Coyotes

[Catherine]

I think I saw that documentary. The Coywolves look a lot like coyotes, but they are smarter. They have taken the best of both species and created a new stronger better version of the coyote. That would explain the problems cities are having. Ordinary coyotes were hard enough to deal with.

Thank-you for finding the link. I think I am going to watch it again(tomorrow when I get home).
We are going to have to find ways to live with these Coywolves and regular coyotes. They have become a part of our cities and they are not going away.

I hope they work out a way for people to walk their dogs safely.

[Ruth]

Catherine, I don't know how many coyotes there are but they are all over now. Small pets in California have disappeared from my brother's backyard before.

I am very careful with Suzy. I don't make her leash (it's adjustable) very long and follow right behind her when she sniffs things. I am right at her side.

The police, too, have said on tv that the coyotes can't find the small prey they used to in the area. I don't know why or if that is true or not.

I walk her during daylight hours always. I don't take her outside at night unless a few of us neighbors are sitting out. The coyotes wouldn't dare and come after her with a bunch of people around. The coyotes have not harmed any people and I think they do have a fear of us.

[Catherine]

We have killed off so many rabbits and other small animals so we have created a famine for the coyotes. Everything we do has consequences, but it is not the person who killed the coyote food source who has a pet killed by a coyote.

We need to find a way to live with all the animals in our areas.

You are very careful with Suzy so she is safe, but I can understand your anxiety. It is scary to think of a pet being snatched.

[Tobi]

I don't know very much about Coyotes. But I wonder if, like Wolves, they have social signals (like howling or similar noises) which would be deeply off-putting to Coyotes? Some "Coyote sound" which says "This is our territory -stay away!"
If they do, then recordings can maybe be taken of such sounds, and replayed at certain times in the area, to deter them.
This experiment was done with Wolves by a man named Shaun Ellis, who worked (and even lived) with Wolves. I think the experiment took place in Poland, and was done to protect both the Wolves and the local farmers' livestock -and it worked. The wolf pack would not come near that area any more. They believed a rival pack of greater numbers was in possession of the territory.

[Catherine]

That is a really good thought. Coyotes do communicate. I don't know if you have ever heard the sound of a pack of coyotes. It is unforgettable and unnerving.

https://youtu.be/YtsZoIe3Czk


I wonder if it would work to play coyote sounds. I have never heard of anyone trying it.


I have been camping and heard coyotes in the hills above my camp site. They were on both sides of the valley in the hills calling to each other. It is incredible to hear them.

[Tobi]

A lot can be gained from communication with animals....even if we are telling them a   pack of lies!

If it helps the people, their animals, and the Coyotes, it's worth lying to them.

Thanks for that you tube link Catherine. I hadn't heard Coyotes before, and they do certainly make a weird noise! Not at all like Wolves.
The main thing would be for someone who studies Coyotes, to find out what certain sounds mean (as with Wolves) It is a language. Then to find the sounds which are pack-rallying, also territorial. It would be unwise to include mating calls for example! Also numbers of voices may have to be increased, which could possibly be done with technology, then recorded.
The only unsure factor would be whether people in areas who want to keep Coyotes away could bear that din played in the night!!

[Catherine]

The sound of coyotes at night is pretty wild. I like it in some ways. Of course they were way up in the hills and as long as I could here them up there I knew where they were. Of course back then the coyotes were not attacking pets.

We do need to study coyote behavior. I don't think they have the sophisticated pack structure that wolves have.
They are certainly survivors and adaptors.

This article is not bad. It gives some basics.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&...n5AdxDkp6g


I don't know if the sound of other coyotes would repel  coyotes or would it attrack  them.

I did know a half coyote dog once. The owners of the mother went up north with their female dog to a remote area where there were coyotes. She came back pregnant. The puppy was full grown when I met him. Cacob was furry enough and the colouring was possible. His tail looked like a coyote tail. Still I was skeptical until he howled. That was pure coyote! He was a beautiful dog and being raised by a dog female he was totally domesticated.

[Tobi]

I think (?) if the Coyotes heard/sensed there was a pack much bigger than them sending 'warning sounds' out, they might stay away. But then as I said I don't know enough about Coyote behaviour and am basing my ideas on what happened with Wolves.

They will attack pets for two reasons probably. One: they see them as prey (re: cats and tiny dogs etc) Two: they see them as rivals for territory and/or food source (larger/medium sized dogs.)

[Catherine]

I think coyotes mostly see pets as food. A larger dog might be different. They would probably avoid a larger dog.

I don't think coyotes have the pack structure that wolves have.  It is not unusual to see a lone coyote. Wolves live a pack life. They would have to study coyotes more to understand how they react socially. Understanding them better would help us to know how to interact with them and how to protect our pets. They certainly don't fear us the way wolves do.

[Libby]

Coyotees typically only couple up. However I have heard them where my mom and stepdad live. It was always a group of them in the summer. They sound like chattering monkeys when they are hunting. You'll hear them for about 5-10 minutes and then suddenly silence. My dog Molly will howl when she hears them.

Since coyotees are hunted by wolves usually I wonder if playing the sounds of a hunting wolf pack could make them back down?