Coyote Information w/Links
Coyote Awareness Program Started in Pinellas County, FL
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http://www.pinellascounty.org/animalservices/coyotes/index.html
''I was doing more research today regarding coyotes and came across your website. There is a power point presentation I have made and we are going around to the various municipalities in our county and performing Coyote Forums and educating our citizens. So far, this has been well received. Pinellas County is the most densely populated counties in Florida and Coyotes are certainly among us! ''
Sincerely,
Greg Andrews, Operations Mgr., CPM
Pinellas County Animal Services
Recent Article In The Tennessean About Coyotes
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Alabama News Report on Coyotes
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Feb 10, 2011
Coyote Nips Woman
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Feb 10, 2011
In Canada, a coyote nipped at a woman, lunged at preschooler
****NY TIMES ARTICLE ON COYOTES****
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Rabies Found In NY Coyote After Attacks On Humans
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FRANKLIN, TN TRYING TO CAPTURE COYOTES
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Sept 12, 2010
Franklin city crews this past week set out an 11-foot-long steel cage in hopes of trapping up to three coyotes said to be menacing visitors to the Eastern Flank Battle of Franklin Park. "No one should feel threatened by wild animals when using a local park," said Lisa Clayton, city parks director. "The city is working to humanely remove the coyotes in this park."
WSMV News Channel 4 Report On Coyotes
Coyote Problems-Memphis, TN
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Animal experts say coyotes could be killing Midtown cats
Jul 08, 2010
MEMPHIS, TN - A number of cats in the Central Gardens area have been brutally attacked and killed in the past several days. Pet owners said a pack of wild dogs is on the loose, but animal experts said the attacks could be coyotes.
Last week, Jim Bailey interrupted a pack of wild dogs attacking a neighborhood cat outside his home in Central Gardens.
"We went over and looked at the cat and it was still alive, but just barely," Bailey said. "It lived for about five minutes and died."
Kim Williams' cat, Mean Kitty, was also attacked and killed this week. Williams said Mean Kitty's attacker looked like a coyote.
"They were just scrawny, hyena-looking ... scary things," Williams said.
A Bartlett resident photographed a coyote last month. Memphis Animal Control said the animals are more common in urban settings than people might think.
Central Gardens resident Leigh Martin said neighbors are on high alert.
"They've been trying to sent a lot of e-mails," Martin said. "Just to let people know if they have cats that they let out."
Animal Services Administrator Matthew Pepper said his division only deals with domestic animals that are a problem. Pepper said he will work with state wildlife officials to see if they can work together to address the problem.
Coyotes are nocturnal and opportunistic in search of food, shelter and water. Experts advised to not present them an opportunity to enter a house.
Whether the animals killing the cats are dogs or coyotes, the safety rules are the same. Do not leave pet food or water outside, keep your trash can tightly shut and do not leave animals outside alone at night.
Recent Coyote Attacks In NY & CA
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June ' 2010
RYE, N.Y. –
Police say a 6-year-old girl was scratched and bitten by a pair of coyotes who charged her as she played with friends in the front yard of her suburban New York City home.
The girl was treated and released from the hospital. She had bites on her shoulder, thigh and possibly on one ear. Her back had been scratched.
Police in the Westchester County city of Rye, about 30 miles northeast of Manhattan, said Saturday that they were searching for the coyotes.
Police Commissioner William Connors says they believe the animals may be rabid, given that coyotes rarely attack humans.
Connors didn't identify the girl or say where she lived. He says the girl's mother scared off the pair of coyotes.
The attack happened about 9:15 p.m
June ' 2010
NY girl attacked by coyote in 2nd strike in 4 days
RYE, N.Y. — A coyote has attacked a 3-year-old girl playing in her backyard in suburban New York, the second coyote attack on a child in the same suburb within four days.
Rye Mayor Doug French says the 3-year-old was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after the Tuesday night attack. The girl's house is behind the Rye Nature Center, which is located on a 47-acre wildlife preserve.
