Coyotes attack

[bogolove]

Someone told me this story today, though I have not been able to research it, he had asked me if I heard about it. This lady was walking her dog this morning around here around Edmondson Pike. It was a Welsh Corgi. She let him off leash to run around in this field where she always does every morning and all of the sudden three coytoes appeared from the bushes and went after the dog. I asked if the dog was ok, or what happened, and he said the dog was completely fine. He said that dog fought back and scared all three of those coyotes off. I was relieved to hear the dog was fine, because I was really worried, as he is not a big dog.

 

[becca_4321]

Coyotes are getting brave, I know that. LIke I've said before, there is a den just in the group of trees off the field behind us. Some nights they are very noisey. Real freaky when it sounds like the hole pack running acrossed the field. I rarely seen any out in the day time, always in the evening, and thru the night.
Sure glad that dog got away from them.

 

[Gustav]

I have no idea about Coyotes we don't have them in Europe!!

 

[Renee750il]

It's more likely that the fact that there was a human close by scared them off. Coyotes hunt in packs, and I'm not willing to even take a chance on Bimmer getting caught out by a couple of them, let alone a little Corgi! Three coyotes would have easily finished of a little dog like that - or a much bigger dog.

Just another good reason not to let dogs roam off leash, especially alone. Early morning and after dusk are the worst times.

 

[EliNHunter]

Good job for that brave little Corgi! My sister used to live way out in the country and you could always hear packs of coyotes roaming through the area. Then the packs started a new gig and one would lure out a female country dog who was in heat. Once the dog was out away from the house, a bunch of others would move in and circle it and they'd go in for the attack to kill the poor dog. It was AWFUL! She had two sweet golden retrievers at the time and we were terrified about it...

ETA: HER dogs weren't ever attacked or anything...

 

[blue]

There packs of coyotes about 60 miles south of here I havent heard of any being in my area, but that dosent mean much. Ive never heard anything on the news of coyote attacks.

 

[Renee750il]

If you have wolves around coyotes tend to stay away. The wolves will kill coyotes if they trespass much in wolf territory.

 

[CreatureTeacher]

That doesn't surprise me much. I've been circled by some coyotes in my time in Colorado. They aren't stupid, and corgis can be nasty little dogs when they think they need to. A well-fed coyote might reconsider going for a healthy dog that was willing to hurt him. A good meal, but not worth the fight! They may have decided that, with plenty of bunnies around to eat, they didn't need to nurse a dog bite to get dinner.

 

[Renee750il]

The packs around here will take on a Lab or even a Rottie. They're losing their fear of humans and are also interbreeding with feral dogs, making them much more dangerous than they used to be. A guy at a neighboring farm had a Rottie that slept outside at night in a kennel until he noticed his Rottie acting funny when he let him out in the morning and saw that the kennel fencing was bent in places. He stayed up to watch one night and a pack of three coyotes was trying to pull the pen open to get to the dog. His dog is now and indoor dog and they've moved away.

 

[CreatureTeacher]

Holy moly, Renee! We've found carcasses while exploring habitat fragments in the city for Seth's PhD project, but nothing nearly as big as a rottie! Poor dog. I hope he's recovered!

 

[Renee750il]

Emma, I've seen coyote carcasses on the side of the road that had to weigh at least 70 pounds - or more. There's a licensed coyote hunter who has our sector here who says he's brought in some that were as big as a large German Shepherd. Their adaptation to our habitats hasn't been just mental - it's also been physical.

I just can't stress enough that these are not the creatures you've seen on nature programs, filmed out in the wilderness. These are highly adaptable and crafty predators that are quickly becoming suburban super-predators.

 

[CreatureTeacher]

I meant dog, cat, fox, and antelope carcasses. I know how big those coyotes can get! I've been right in the middle of their hunting parties, scared to death and trying not to look like food! But bless them if they can live off of human society. I admire squirrels and crows for that. That may be the only wildlife we have left pretty soon....

