Coyote Question

reconranger said:
edged weapons are silent and stealthy[/B], so anybody here in bladeforums who is worth his salt, will be able to get the job done without making all that noise. (Anybody practiced tomahawk throwing lately?) I guess this is a "don't take a gun to a knife fight" situation....
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The best knife for fighting yotes are made by ACME.
 
reconranger said:
We are talking about defensive shooting, not "hunting" coyotes here. You going to go cranking off a round in a campground? I hear a round go off in a campground, unless there is a dead bear laying there, the first thing I am going to do is shoot the idiot that fired it!!!
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Let us know how that works out for you. :rolleyes:
 
ive seen many coyotes out in the woods, and only had in issue once. i was deer hunting with my uncle, when a coyote lunges out of thw woods and tried to bite me( i think i practically stepped out it though) i manage to land it a solid kick to the chest, then it yellped and ran away. not much to it really
 
4 years ago the coyote problem really escalated in austin tex. most pet cats were gone & several dogs were attacked & killed. one landowner on the edge of austin heard a yelp & saw his westy [small dog] in the mouth of a disappearing yote. the principal of a elementary school close to a ravine told the city council she had to have the custodions out at recess with small chikdren.only a few reports of attempted attacks have surfaced-- one golf player had to fend off a coupal with a club.the city hired a full time trapper & said to shoot them while in the trap. one lady told me he got 6 yotes the 1st week in her area.
dennis
 
DennisStrickland said:
4 years ago the coyote problem really escalated in austin tex. most pet cats were gone & several dogs were attacked & killed. one landowner on the edge of austin heard a yelp & saw his westy [small dog] in the mouth of a disappearing yote. the principal of a elementary school close to a ravine told the city council she had to have the custodions out at recess with small chikdren.only a few reports of attempted attacks have surfaced-- one golf player had to fend off a coupal with a club.the city hired a full time trapper & said to shoot them while in the trap. one lady told me he got 6 yotes the 1st week in her area.
dennis
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That is quite telling. I've read of a plan approved by the Travis Co. Commissioners Court and fronted by Travis Co. extension director Jeff Ripley in November 2004 to have a biologist euthanize trapped coyotes. It looked pretty doomed from the start. As Gary McEwen, district supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services agency said, both urban and suburban dwellers often confuse foxes with coyotes, so there's the potential for a lot of hoax sightings there. He went on to say that people even confuse some breeds of dogs with coyotes. Even Council Member Brewster McCracken, an instrument in putting the plan together didn't come across as especially optimistic from where he lives in Northwest Austin. As he said, “They're just doing what coyotes do”. County Judge Sam Biscoe just seemed happy to be seen to be doing something but took some comfort in knowing “that it will be a biologist, not just a person with a pistol”. The real problem, and one they all seem well aware of is that it is a consequence of urban sprawl and people feeding them -

After all, while most human-coyote rivalries emerge when urban sprawl plops spankin' new homes in coyotes' existing territory, coyotes have only recently shown up in Highland Hills. Therefore, people have clearly given the coyotes a reason to move into their neighborhoods. "The sprawl issue is a cause of coyote attacks on the urban fringe, but here they've actually moved into an area fairly central to the city, and almost certainly because of the available food supply," Council Member Brewster McCracken

Far and away the most interesting thing is the following prediction -

"When you randomly kill coyotes, you encourage coyotes to mate at a younger age, and increase the number of litters," she said. "So lethal control might look productive at first, but then in the long run you have more coyote litters."

From what you say about the current state it sounds very much like that prediction is bearing fruit.

There is of course an alternate explanation and that is coyote numbers naturally ebb and flow the same as with the fox population, and on the whole no environmental management is required. What is required is for people to learn not to feed them, especially if you're going to plonk your house down right where they live. For example; between February and June 2005 the severity of coyote behaviour, as measured on a 7 point scale, halved from 2.8 to 1.4. - [Texas University System Agricultural Program]. Could it be that with a big push people learned how to behave for a bit and then in time went back to their old slovenly habits? As I see it at the moment that's the problem right there, and you can't circumvent the ignorance by killing if you want a good long term solution.
 
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I don't have any statistical data to back this up, but having just returned from a drive from CA to WY and back (An annual elk hunting trip), I saw more coyotes (At least 8)driving across Nevada than I have ever seen before. I would speculate that their numbers are on the rise in Nevada. As for Northern California, their population is as strong as ever. I see them weekly around my place and shoot any that are around my house. I've seen them chase my black lab and I have young children so I have no hesitation in putting them down.
 
