Coyote pack attacks suburban pets

[JRLeft]

September 21, 2012 (WHEATON, Ill.) (WLS) -- A pack of coyotes attacked a couple of suburban pets, leaving one dog injured and another missing.

Twelve-year-old Jake, a silky terrier is comforted by his owner Sue Reid who is still unnerved about what happened in her yard Thursday night.

"I saw four coyotes circling Jake and when I yelled they looked up at me and then they looked back at Jake," Reid said. "I just ran."

Eventually, two other coyotes were spotted heading towards the Reid's ¾-acre backyard, off the deck between the trampoline and tree.

In a matter of moments all were gone and the 15-month-old Yorkie, Floyd, the dog brought home as a surprise by 12-year-old Kendall Reid, was gone.

"We looked in every direction that the coyotes ran, I looked. I came back in to check on Jake and noticed he was bleeding pretty good, so I grabbed him up and took him with me, and we searched for a little bit longer," Sue Reid said.

The Reids moved here from Colorado seven years ago. There's a sense in their loss that more needs to be done to control coyotes.

"What if that was a child?" Reid said.

Husband Steve Reid is a bit more circumspect about how nature sometimes works, but Friday night, a little girl just wanted her dog back.

Video at the link: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8820482

The Coyotes ate the small dog.

[left on green only]

1. I think it's a sign that............

....the coyotes were hungry because humans have taken away too much of their territory that they need for their survival. I am sure that if they had their druthers, they would stay as far away as they can from our "civilization".

[JRLeft]

2. That and the Coyote population explosion.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. In Illinois?

You might want to read up on them before you make such statements.

I have coyotes and cougars come through my property regularly based on the tracks I see. One needs to learn to respect them

[JRLeft]

4. Humans have built on their hunting grounds.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

5. You might want to check on coyotes a bit more before you make that claim

Coyotes were mostly a western scavenger. They have increased in quantity and range due to human beings. Their numbers are increasing. Has nothing to do with encroachment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote says

Unlike the wolf, the coyote's range has expanded in the wake of human civilization, and coyotes readily reproduce in metropolitan areas
.
.
.
Despite being extensively hunted, the coyote is one of the few medium- to large-sized animals that has enlarged its range since human encroachment began. It originally ranged primarily in the western half of North America, but it has adapted readily to the changes caused by human presence and, since the early 19th century, has been steadily and dramatically extending its range.[57] Sightings now commonly occur in a majority of the United States and Canada.[58] Coyotes inhabit nearly every contiguous U.S. state and Alaska. They have moved into most of the areas of North America formerly occupied by wolves, and are often observed foraging in suburban garbage bins.

Coyotes thrive in suburban settings and even some urban ones. A study by wildlife ecologists at Ohio State University yielded some surprising findings in this regard. Researchers studied coyote populations in Chicago over a seven-year period (2000–2007), proposing that coyotes have adapted well to living in densely populated urban environments while avoiding contact with humans. They found, among other things, that urban coyotes tend to live longer than their rural counterparts, kill rodents and small pets, and live anywhere from parks to industrial areas. The researchers estimate there are up to 2,000 coyotes living in "the greater Chicago area" and that this circumstance may well apply to many other urban landscapes in North America.[59] In Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, coyotes den and raise their young, scavenge roadkill, and hunt rodents. "I don't see it as a bad thing for a park," the assigned National Park Service biologist told a reporter for Smithsonian Magazine (March 2006). "I see it as good for keeping animal populations in control, like the squirrels and the mice."

There are numerous other sources that confirm this.

[fasttense]

19. Coyotes have moved into areas where wolves once roamed.

The wolves competed for the same food and kept the coyote populations in check. But now most of the wolves are gone and the niche is being filled by coyotes. If you kill all the coyotes, something else will move in to fill that predator niche, maybe mountain lions, bob cats, cougars or wild dogs.

I don't feel sorry for these country club homeowners. We live in a rural area and not only do coyotes hunt our pets, they hunt and kill our chickens and lambs. But we fight back by keeping guard dogs and locking up animals at night.