I'm kind of an all-around canid nut, but I also love to watch coyotes hunt. My BF's PhD thesis is about prairie dogs living in urban habitats. Several colonies run right through Denver along a canal that they haven't developed basically because they can't. There is a loose pack of coyotes that hunt up and down the canal. They're expert hunters. I've seen them trot in and just pick up two or three prairie dogs before they're even noticed.

 

[Renee750il]

Actually, the coyotes are part of the problem with our diminishing wildlife. Here, they have crowded the wolf out of its natural habitat, and breeding with feral dogs is a real problem.

 

[gaddylovesdogs]

There are quite a few coyotes out here. Sometimes you can hear them at night. My Mom saw one trotting around a neighborhood once, and we've seen them when we brought the girls to the field. I think they've been feasting on the rabbit around here, seeing as we've found quite a bit of bunny fur out in the yard.

 

[AndrewF]

Emma, I've seen coyote carcasses on the side of the road that had to weigh at least 70 pounds - or more. There's a licensed coyote hunter who has our sector here who says he's brought in some that were as big as a large German Shepherd. Their adaptation to our habitats hasn't been just mental - it's also been physical.

I just can't stress enough that these are not the creatures you've seen on nature programs, filmed out in the wilderness. These are highly adaptable and crafty predators that are quickly becoming suburban super-predators.

Coyotes don't grow that big - unless is hybridized with a red (aka algonquin) wolf (Gray wolves are the ones that kill Cyotes). I believe a coyote typically hit's about the 40lb mark - 50 tops....ie, not that big or intimidating. Also, western coyotes seldom form packs. Hybrids, however will follow a wolves pack-mentality.

Regarding the 'super-predator' remark - the hybrids that have moved into central and eastern Canada/US are at the very least showing the superior size of the wolf mix and retaining every last ounce of cunning coyotes are famous for.

 

[CreatureTeacher]

It's pretty intimidating that they're interbreeding with feral dogs, Renee. That's definitely a problem.

The coyotes living in the middle of Denver don't have much choice as to cooperative hunting. Near as we can tell, between four and six of them are trapped in this canal corridor, and if they were all running back and forth avoiding each other they'd never catch any prey. They'd be stepping on each other's predatory toes. We frequently see them alone, but it's not unusual for three of them to pass by and race across the golf course on their way to the east side.

 

[Renee750il]

The guy that I was telling you about, the hunter, has located four dens just on the perimeter of the little 60+ acre farm here, and several more on farther into the woods. They trot through the neighboring farm in broad daylight sometimes. The reason they're not actual ON our farm? Charley's had rather large, territorial dogs for years. He brought Joe home, probably 25 years ago or so, back before anyone had ever seen a Bull Mastiff in east Tennessee.

Game is very plentiful here, and it's allowing the predators to grow larger and, except for our dogs here, they have no natural enemies.

The coyotes are a big reason we have Filas instead of some other herding breed. You gotta figure, for a dog that's bred to hunt jaguar and wild boar as well as herd, coyotes are pretty much a day at the park . . .

 

[blue]

The coyotes Ive seen are allways individuals in the Portage Creek area I like to raft and fish. They never bother us and Im glad to see wildlife in that area, its a none hunt/trap area so the more I see the more Im glad people are following the regs and laws.

Ive seen bear prints in that area but cant tell coyote from wolf prints so from seeing the coyoites they're no wolf packs in that area.

Late summer Ill get picks of the area when the silvers are in thick.

 

[BigDog2191]

I think if Rocky was a year old, or when he's fully grown I think he could hold his own against a LONE Coyote. The vet and his breeder both said he was going to be very big.

I would rather him not take a chance though. I've always been for the method of standing up for yourself, lol. But I don't think it s

But I live in the suburbs, not really any other animals but squirrels, domesticated animals, and the occasional raccoon.

I'm surprised such a small breed of dog scared away three big coyotes. Very brave on the dogs part.

 

[Renee750il]

Yeah, you really don't want to expose Rocky to that kind of thing. Coyotes don't take on a large dog one-on-one. They aren't fighting for territory, or aggression, they're looking for food, and they hunt in packs. Often one will act as a lure to get a dog to follow where the others can ambush.