on the property last week.  He was with his dog.  He picked her up and ran.

[Ruth]

I wanted to add that I know the parents of the dog should have watched out for it but not everyone was aware of the severity of the coyote problem. The parents of the dogs killed went on camera to warn other pet friend that this can happen to anyone. I think it was very brave of them considering what they have gone through. I feel so bad for them!

[Tobi]

It is terribly sad for the family of that dog.
I can understand people being scared to take their dogs out, where there are Coyotes. They are even more likely to approach people and dogs/cats than Wolves are. The only reason a Wolf would do that would be if it was absolutely starving. But Coyotes are not as shy.
So why are the Coyotes so hungry do you think, Ruth? Has their natural prey disappeared, or is it for some other reason?

[Catherine]

That is so sad about the little dog. Coyotes have been getting more aggressive lately. There have been other incidents in other cities.

Lack of food might be an explanation. There are less rabbits and other animals around so coyotes might need to look for other food sources.

You are right to be concerned about Suzy's safety. I know coyotes are out at night so walking a dog at night would be risky. Having a dog off leash isn't good either. Wooded areas or walks along river banks would be risky.

You could walk Suzy around noon on a city street and it should be safe.

How many coyotes do they think they have in your area.

[LPC]

For anyone living outside of the American continent (like me), who knows little about coyotes (since they don't exist in Europe or elsewhere), there is a good Wikipedia article here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote
It would seem that they are a type of small wolf.

Like Tobi, I also wonder why the coyotes are so much more hungry these days. Perhaps humans have altered the environment and killed the normal prey of coyotes, forcing them to search for food elsewhere? Tragedies such as Ruth has described should not happen.

[Tobi]

It could be that where humans have spread out and settled in territories which would normally be the Coyotes' living space, there is some kind of 'pest control' going on. Maybe that is what has killed off the Coyotes' natural prey? I can imagine they regularly hunt small prey, such as rodents, rabbits etc?

[Catherine]

I think the coyotes are suffering from habitat loss and loss of prey. They seem to have lost their fear of humans and that makes them more dangerous. They are also very clever. It is going to lead to bad encounters with humans and their pets, but the coyotes just want to live.

Some people are careless about letting their dogs out at bad times and in bad places. It is sad for the dogs because they don't understand the danger.

It must be odd to hear about coyotes and not actually have heard them. Once you have heard a coyote calling you will never forget it. They are more haunting than wolf howls.

[Ruth]

The coyote problem is prevelent all over now. I only just learned of how bad the problem is. The manager here told me they walk down the street the same as humans do now. Wow and stange. I am very careful when waking Suzy. I look in all directions and have my pepper spray at hand.

[Catherine]

Things must be really desperate for the coyotes if they are boldly walking down the streets. That means it is really dangerous for small pets and small children. Does you city have any plan to relocate the coyotes?  I wonder if that is even possible.

You would have to be very careful with Suzy.
They need to build fenced dog parks so dogs have a safe place to play. I wonder if they could be made coyote proof. Are there any indoor places that a dog could take a walk?

[Libby]

There's a documentary that was on Netflix, I'm not sure that it's still on there but the gist is that western coyote and eastern wolf bred to create a Coywolf that is even smarter and harder to catch. As if coyotes aren't hard enough to catch. They thrive in the middle of cities like Chicago. The researcher even note they could be tracking a tagged coywolf though the city and never even see them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coywolf

Here's the documentary. I watched it on Netflix but a quick search and they have the whole thing on Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhtuHXInt88