Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

In City Where Dogs Outnumber Children, Finding a Way for Coyotes to Coexist
ny times ^ | May 14, 2012 | NORIMITSU ONISHI

Posted on 05/16/2012 8:10:23 AM PDT by george76

SAN FRANCISCO — Dogs outnumber children here, making already assertive dog owners an even more formidable political force.

But the emergence in recent years of coyotes in the city’s parks, and sometimes in its expensive backyards and picturesque streets, has raised doubts about whether that founding legacy can survive. Will the two animal worlds — the domesticated and the wild — be able to coexist? Might they even, as many in this liberal city hope, ultimately complement each other?

Taking no chances, city officials recently cordoned off trails and barricaded a restroom in an area of Golden Gate Park where reports of coyotes following dog owners and approaching unleashed dogs have been rising

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: coyotes; doggieping; unleasheddogs
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-79 last
To: Joe 6-pack

I feel sorry for the dogs, not the liberal idiots who own them.

Mqaybe if they get enough coyotes, “endangered” mountain lions, grizzly bears and woolves in San Francisco who have appetites, California will become a happier place in which to live.

Maybe they can even take care of Crazy Nancy for us.


61 posted on 05/16/2012 12:02:50 PM PDT by ZULU (Non Nobis Domine Non Nobis Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: Retired Greyhound

Have family that live there.....Belmont Shore area.


62 posted on 05/16/2012 12:43:24 PM PDT by Osage Orange (God is my Co-Pilot.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: george76
Will the two animal worlds — the domesticated and the wild — be able to coexist?

Oh please, humans have had such an enormous influence on this continent for so long that there's no such thing as "wild" the way this idiot fantasizes it.

Might they even, as many in this liberal city hope, ultimately complement each other?

As a source of target practice?

63 posted on 05/16/2012 12:56:17 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The RNC would prefer Obama to a conservative nominee.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Biggirl
Plus coyotes end up being target practice targets by those with rifles.

According to the DFG, center-fire rifles only.

64 posted on 05/16/2012 12:58:44 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The RNC would prefer Obama to a conservative nominee.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: buffaloguy
If you have a problem with coyotes I highly recommend a black lab.

Your lab would be dead meat. Once they know your dog's territory, the coyotes will send out a fast yearling to bait the dog into a chase, right back to the hiding pack. One will turn the dog, while another takes out the Achilles tendons. Then it's all over for the dog.

I almost lost one that way but she figured it out and split before they got her.

65 posted on 05/16/2012 1:03:49 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The RNC would prefer Obama to a conservative nominee.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: Jim Noble

OK, I’m impressed.


66 posted on 05/16/2012 1:08:11 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The RNC would prefer Obama to a conservative nominee.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Flycatcher
I had to laugh at the liberal nature-worshipping stupidity coming from the San Francisco officials too. Hey, why not encourage mountain lions in the park too? Plenty to eat for them.

You have only to wait. One was found outside the food court of the Capitola Mall outside nearby Santa Cruz.

67 posted on 05/16/2012 1:10:07 PM PDT by Carry_Okie (The RNC would prefer Obama to a conservative nominee.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: Retired Greyhound

“I try to bring my cat in at night, but he insists on being outdoors.”

Further down the coast from you, there are miles of wetlands next to towns, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach etc.

Great coyote homes by day, then come into the neighborhoods at dawn and dusk to eat our cats.

Got mine. He was a beautiful pet.


68 posted on 05/16/2012 1:23:50 PM PDT by truth_seeker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: truth_seeker

I go bird watching at Bolsa Chica. I know there are lots of coyotes there, as well as on the bases, Seal Beach and Los Al. There have been numerous sightings in Long Beach at our many parks.

I am sorry to hear about your cat. I really wish mine would just stay inside, but he won’t tolerate it. If we keep him in the house, he starts fights with our other cats. (I do make it a point to keep him inside on Halloween. He’s a black cat and he’s very friendly. I don’t want some wiccan freak sacrificing him).

When he’s outside, he mostly just hangs out on the patio and sleeps. He patrols the yard. Whenever I hear a cat fight, I know it’s him bullying some poor kitty. It’s never him screaming. Always the other fella.

Like I said, he grew up in Wyoming in some real wilderness. Then he moved to Texas for a while before I brought him to CA. He’s rugged.

He’s a great pet. I would be very sad if something happened to him, but he does not enjoy life in the house.


69 posted on 05/16/2012 2:26:11 PM PDT by Retired Greyhound (.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: Retired Greyhound

I found a 44 sec video, of exactly what must have happened with my cat. Note the size of the coyote and the cat; how easily he lifts that dead breakfast and carries it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nw7ROh3Hc8k

In our area, the coyotes were displaced when the wetlands between Beach Blvd. and the Santa Ana river were “restored.”

Going back to the article, at 1017 acres, Golden Gate Park is 20% bigger than Central Park in New York.


70 posted on 05/16/2012 2:55:31 PM PDT by truth_seeker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: Carry_Okie

She did this for years and they were terrified of her. 70 pounds of lab coming at you in the dark forest at full speed would readjust your attitude right quick.