The latest attack occurred as Rye Police Commissioner William Connors was addressing a group of residents about the last coyote attack.
On Friday, two coyotes attacked a 6-year-old girl in her front yard. She was treated for scratches and bites at a hospital and released.
The two attacks happened about 1.5 miles apart.
June , 2010
SAN DIEGO, CA
(Spring Valley) – A coyote attacked a 12-year-old girl shortly before 9:30 this evening at 9119 Jamacha Road in Spring Valley, just one block from the Spring Valley Library and La Presa Middle School, Heartland Dispatch and the San Diego Sheriff's office have confirmed.
“Our report indicates the coyote jumped on her and she fell back and injured her elbow, but was not bitten,” Lt. Washington at the San Diego Sheriff’s department informed East County Magazine.
In an interview with Channel 10 News, Alyssa Blackman said she was walking in the courtyard her her apartment complex when she heard something behind her. She turned around and the coyote jumped onto her, ripping the front of her shirt, which she showed on camera. "It looked like he was about to bite me so I kicked it in the stomach and it just left," she said.
Her mother confirmed that she heard the girl "screaming, crying hysterically." The victim said she had seen a coyote in the apartment complex previously, just one day before, and that she was certain the animal that attacked her was a coyote, not a dog.
Locally, some homeowners have recently cited concerns over aggressive coyote behavior.
“My nine-year-old daughter was chased a few months ago while riding her horse on the trail,” Cate Sacks, who lives near Lake Jennings, told East County Magazine. “My son is a triathlon kid and so runs and bikes the hills…I worry every day that he might meet a hungry, confused coyote.” Sacks, who runs a dog shelter, said the coyotes in her area are “no longer small, scared animals…They are large, bold predators.”
Sacks blames the problem on an imbalance in nature, adding that she has not seen a mountain lion in her area. California began issuing hunting permits for mountain lions in 1990. Increasing residential development in backcountry areas has also increased contact between humans and coyotes in our region.
In nearby Jamul and Blossom Valley, there have been a string of particularly aggressive coyote attacks recently on large animals. “My dogs were attacked by coyotes,” which is pretty surprising considering they’re 80-90 pounds each,” Susan Wedge advised neighbors in the Blossom Valley Network, an online community forum on June 12th. While reports of coyotes jumping fences taller than five or six feet are rare, Wedge said the coyotes jumped a six-foot-fence at her home on Broad Oaks by El Capitan Real, and injured her dogs, biting their hind legs. “We’ve had large dogs in our yard for six years without incident,” she said.
Lori Signs, another Blossom Valley resident, said her Jack Russell terrier was attacked at 8:30 in the morning recently, also on Broad Oaks. “I threw my arms in the air, screamed at the top of my lungs and charged at the coyote, while my dog was viciously fighting the coyote back for his life,” she said. The coyote dropped her dog, which survived. A few weeks earlier, however, Signs said she witnessed a coyote walking down Quail Canyon carrying a small dog dead in its mouth. “Please keep an eye on your dogs,” she warned. “They need your protection. These coyotes have no fear.”
Parents in areas frequented by coyotes should also keep an eye on children and avoid allowing young children to play unsupervised, even in fenced yards. Adults who walk or jog alone should exercise caution and consider bringing a friend. If you are approached by coyotes, making loud noises and waving your arms may frighten them off, as can throwing objects such as rocks if you are threatened. Carrying a walking stick, cane, air horn or whistle can also serve as a deterrent.
Minnestota- Coyotes Losing Fear Of Humans
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June, 2010
A sharp rise in the number of coyotes roaming the Twin Cities metro has some residents worried because the wild animals feed on small mammals, including pets.
Sitting at his computer screen John Ritter clicks through half a dozen vivid photographs.
"One came from up here and the other one came from behind, so she was being circled by coyotes," Ritter explained.
