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."
Yes.
I remember reading also that the Mafia prefers .22 guns for their "hits". They get in real close, take good aim, and there is less noise.
Bullet placement is everything.
A .22 mag will work. Go with the 40-grain pill, avoid the little 30-gr jobs. My vintage Marlin will put the CCI Hi-Vel 40-gr hollowpoints into a 1" square at 85 yds.
Of course a .223 is better, and anything bigger than that just gets better. But the 22 mag will work at reasonable ranges.
We're not talking a humane kill here. Many .22 hits would cause a coyote-sized animal to die from internal bleeding, even if the hit wasn't immediately fatal.
My truck's deer grill works pretty well.
I have crossed a divided highway to hit a coyote.
Eskimos regularly kill polar bears with a .22.
I have been told that hunting a polar bear alone with only a bow and arrow gives the bear a 50/50 chance. This would be true sport. Lucky I don't care for sports that much.
All depends on your range. I shot one out my bedroom window at 45yds. with a .22LR.
Well, I read that story about a sharpened rib bone twisted into a circle and frozen in a ball of animal fat. The bear swallows the ball of fat, the fat melts and instant perforated stomach.
I think the bullet in the brain is more humane. But I'd make sure I was a good shot.
Polar bears can yank a 600 lb seal out of the water and hurl it through the air - just by grabbing it by the nose with one paw. I'd like to see the Gubernator do that!
I have two Huskies and those seem to be the smartest dogs I have ever had. Especially the puppy. She is AS smart, at 4 months old, as my parents Newfie, Who was the previous smartest dog I had ever been around...
We need to breed coyotes with Irish setters. I had one of these beautiful bird dogs, but unfortunately she was a dumb as a brick.
Big rats...I saw a picture of one a hunter killed in VA last year. It weighed almost 120lbs! I had know idea they got that big.
.22 magnum? I suppose. I haven’t seen one of those in a long time. It was an over/under .22 magnum/.410 shotgun.
In that case, I’d probably choose some larger shot for the .410 and hit him with both of them.
Personally, for generic stuff I prefer my Remington 870/Winchester 94 combination. They’re pretty much indestructible and dependable, IMO. (Oh - and best part - were cheap/free.)
Nice post! I've often wondered how long it will take coyotes and/or wolves to get back down to North Carolina. Maybe they are already, but not that I'm aware of. I would think that this would still be a natural habitat for them.
General (sort of joking) question: Does hunting really instill fear in animals? I know to some extent it's a true phenomena, but when you think about it- the only time animals who are being hunted should "learn" to fear humans would be when they are wounded- and hunting these days typically is one shot, one kill. Are there that many animals out there watching and observing their buddies getting killed, or are there that many bad hunters leaving animals wounded?
It seems to me that animals generally fear humans to begin with (why?... the Biblical fall, maybe?), and that hunting typically serves to mainain that fear by killing off any critters that have lost that fear of humans.
How long ago was that? I heard that they have bred out the high strung nervousness of years ago.
After all, Setters are hunting dogs and hunting dogs weren't developed to do fancy tricks or elaborate Schutzhund exercizes. They are plenty smart enough to do what they were developed for.
Coyotes and prairie dogs.
1960 or there abouts. Wonderful with pheasants, pleasant with kids, not overly nervous.
Those poor Setters. I love the breed, obedient and well tempered, but I've never met one that had a lick of smarts, bless their hearts.
The only thing coyotes are for here is target practice before they kill all the rest of the wild game.
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