But if it wasn't the coyotes, it would just be something else.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

20. My neighborhood cats are cougars and the local dogs coyotes

I live in the SoCal desert and back up to government land.

I have previously posted about people illegally camping on my property and losing their dogs to them. Most city/suburb folk just don't understand.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. Actually they are thriving and expanding

See the post #5

[slackmaster]

15. A few years ago I saw THREE adult coyotes walking along a hillside near my house in daylight

I live in a suburban neighborhood in San Diego, far from real open space but connected to wilderness by canyons and storm drains. The three healthy-looking adults I saw that day were within 200 yards of my back yard. You do NOT leave pets outside at night here, unless they are confined to a fenced yard. (i.e. you absolutely don't let cats out at night because fences don't work on them.)

My dad grew up on a farm in the mountains in our back country. He hunted for food and pest control from early childhood. He told me that in all the years he lived out there, he never saw a coyote. He heard them often, but they were so stealthy and shy of humans that they were sighted only rarely.

The suburban coyotes are bold. I have no doubt that their number has grown during my lifetime.

BTW, in spite of my dad never having seen a coyote in the wild, I have several times in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I've seen as many as seven at a time during daylight.

[bitchkitty]

8. It's definitely a sign.

It's a sign that a stupid person shouldn't have animals. Why were these two SMALL animals left unattended, at night? I'm assuming the yard was not fenced, since the article says nothing about the coyotes coming into a fenced yard.

It pisses me off when I see my neighbors shove their cat out the door and close it. I know, from experience, that cat is not long for this world. But I'd rather see it provide dinner for a coyote than end up mashed flat by a car, because its owner is a shithead.

From the article:

What if that was a child? Reid said.

If it had been a child, hopefully you'd be in jail for child neglect and endangerment, asshole.

[left on green only]

11. So well said!!! And with such clarity as well.

I live along the southern rim of Yosemite and I can easily attest to the premise that people have a moral obligation to act in a responsible manner towards providing for the protection and safety of their pets. Coyotes, foxes, mountain lions, racoons, possum and bear are the common inhabitants who share the area here with humans; as well as hawks, raven and eagles - from the air. They all pose a threat to the pets that live here (as do the rednecks who think it is great 'sport' to run over pets with their pick-up trucks).

As far as the wild animals go, I figure that their ancestors have been here for a lot longer than mine have, so therefore they have the right of way. But the same thing is also true to a lesser extent in urban areas where automobiles, other pets, the elements and some people who do not appreciate the pets of others can easily take the life of a defenseless pet, if that pet is not responsibly protected by its' caregiver.

My pet rabbits live safely inside the house with me and they are a part of the family. They all use their litter box and they understand the difference between approved chewing surfaces and not approved chewing surfaces - most of the time.

I am also the caregiver to the horses on a ranch here that is owned by a responsible person. I close the barn up every night as I am leaving, and all of the paddock fences contain electric wires to keep out anything from the forest that may threaten the horses. Before I leave every night, I check to see that the current is still flowing through the wires. But there are still things that can happen.

One day as I was graze walking one of the horses outside of the barn, a frightening event occurred. I always walk them wearing only a rope bridal, although usually even that is only necessary for safety, because the horses have great affection for me, as well as implicit trust. A lot of the time I just let the rope dangle because they will usually hang pretty close to me on their own.........except when their survival instincts take over.

Unbeknownst to me, there was a bear lurking out in the forest. But the horse picked up on the scent right away. Thankfully, it was one of those times when I was holding the rope. I remember seeing his nostrils flare, and then he reared up on his hind legs and whinnied as a signal to the other horses, before starting to bolt. Robin, the horses owner, had told me that if any one of her horses ever bolted, I should just let go of the rope and let them go, because if I tried to hold them, they would with great ease pull my arms right out of the sockets.