His daughter Shauna recently took the family labs for a walk behind Simley High School where the ball fields adjoin nearby woods and a pond. The area has walking trails that are popular with local pet owners.
Besides the dogs she also took along a camera to capture what is becoming an all too common sight -- a pair of coyotes roaming the neighborhood.
"The location of these particular (coyotes) is not good. ... Unfortunately (what we observed) came too late," said Ritter.
He is feeling badly because he was unable to warn other dog walkers about his daughter's coyote encounter.
Sandy Klimas lives just down the street and has used the same trails to walk the family's dog, but she says, you don't have to go far to see the wild critters in search of a meal.
"We had 'em right across the street," said Klimas.
It was an encounter Monday night that has Sandy and her family mourning the loss of the family pet. That's when 4-year-old "Chico" was snatched and killed by a coyote along the trails just behind the high school.
"My husband heard a fight and then silence and then another scuffle then silence. (He) found him (Chico) about an hour-and-a-half later -- kept combing the woods and he finally found him," she said.
With plenty of woods and waters throughout the metro, coyotes are finding the perfect habitat in which to survive and thrive.
Because coyotes are unprotected by state law, problem animals can be killed by landowners or local police. The problem is that strict firearms and archery ordinances prohibit the discharge of the weapons in metro communities.
If problem animals need to be dispatched, it is up to local police and animal control to do the job, but for officers to spend the required time waiting for the coyotes to appear can be cost prohibitive.
The Department of Natural Resources said controlling coyotes is up to local jurisdictions.
The DNR's Steve Merchant urges caution, saying, "They're going to have to be careful of local ordinances that would prevent them from using traps or firearms."
But for the Klimas family, any chance of that happening came too late.
"They're not afraid. They are not afraid of humans, so it's tough," said Klimas.
The Minnesota DNR says to avoid problems with coyotes, people should make sure garbage containers are secure and get rid of bird feeders that might attract wild animals.
Pets should be kept in kennels and always supervised when outside. To scare off a coyote, shout at it and make loud noises.
Finally, don't feed coyotes or leave pet food outside.
Canada- Feeding Coyotes Encourages Attacks
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A five-year-old Vernon girl was attacked by a coyote while on an evening stroll with her family.
The family, a mother and her two daughters, were walking with their puppy in a greenbelt area near Alexis Park Drive when they saw the animal Monday.
Conservation officer Josh Lockwood said the family reacted just as they should have: The mother scooped up the dog into her arms and they walked away from the coyote.
“But the coyote was fixated on the dog and I think when the little girl turned her back to walk away, the coyote reached out and snapped at the back of her leg,” Lockwood said.
The five-year-old screamed and the coyote bolted.
“The girl suffered minor puncture wounds on both sides of her calf,” Lockwood said, adding that she was treated in hospital and released Tuesday.
The animal was not found by Tuesday afternoon, despite an extensive search.
An estimated 2,000 to 3,0000 coyotes live in the Lower Mainland, and they are a common sight in Vernon.
Coyote attacks on humans are very rare in B.C. There have been four instances of attacks in the past 15 years and seven attacks in B.C. since 2006.
“You have some individuals at nearby schools . . . they think it’s cute to feed coyotes out of their hands and so the coyotes become very used to humans,” Lockwood said.
“That’s what happens when you have a rural-urban interface.”
Michigan family loses cat to a coyote- touching letter
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SooToday.com received the following letter today from loyal reader Curtis Vanderloo, whose girlfriend Debbie Rathbone and her children are grieving the sudden and savage loss last night of a beloved 18-year-old cat.
They witnessed their longtime pet being carried off by a coyote on Atwater Street.
The upset pet owner found it too difficult to convey her own thoughts, so she got Vanderloo to write this letter.
*************************
What if?
That is the question we ask ourselves after any tragedy.
What if I had done this?
What if I had done that?
What if I was one second sooner?