I dealt with this question earlier this summer when deciding on where I'd take my 11yo son for one of our overnighters. Many of you might remember the killing of a female hiker last year fairly close to where I live and another attack sometime after that in the same region. The coyotes around my region are believed to be a coyote/wolf hybrid and are somewhat larger than the western species from what I've read. As result, I decided to avoid placing myself and my son in a hiking area known to have fairly regular sightings. Instead, I chose to take my son on a true seakayaking adventure to a couple islands off the coast. I'd prefer to keep his outdoor experiences challenging, but positive.
 
It really all depends are where you are, and how many coyote there are in relation to how many can be supported by the area. Around the Birmingham, Alabama area, there are two to three areas well inside the developed Birmingham area - not necessarily inside the Birmingham city limits - that are having terrible problems with coyotes. In most cases, they are kept as quiet as possible, to keep from creating panic and unnecessary night hunting from whomever thinks they can help out. Most neighborhood associations will let you know, though, if you ask, about the problem. In one specific area, the coyote are listed as being level 4, on a scale of 1 to 5, and 5 being a threat to humans. There are game cams showing coyote kill deer and drag them through back yards, etc. The people in the neighborhoods are asked to walk their pets on a different path, each time they walk them, so as not to establish a pattern for the coyotes to learn. It is to the point the neighborhood association has had the state wildlife department suggest letting members of the neighborhood thin the coyote herd significantly.

Anyhow, if you call and specifically ask about a certain area, ahead of time, you will learn if you need to be careful, or if things are OK. Just do not expect the news to be plastered all over, if coyotes have become a problem, as it would bring about something potentially more dangerous, a bunch of folks from all over, with no knowledge of the area and with seemingly good intentions firing rounds at every canine looking animal roaming at night.
 
I live in the Birmingham area (Clay) and if a Coyote population could help with our epidemic of cats and free-roaming dogs then I could tolerate a few.
 
Take a ride to the Vestavia Hills area, in some of the older areas near where Richard Scrushy lived, and you just might find some folks willing to let you trap some......but be warned, you may not like what they eventually turn your area into.....
 
Wow! I never expected this much interest. Obviously there are situations that aren't getting the attention they deserve. Especially in the SW US, you're the guys I wanted to hear from. Most of this addresses the problem of coyote population, or maybe over-population in an urban or suburban area. In my original post, I was looking for input to help decide if the risk to a hiker/ camper (myself and maybe my 9 yo son) is greater when the coyotes are working(hunting) at night in a pack (sounded like more then 6 for sure). If they are just after deer, rabbits, and household pets, I understand the problem that creates. But, it's not what I'm concerned about. On the topic of protection and defense, I'm nearly 50yo and I've been camping and backpacking most of my life (NY and New England) I keep my camp clean, and my food hung. Also I have the advantage of being one of a relative few to be able to legally carry a pistol in NYS. I would never abuse the right, would never give it up, either.
 
Plenty of Yote's in my area to ! Just not enough people hunting these Dogs ! Now they are over populating !
 
How big are coyotes around the country? Around here 30lbs is about as big as they get, and some ranchers have dogs capable of running down and killing coyotes on site.
 
Coyote's, even those with degrees in physics, must be beated(sic) with sticks; preferably large, heavy, sharp, pointed sticks - coyotes are slow and slovenly, so you just run them down and beat them profusely about the head and shoulders until they either A: run away, B: just laugh at you, or C: pull out a machete and say 'Come on!'...

Or, you can be a little more realistic and ignore the furry little buggers until it comes time to ventilate one with a .22 as conditions (and desire) permit... ;)

WTF?
 
I wouldn't let coyotes stop me from going with my kids.If you're looking for a weapon Cabelas sells bear spray for about $40 a canister(it's pretty big) if you don't want to take a gun.
 
Maine1 said:
isn't that why they make handguns? We have too many coyotes to begin with.
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AMEN, in California they are considered varmits and I would not hesitate to shoot one wandering into my camp (sorry to all the pita people). I usually find though when I camp no larger animals come anywhere near me because of the gun fire. I camp maybe 10 miles from Yosemite which is highly populated with bears, never seen so much as a track near my camp and I leave all sorts of food out. I just find they are smart enough to stay away from the shooting.
 
silverbullets said:
I camp maybe 10 miles from Yosemite which is highly populated with bears, never seen so much as a track near my camp and I leave all sorts of food out. I just find they are smart enough to stay away from the shooting.
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I believe this is commonly referred to as "Luck".
 
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