I’ll note up to the 1980s in Alabama...there were none. By the mid-1990s....most everyone was seeing a coyote at least a couple times a year.
Here in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, the coyote population is strong. We can often hear them at night howling, though sometimes it sounds more like “yipping”.
Consequently we prefer a big male dog like a Labrador Retriever. He constantly marks his territory near the house and along the trails we like to walk (I always take him with me when walking the trails). The coyotes stay on the other side of the creek that runs through the property. We hear them close by, but never see them.
People who insist on tiny designer type dogs never let them outside alone! It’s just like with our resident bears …. You just have to learn to live with them.
22 WMR
Coyotes here are a mix of domestic dog, wolf, and coyote. They call them coyotes, but they are not true. These things are much bigger than one would expect.
Had several in the backyard a few months ago. Definitely as big a German Shepard. One gray the other larger and black.
People used to laugh and call some of us crazy, but science is finally confirming we are seeing a hybrid. And the hybrid is much bolder, less scared of humans.
I was in Arizona and saw a friend’s relative dog get snatched up by an owl at night. It was not a pretty sight.
They’ve been common in Atlanta suburbs for at least a decade.
Legal to hunt in Pa. https://precisionoutdoors.org/coyote-hunting-in-pennsylvania-what-you-need-to-know/
I think there’s a $25 bounty program still in place.
Going “yote hunting Thursday. Kentucky is open season year round no limit on Coyotes. I prefer night hunting but day’ll do.
One went across my rural driveway last night at 2:18 a.m..
The more we kill them the more they breed and spread..
coyotes are so bad near me (rural New England) at certain times a year I only take my dog out while I carry my pistol - packs of 6-8 are routinely wandering my fields.
Years ago used to raise livestock (sheep, goats) and would sometimes loose 6 or more animals in a single night the infestations where so bad - despite having 5 strand hi-tensile electrified fencing all around my property.
Once the coyotes realized there was easy food on the other side, they were relentless. Finally gave up having livestock primarily for this reason - it was almost a FT job just warding them off, and couldn’t take the constant financial losses.
Outside my house in central New Jersey a few nights ago.
https://youtube.com/shorts/-8nAM4JHLEU?feature=share
If you have ever had one of these things stalking your children (like I have) you would understand how serious this issue is.
The coyotes were yipping all night in woods behind my house.
Just to clarify, MarkTwain, I was responding to the article- out of a kneejerk reaction to remembering how horrified I was to see a cayote creeping up on my children when we were outside playing.
I was not responding to you personally or implying that you didn’t understand the severity. I am glad you posted this article.
Yep, we’ve got them here in the Sacramento area. They’re fairly unobtrusive. I never see one and haven’t heard of anyone having their dog snatched off a leash. Out of a back yard, yes. By both coyotes and mountain lions. But hear the coyotes? Boy, do we ever.
I’ve noticed a correlation between these coyote appearances and our feral cat population: Just when there seems to be a feral cat everywhere you look, there’ll suddenly be one hellish night of coyote howling and yipping in the neighborhood. Then... no cats. Takes months for the cat population to recover.
I often want to tell all the little old ladies feeding all the feral cats around here, that they’re not really feeding the cats, they’re feeding the coyotes.
The increase in coyote is a direct result in the large increase in the deer population.
For the deer preying coyotes, stray cats and dogs are a bonus.
Coyotes taking rich liberals’ fancy pets, calling on government to fix it for them.
Woe are they.
/s