0.5 OT: What to do when face-face with a Coyote?

[gdw]

Is it still winter?

[Seramount]

Originally Posted by Dead Man

Right. Next time you step over a log and hear a rattle, be sure to post and tell us what happened to your heart rate.

pit vipers have a defensive approach to being disturbed.

they do not intentionally 'attack' humans.

be afraid, be very afraid...

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by Black Dog

The only animal that you should fear is walks on two legs and can truly be unpredictable.

I don't know, squirrels sure seem out to try and bring me down.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by Dead Man

Right. Next time you step over a log and hear a rattle, be sure to post and tell us what happened to your heart rate.

Sure. But no need to be terrified before you step over the log. My grand father used to tell me that you will always know when to pucker because it will have all ready happened.

[sfscott]

The situation that the OP referenced was one of two women each walking their dogs. The dogs changed the equation. Coyotes are good at tricking dogs into coming with them and then attacking.

Not dangerous to the people but the coyote was definitely looking at Fido and Spot as breakfast.

[Kirk007]

In each instance I felt a lot of emotions but fear was never one of them. Respect yes, heightened sense of alert, yep. thrilled, absolutely. I'm the guy with little hair in the back of the truck (those tusks were over the hood and the woman in the front had her eyes closed. The rest I was on foot or scuba. And the cheetah - habituated ambassador cat, but still, when it started to lick my arm ....

[djg21]

Originally Posted by Kirk007

In each instance I felt a lot of emotions but fear was never one of them. Respect yes, heightened sense of alert, yep. thrilled, absolutely. I'm the guy with little hair in the back of the truck (those tusks were over the hood and the woman in the front had her eyes closed. And the cheetah - habituated ambassador cat, but still, when it started to like like my arm ....

Very cool photos! I'm jealous. One of the things I desperately want to do in my lifetime is see a tiger in the wild. Someday!

[BobO]

Originally Posted by sfscott

The situation that the OP referenced was one of two women each walking their dogs. The dogs changed the equation. Coyotes are good at tricking dogs into coming with them and then attacking.

Not dangerous to the people but the coyote was definitely looking at Fido and Spot as breakfast.

In a good many places the apex predator is the human. Coyotes that live in the proximity of humans know this and are for the most part very wary of interaction. It is common for the coyote to see the human, assess, and leave. If one or more deliberately approaches a human, something is wrong, and the human should be wary.

*Being in packs can embolden the coyote. They still dislike humans. It may be more bold in going after pets.

[slidey]

Originally Posted by Kirk007

In each instance I felt a lot of emotions but fear was never one of them. Respect yes, heightened sense of alert, yep. thrilled, absolutely. I'm the guy with little hair in the back of the truck (those tusks were over the hood and the woman in the front had her eyes closed. The rest I was on foot or scuba. And the cheetah - habituated ambassador cat, but still, when it started to lick my arm ....

Great pictures!

In the meanwhile, this roadrunner (quite literally) managed to live another day!

[joev]

I ride early in the morning here in Tucson and a couple years ago, on my regular loop, I was chased by a coyote. The first time, he/she came out from the brush and broke into a trot towards me. A few days later, again in the same spot, the coyote came after me a little quicker. OK, I am into intervals every now and then, but my heart rate got a bit quick really fast. Then about a week later the coyote came after me full on sprint! I did my best and got away but almost got nipped on the heal! I yelled, swerved...man that was scarey. That was it. I went to the Ace hardware store and got pepper spray. A few days later I was ready and when I got chased I got off one good spray. Direct in the face and the coyote broke off the attack and ran back into the desert.

I don't know why I got chased. Maybe it was the flashing red light. Maybe it was rabid? Don't know. Got to have been the same animal. I now carry the spray in my jersey and I switched my route....

[Kirk007]

Joev,

That is fascinating and yes I bet it kicked up your sprint! I'd guess that the riding away triggered the innate chase instinct and perhaps it learned from the first 2 encounters that the only response was for you to keep riding away. Coyotes are really smart. I may run that past some carnivore biologists and see what they think.

[daker13]

Originally Posted by Idris Icabod

I'm in Tucson, AZ and often see coyotes whilst riding. They always seem fairly nonchalant and often give a disinterested look before disappearing back into the desert.

It's interesting to read all these reports of people saying that coyotes are timid and will naturally run from humans. There must be many local variations of the animal. Coyotes are quite common here in RI; even when I lived in Providence on the East Side, I saw them a few times in Swann Point Cemetery (now I live in the suburbs). Every coyote (probably about a dozen) I've come across has been completely uninterested in me. They tend to look right through me, neither viewing me as food nor as a threat. Last year one followed me as I walked my dog, about a hundred feet behind me. Freaked me out at first, but then I was too close to my front door to be worried and I just hung out and watched it.

My dog is curious about them, clearly sees them as kin, but someone told me that coyotes try to lure domesticated dogs away in order to kill them... anyone know if that is true?

I did read a story a few years ago about a young girl killed by coyotes in a city park in Toronto. Just tried to track down the story, couldn't find it. So, it happens, but it's rare.

[eippo1]

Originally Posted by daker13

My dog is curious about them, clearly sees them as kin, but someone told me that coyotes try to lure domesticated dogs away in order to kill them... anyone know if that is true?

This is true. We recently had a bulletin send out to us regarding this by the town. Also had a neighbor's cat taken out by a coyote during the night. We live in between the Fells and the Mystic River and there's a ton of rabbits in the area. So it's a natural habitat for them.

Spotted one in the bushes down by where the Alewife Brook and Mystic converge. My dog went apesh**t because she smelled it, but didn't spot it like I did. They really get your spidey sense going when they stare at you.

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by daker13

It's interesting to read all these reports of people saying that coyotes are timid and will naturally run from humans. There must be many local variations of the animal. Coyotes are quite common here in RI; even when I lived in Providence on the East Side, I saw them a few times in Swann Point Cemetery (now I live in the suburbs). Every coyote (probably about a dozen) I've come across has been completely uninterested in me. They tend to look right through me, neither viewing me as food nor as a threat. Last year one followed me as I walked my dog, about a hundred feet behind me. Freaked me out at first, but then I was too close to my front door to be worried and I just hung out and watched it.

My dog is curious about them, clearly sees them as kin, but someone told me that coyotes try to lure domesticated dogs away in order to kill them... anyone know if that is true?

I did read a story a few years ago about a young girl killed by coyotes in a city park in Toronto. Just tried to track down the story, couldn't find it. So, it happens, but it's rare.

Nope, that did not happen. A young woman, from Toronto, was killed in Nova Scotia several years ago. BTW that is the only recorded death from a Coyote, ever.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...reton-1.779304

[malcolm]

Love em or hate em. They really are remarkable animals. Their ability to adapt is almost unparalleled. I think they are almost everywhere in the US at this point. We've had them in our suburban neighborhood for going on 10 years now. They tend to be gone for a while and then show up for a few months and move on. They do have a taste for house cats and have eaten several in our neighborhood. The subdivision goes crazy when they show up and the emails start flying. They demanded the city do something and at one point some city officials were setting traps. I just happened to see the guy doing it one time and talked to him and he had been setting traps for a year or so and had yet to catch one.
I kinda like em you don't see them as much as hear them. They bed down in a little strip of woods behind my house and it sounds like there is a thousand of them at night when they get to making noise.