But when the moment to let go actually came, I found that doing so for me was harder than I imagined. I loved those horses and I could not bring myself to endanger their lives. So I held on as I began to soothe talk him down. When he came down after the first rear-up, I continued to soothe him with my voice as I reached up and put my arms around his neck (I am thankfully a very tall man). It worked! I then ran back towards the barn with him along side of me. I put him back in his stall, and then looked down to see both of my arms lying on the floor (just kidding - but they did hurt really bad for a few days after that).

[bitchkitty]

17. Bless you for caring!

I've been deeply terrified of bears all my life, it's ridiculous because I've never been within 100 yards of one. I probably would have peed myself and then died on the spot. Glad you kept your head!

Sounds like you live in a kind of paradise for animal lovers! I actually live in a city (Salem) but we still have coyotes. I see them early in the morning leaving the river park, where they go at night to rifle the garbage and eat irresponsible pet owners' cats.

[JRLeft]

18. Cats have no chance because Coyotes can out run them.

[left on green only]

21. Too bad the coyotes don't just eat the irresponsible pet owners, period. (without the 's cats)

I felt badly after reading your post above, because I was concerned that I might have given you the impression that I am Indiana Jones, or something. No such thing. I never even saw the bear who was lurking out in the forest. I just realized that it had to be a bear because of the way that the horses reacted.

I have rehearsed many times in my head what I am going to do if ever I am confronted by one of them (stand up straight and tall as I can, and then begin to wave my arms in a big circle and make noise, in effort to frighten them away), but I have never had to see if I actually have the fortitude to do that, when push comes to shove.

Late one afternoon I drove to the ranch for the evening feeding. The owner travels a lot, so during those times it is not unusual for me to be the only person at the ranch. In the mornings, after the horse's breakfast (and weather permitting), I walk each of the horses out to their 2.5 acre pasture to spend the day (bears are nocturnal, so the main danger from them is only supposed to be during darkness).

As I walked over to the pasture gate I could see that out in the middle of the pasture, by the water trough, there was a strange object lying on the ground. When I went out to investigate, I found that a fawn had just been slaughtered. I could tell that it had to have been the prey of a mountain lion, so immediately I went into my protective mode. But the horses seemed to be un-phased by what had just happened.

First I brought them back into the barn and fed them. Then I went into an empty stall and I retrieved a couple of 1000 candle power stationary lights and a bunch of electrical extension cords. I strategically placed the lights outside of the barn and I turned them on, along with the normal barn lights. It was so bright out there, I swear you could have read a novel. Then I found an ax handle and I brought it with me inside one of the empty stalls, where I spent one of the most uncomfortable nights of my life. If anyone ever tells you that it is romantic to sleep on straw, don't believe them. LOL.

The night was totally uneventful. Not one blip! By the next morning, my paranoia had subsided somewhat, and the following night I decided to just turn on all of the lights and go home and sleep in my own bed. I continued in that mode until the owner's return.

Days later, upon hearing the story of what had happened, she told me that I didn't need to do all of that because mountain lions don't usually attack horses. They are too large for them (at least according to her they are). But I have to say, evidently the horses agree with her.

[KurtNYC]

7. My heart goes out to this little girl who lost her dog

but as a side note, no one should bring home a dog as a "surprise" or give one as a gift. Having a dog is a commitment. More than 5 million dogs are put down in the USA every year so perhaps more of us need to be more realistic about what it takes to create a forever home for these loving and loyal creatures.

[JRLeft]

9. Coyote sightings are normal now, you can find them in

SF, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, and New York. Coyotes have migrated as far as North Carolina. They are not native to North Carolina.

[RebelOne]

10. You can also find them in the Atlanta area.

There have been numerous reports of dogs and cats attacked or missing because of coyotes.

[slackmaster]

16. They're common here in San Diego.

About 10 years ago a little girl was bitten by one. She and her sisters had been FEEDING a mother coyote with a litter of pups.

It was the girls' mother's idea.

[MrScorpio]

12. We have them in Michigan too, I've seen one with my own eyes here. nt

[JRLeft]

13. They use to eat all of the cats and small dogs near my old job.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

14. Being Coyote Wise...