Monday, May 11, 2020

Stalked by coyotes

A few days ago, Older Daughter took Mr. Darcy on a hike in a nearby park. We've both been on this trail many times, and frequently we'll see deer or moose. If Mr. Darcy sees wildlife -- being the Mighty Hunter -- he lunges on the leash. In fact, Darcy's behavior is often the first indicator something is out there.

On this occasion, Mr. Darcy started lunging, so Older Daughter pulled him close and scanned the area. She saw a pair of ears sticking up from behind a log. A coyote.


She kept hiking and kept Darcy close at her side. The coyote got bolder.


In fact, it started following her.


Soon it was joined by a second coyote.


As she later told me the story, and since I knew coyotes wouldn't hurt her, I asked, "What did you do? Did you say 'Scat'?"

"Well, not exactly," she admitted. "Specifically I yelled, 'You come over here and I'm gonna whoop your a**.'"

Whatever. It worked. No more coyotes.

15 comments:

  1. Perzakly the right attitude. Way to go, OD!

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  2. Coyotes are smart but they are inquisitive. They are generally much smarter than dogs and don't fear them. Where I live I see coyotes all the time. I have seen three together going through trash cans. Nice big health coyotes. I have seen skinny raggedy coyotes who survived a tough winter. Coyotes won't, generally, attack an adult who appears capable but they will attack children or adults who are injured or otherwise incapacitated. I am not afraid of coyotes but I don't trust them. However where I walk the dogs are a bigger risk even though there are mountain lions and wolves here too.

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  3. Sometimes, you just have to speak their language. - lol

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  4. Northern California here (Bay Area), coyotes here are getting more aggressive. I have a knife strapped to my leg when I feed the chickens.
    They can attack so please be careful, especially if there is more than one.

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  5. Googled this...a coyote killed a 19 yr. old in I believe Nova Scotia. Also several attacks have been reported recently as they come more & more in contact with people (none of them fatal). Dogs are sometimes attacked by a lone coyote or a pack.

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  6. We live in outlying suburbia and owners of dogs who are left chained or confined to a yard, have been known to find their pets mauled or eaten. They will attack in groups. They will capture a dog in heat and make it their #itch, they chased my daughters dog in this condition and it was a close save by a neighbor.

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  7. Do you take walks armed? Seems prudent if you have multiple coyotes and one lone dog and you or your daughter. With coyote wold hybrids they tend to be also more aggressive.

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  8. Trust me on this. If you have your dog with you or in your yard and you see a coyote close by watching, they will hope to draw the dog away from you and out of the yard or from your walk and the dog will chase and behind it will come another coyote and they will leave having the dog chasing them only to trick the dog back to their pack and then they will kill it or injure it badly.They will move in and take and can kill any small dog, medium dog and with a pack they can kill even a large dog like a German Sheperd. This has happened in our area more than once.The owners couldn't get to them fast enough before they lost sight of them and then found remains of what was left. I have seen them kill a raccoon in a field in the evening, have seen them kill fox and know of farmers that have had them come and take their cats out of their barns or in fields, and take down sheep. Everything has to eat I realize and I strongly respect wildlife and I am not afraid of coyotes, but I certainly respect the damage they do and will do so brazenly. Coyotes are very smart and are willing to take chances if they think it would work for them. I do not like to interfere with wildlife, but we need to protect our farm animals and pets and not make it easy for them to kill or injure.Having a dog chained outdoors is just asking for it. Once they find an opportunity with no problem, they will be back and that I can assure you! Just so you know, I do not go out of my way at all to injure wildlife, but I will protect my animals first and foremost. Just saying!

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  9. Friend of mine raised German Shepherds. Has had her 3 adult dogs cornered on the front porch of her home by coyotes.

    A neighbor south of her was challenged at the corral gate when going out to check the herd during calving. If they are not regularly shot at they lose fear quickly. They will eat a calf as the cow is giving birth. Between them and big cats I rarely go to my garden without taking measures. Natokadn

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  10. I am a bit afraid of them ,I saw one grab a chicken in the backyard in broad daylight so I just ran out the door yelling and waving my arms , never thinking that as I ran up to it , it would stand it's ground and stare me down ...All of a sudden I realized I am a middle age woman in pajamas with NO weapon , and this is a hungry coyote with teeth . Well after an uncomfortable minute , I jumped around screaming again and it reluctantly dropped the chicken and left , slowly walking away , not really acting afraid ..not like any wild animal that either looks frightened like it would run or fight ..but more like it was thinking the situation over..I haven't been as confident since then .

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  11. Sorry-not sorry. The only good coyote is a dead coyote. They are sneaky, powerful, nasty killers. I would never trust a coyote-especially when one started buddying up and then following me. I have zero respect for them. There is a reason that the pioneers killed every one they could. -Sandra T.

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  12. She carries, yes?

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  13. They may not hurt your daughter, but they will attack your dog. In my area they have stalked small dogs being let out in their yards and have pulled small dogs from their owners' arms! They are "wily".

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  14. I live in Nova Scotia Canada. The coyotes here killed a woman a few years ago. Do not under estimate them. They are highly intelligent and will constantly push their luck in finding new food sources.

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