I thought they were talking about these coyotes for a second. 
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."
I thought they were talking about these coyotes for a second.
We have them here in the hills. I carry when I am on the hiking trails just in case.
Read "Death in the Long Grass". Its a great contemporary hunting book about huntng man-eating lions in Africa. In game parks where they are not hunted, they loose any fear of man and can become maneaters.
Tests have been done on caged coyotes. They took some food item and added something to it that made the coyote who ate it very sick. That coyote would then avoid that food item. But the curious thing is that when then put that coyote in a pen with other coyotes who had never eaten the drugged food, and then presented THOSE coyotes with that food item, they ALL refused it.
Animals can learn, some can learn better than others and in the intelligence area, predators, especially hgiher predators like Cougars, wolves, coyotes, etc are smartest.
After all, aren't humans the greatest predator?
The good old days, when they were scarce and wary.
When we stop hunting them, they start to hunt us, or our pets and infants at any rate.
SO9
It seems the coyote was going after a small dog in the living room!
L
And it's close relative
I love Irish Setters and English orange beltons - really beautiful animals.
If you want REAL brains - get a German Shepherd. They can think - really.
BRING BACK 1080!
Skip the 22. Grab your compound bow with a 90gr muzzy broadhead and bring 'em in close.
Within that round's effective range, yes. Just make sure you hit 'em good and solid. Some of the newer .22WMR loads are supposed to be really good (CCI's "TNT" ammo seems appropriate, since we're talking about coyotes.)
Some people have had good luck with the .17HMR, too - that little bullet really makes a mess. Personally, I've never dropped one with less than a Hornet.
That's pretty cool... so if we passed a few laws that everybody who goes outside has to be covered in DEET, we'd all be safe after a few predators learned some taste aversion! Safe from mosquitoes AND from coyotes! Just kidding, I'd rather we go with the hunting option- much more fun.
How sweet of the government MouthPerson to volunteer to take all attacks herself, 'cause people don't get "seriously hurt".
As always, her government job is all she is worried about. Coyote are varmints. Allow the citizens to treat them like varmints.
Here in the Sheeples Republic, the Possum Police are talking about going to a "no take" policy of fish and game management.
Since they both write and enforce game laws, it is about time to do to them what is being done to the California Coastal Commission. Or was that Kalifornia Koastal Kommission, a.k.a. the KKK?
Let's Sue!
Whoa, that's really scary. Where was that?
I am caring for my son's Husky/wolf male, 7 year old. Best dog I've ever been around!
Hey - I have no problem with hunting. I just told that story as an example of the critters' intelligence and ability to communicate with each other. If they can do that with food, they can also do that with people shooting at them.
Is Ruy Dias de Bivar the brother of Rodrigo Dias de Bivar?
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."
Problem solved...
Already here! Morehead City- on the coast. Look like big, mangy german shepards. Out in broad daylight. Course, the "experts" say they can't be.
Even more brazen are the Brat Castards holding agency jobs who made the following statements complied from just this one article.
1. "We've had quite a few attacks," she continued, "but people don't typically get seriously hurt." Allow citizens to shoot coyotes when and where they wish before someone is killed. What's hard to understand about that, SpokesPerson Bernard?
2. "That's the last stage before a human attack," Curtis said. "And we're at that stage in New York now." Why haven't you allowed NY citizens to shoot coyotes as they see fit? Or are you planning on a bureaucracy to "control" coyotes?
3. "If they persist in aggressive behavior, the ultimate solution would probably be to remove problem animals," Curtis said. "Nobody is happy about that." Spoken just like a PETAPerson or an animal rights 'activist.
Happiness of such trash be d*mned - classify 'em as varmints and shoot them.
By the way, a friend tells me that when some 50 coyote were mouthing off around their ranch house one night, her Irish wolfhound finally was irritated enough to give one very loud bark - and silence reigned the rest of the night.
Moral: Wolfhounds cure coyote problems.
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