What if...
He was kind. He was gentle. He was caring.
What if they had replaced the missing section of fence [shown above]?
He was adventurous. He was cautious. He was experienced.
What if they didn't let him be the natural explorer he was?
He was still young. He was still excited. He was still wishful.
What if someone cared that he died last night?
He was 18. He was like her first child. He was her little Peanut.
The humane society said: "Call the MNR, we don't deal with that" and "You shouldn't let your cat out."
The MNR said: "Call a trapper, we don't deal with that" and "Coyotes are protected."
What they didn't deal with was the screaming cry that woke us up.
Our good-natured cat, sitting on our porch, enjoying the nice weather like he usually does, was cornered by a coyote.
He fought a tremendous fight and screamed with an unnatural sound.
What they didn't deal with was him running down the stairs, still half asleep, still just in his boxers as he tried to race out to save the cat.
The cat pushed the coyote to the ditch and used his 18 years of experience to claw and bite for his life.
What they didn't deal with was her running to the window only to watch her 20-pound cat get carried off by its neck.
The cat was still alive as he got carried off down the road.
What they didn't deal with was him running down the street in the middle of the night only to see a paralyzed cat in the ditch.
The coyote bounded off through the hole in the fence.
What they didn't deal with was him running back to get his truck keys, all the while watching over his shoulder to make sure the coyote didn't come back.
Poor Peanut laying there, scared, wondering why he wasn't able to just enjoy a nice night out on his porch.
What they didn't deal was him consoling her, for just a second as she came out of the house and he went in.
In that 30-second gap, the coyote came back and took off with her cat.
What they didn't deal with was them searching the area, hoping for a glimpse of that poor cat. They didn't deal with not sleeping the rest of the night, because all they heard was the cat that wasn't at the door. They didn't deal with having to tell their little girls, that the cat they had known for the last eight and 12 years of their lives was no longer with them.
You say, it was only a cat.
We say, what if it were your dog?
We say, if a couple of coyotes can kill a cow, what if they go after your children?
We say, who deals with that?
If you live on Atwater Street or nearby, protect your cats, protect your dogs, protect your children... because apparently nobody deals with that.
Coyote Concerns Escalate in Canada
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How To Co-Exist With Coyotes
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A forum on coyotes was recently held in Danvers, Mass.,. Very informative!
Family Dog Killed By Coyote in Creive Hall area
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April 16, 2010
http://www.wkrn.com/Global/story.asp?S=12328005
PSA on coyote awareness for Nashvillians is now up on YouTube
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COYOTES IN MEMPHIS
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Please note: While we do not advocate the use of hunting or trapping unless needed in an extreme situation, we found this article relevant in regards to the exploding population of coyotes in Tennessee.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/feb/28/coyotes-growing-numbers-perfect-time-hunt-pesky-pr/
Coyotes in Chattanooga
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WSMV runs story about www.nashvillecoyotes.com
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One year ago
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It has now been one year since my 9 year old cat was taken by a coyote. I do believe that everything happens for a reason, although we may not understand what that reason is immediately.
I have spent the past year attempting to spread awareness about the increasing coyote population in the Nashville area. I’ve encountered a few people who may have misunderstood my intentions by assuming I was on a mission to reduce the coyote population. I have the utmost respect for the coyote and his tenacity to survive. I am in awe each time I see one of these wild animals in our city.
The issues with coyotes are when they encroach onto our properties and this can be a potential problem. Our pets have been attacked, have gone missing and some have been found dead. In some states, albeit rare, coyotes have attacked people. There was a recent death in late 2009, due to coyotes in Nova Scotia.
What this means is that we need to be more proactive at attempting to keep the coyotes at a greater distance. We need to make our cities less hospitable to the coyote and this starts at home. Mulch piles, bird feeders and open garbage cans are just a few inviting factors.
Please check out the website for tips in preventing coyote altercations and learning how to live with coyotes.
