Posted on 06/08/2005 12:47:58 PM PDT by ZULU
Are Coyotes Becoming More Aggressive?
California Department of Fish and Game spokesperson Lorna Bernard notes that much of the Golden State is prime habitat for the opportunistic animals.
"They are scavengers as well as hunters, and they are very smart," she said. "When they learn that people aren't a danger to them, they become very brazen."
"We've had quite a few attacks," she continued, "but people don't typically get seriously hurt."
In California there has only been one documented human death attributed a coyote attack. The incident occurred about two decades ago, when a coyote killed a young girl in Glendale.
Timm and Baker list some 35 other coyote attacks over the past three decades on small children that could have been fatal, had an adult not intervened.
Eastern Coyotes Flex Muscle
Close human-coyote encounters are not restricted to California. In New York State, wildlife biologist Gordon Batcheller studies coyotes from his post at the state's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).
He said coyotes are "becoming habituated to humans and human environments, and adapting their behavior to ours."
From the coyotes' perspective, this human environment "is a 'subsidized environment,' meaning it provides an artificially high amount of foods with an unnatural absence of threats," Batcheller said. "These adaptable animals take quick advantage of these unnatural environments."
At Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, wildlife biologist Paul Curtis and his team are beginning a five-year study of coyote ecology and behavior, funded in part by the state's DEC.
"The goal of the project is to look at changes in both coyote and human behavior that may be leading to more conflicts and complaints," Curtis said.
New York DEC officials estimate that 20,000 to 30,000 coyotes live in the state.
Curtis describes a progression of behavior in so-called problem coyote areas. First, the generally reclusive animals are increasingly spotted in daylight hours. Next, pets begin to vanish from yards and are even snatched off leashes by coyotes.
"That's the last stage before a human attack," Curtis said. "And we're at that stage in New York now." New York wildlife officials hope to head off such conflicts before a serious attack or death occurs.
Most coyotes, even those living near humans, are seldom seen and are reclusive. But dealing with human-adjusted animals is a management challenge.
"It appears to be a learned behavior," Curtis noted. "Certain animals seem more adapted to an urban environment. They catch a few cats and say, Hey there is abundant food here."
Animal control officers are experimenting with ways to reintroduce fear of humans in coyotes that have lost it. Many states have open season on coyote hunting. But the practice is controversial and often impractical in suburban and urban areas, where most problems occur.
Other non-lethal methods, including rubber buckshot and fencing, have met with mixed results.
"If they persist in aggressive behavior, the ultimate solution would probably be to remove problem animals," Curtis said. "Nobody is happy about that."
Human Causes?
Meanwhile, Timm's data suggest that certain areas seem more predisposed to coyote-human conflicts.
"The data on pet losses in recent years is not very different in the states of Texas and California," the University of California wildlife specialist said. "Yet there have been few, if any, human attacks [by coyotes] in Texas."
No one is certain what might account for the discrepancy.
"We're speculating at this point, but something is different about southern California, and in many cases we think that intentional feeding in neighborhoods is a factor," Timm said. "It's probably more typical than we know."
"People in Texas don't have a kind of Disney attitude about animals," he added. "There may be more of that rancher mentality, where everybody recognizes that we don't want [coyotes] in the neighborhood."
Scientists stress that respect for animals, especially predators such as coyotes, means keeping them wild.
"Don't feed them, either purposely or inadvertently, and stay away from animals that show no natural fear," Batcheller, the New York wildlife biologist, cautioned. "Like other wildlife, coyotes should be enjoyed and appreciated, but from a distance. It does this species no good to encourage abnormal behaviors."
As Curtis, the Cornell wildlife biologist, noted, "Hearing [coyotes] howling in the woods at night is a wonderful thing. And that's where we want to keep them—in the woods, away from people."
Depends on how good a shot you are! (as with everything).
I usually use 7mm Mag. Many shots are well out to 800 yards and I hate to walk that far to pick on up!
All well and good but Coyotes don't fight fair - they fight in packs. I have seen as many as 8 take on one dog. Dog dead.
The book by the fellow who dealt with the man-eating lions on the Uganda Railway is a good one too.
on=one. More coffee waitress.
We don't have any call for the distance shots here in Georgia, though. Every shot I've taken at a whitetail has been under 100 yards.
We had a bc. Talk about a dog that needed a job! You should have seen him when we tried to play softball! He couldn't stand all the kids being scattered out and always tried to herd us together. Made for some interesting games!
We just have too much cover and too much irregular terrain in north Georgia for a distance shot to be possible (let alone feasible). If you want to get a shot at a coyote here, you have to lie in wait.
Works for me! I like calling them in. Wounded rabbit works very well around here.
I haven't seen coyotes around our suburban neighborhood . . . YET. We live along the river, and I have seen red foxes, who seem to be at the top of the food chain here locally. If I do see Mr. Coyote, it'll be the "three Ss" for sure.
They have begun to be troubled by coyotes. They lost a litter of pups due to a parvo-infected coyote urinating on the fence of the outdoor run.
So my old .303 is overkill unless I don't mind big holes. But the coyote probably minds them more than I do.
I didn't see it, but I heard about it. Isn't the guy who said it the black guy who always shouts? I can't bear to watch him.
Me bet is that under most circumstances even a pack of coyotes wouldn't got after Bear (at least when he was a bit younger). Sure, if it came down to it, they could kill him, but the cost to them would not be worth it. He's a good bit bigger than your average shepherd.
Ted Williams.He's the one who struggles to speak well diction-wise. I always silently cheer on his diction attempts...he tries damned hard and I know his law degree at night took effort but:
He was livid ...almost in rage to be challenged as a "black man" over this.
According to him:
Blacks claim Michael as one of their own and they are angry at how he has been treated.....prone to violence.
I was surprised.
Very discouraging.
Right, Ted Williams. He shouts. I just can't endure him. From what I can tell, it's almost like he and some others are TRYING to incite violence IF Jackson is convicted. Long hot summer, if he/they succeed.
Probably not when it comes to bears.
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