I have seen her take off after them and from the sound of the coyotes screaming they cannot see her in the dark and she seems to knock them over or possibly knock them into the air. Never heard that sound from a canine before. She comes back with spittle on her head and a smile on her face.


71 posted on 05/17/2012 5:57:24 AM PDT by buffaloguy (uab.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: buffaloguy
70 pounds of lab coming at you in the dark forest at full speed would readjust your attitude right quick.

I have 70 pounds of black/brown brindle KNPV bred Dutch Shepherd and watched as a pack of six coyotes came out of the brush to almost kill her but for her quickness and intelligence. She got one of them good, but I'm not taking that chance with her life again.

One dog against a half dozen or more coyotes is not a fair fight. It's better to call and kill them to keep the numbers under control. At that point, a dog has a prayer of keeping its territory as it gets older and the eyes grow dim. Coyotes multiply rapidly, as much as 4X per year. They learn fast and adapt to pressure. So I think you are taking foolish chances with a dog that would give her life for you. As things are now, I wear a sidearm when I get far from the house. When it comes to coyotes, I don't want even close to a fair fight.

72 posted on 05/17/2012 6:36:32 AM PDT by Carry_Okie (The RNC would prefer Obama to a conservative nominee.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 71 | View Replies]

To: lormand

Friend of mine had one of those growing up. Huge dog. Never forget seeing it pee on the hood of my friends car.

The dog just lifted his leg and was two inches above the hood. Good dog, but they didn’t train it well. He liked to pull riders off the three wheeler.


73 posted on 05/17/2012 6:41:42 AM PDT by redgolum ("God is dead" -- Nietzsche. "Nietzsche is dead" -- God.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: buffaloguy

Sheep herding dogs such as Great Pyraneese are great at getting coyotes. They appear to be a great white lumbering moving billboard——UNTIl they go after a coyote. They can outrun & catch & kill the coyote.


74 posted on 05/17/2012 9:32:17 AM PDT by ridesthemiles
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 23 | View Replies]

To: lormand; Ditter
Greetings lormand & Ditter:

Three Great Pyrenees livestock guard dogs protect our livestock. They are magnificent creatures, entirely trained by loyalty and play instincts. Adopt them into the human family, their loyalty trait expresses.

Through denial of human affection the GP express a stronger play over loyalty instinct. After weaning each began living among the goat herd; learning and earning their place in the herd's alpha relationship structure.

Because overly protective goat nannies will head butt them when they begin playing rough with goat kids, every intruder is a "play" opportunity.

One GP will approach a coyote intruder to play, which disrupts the hunt. Mr. Coyote isn't interested in play, so Mr. Coyote seeks a meal elsewhere. Deer overpopulation caused a coyote boom. Resulting coyote boom brought in the apex predator, a mountain lion.

Few years later, we lost a pregnant goat. A few weeks later, our alpha LGD is badly mauled; most likely by the mountain lion. We haven't seen the mountain lion since. Chances are if the dogs injured her, she couldn't hunt; and coyotes would finish her off.

Cheers,
OLA

75 posted on 05/17/2012 4:43:28 PM PDT by OneLoyalAmerican (In God I trust, all others provide citations.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: OneLoyalAmerican
Thank you for your post. I love your dogs. I wish I could have a GP of my own. In Nevada I saw a GP, Golden Retriever cross. It was as big as a GP but looked exactly like a Golden. You thought your eyes were playing tricks on you.
76 posted on 05/17/2012 4:56:43 PM PDT by Ditter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]

To: Ditter

Thank you for your kind words. We love our LGD’s. And the photograph is a perfect demonstration of the Great Pyrenees herd protection instinct and the alpha relationships at work.

Some local ranchers use Llamas and donkeys as livestock guard animals, because they’ll eat the same chow as the livestock. The Llama user lost a baby Llama a few years back to... coyotes.


77 posted on 05/17/2012 5:16:54 PM PDT by OneLoyalAmerican (In God I trust, all others provide citations.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 76 | View Replies]

To: Grampa Dave

LOL! Poor Fifi. ;o)

We have coyotes and mountain lions up here, but we don’t have outside pets.

Well, except for the koi pond. We, also, have a great blue heron who makes his rounds, thus the deer netting over the pond.

He’s used it as a smorgasbord before.


78 posted on 05/17/2012 11:54:59 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 (This hobbit is looking for her pitchfork...God help the GOP if I find it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: OneLoyalAmerican
I wish I had a ranch just so I could have a group of GPs. Your picture tells a thousand words about the thousands of years relationship between man and dog...and sheep.

I have seen a few documentaries recently, one by National Geographic which highlighted GPs growing up with sheep from pups. It is a fasinating documentary. They showed the study of how a wolf's DNA changed when they become domesticated, and morphed into all shapes and colors.

On the subject of dogs, I just booked perhaps the only hotel on San Antonio's River Walk which allows dogs. We can't part from our mini daschund. :)

Please post another picture of your dogs at work if you have one.

Thanks a bunch


My lil' Coyote bait - Ruby

79 posted on 05/18/2012 7:55:15 AM PDT by lormand (A Government who robs Peter to pay Paul, will always have the support of Paul)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 75 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-79 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson