Coyote Nesting Near Our Property - Concern for Kitties

[Ivan Seeking]

Crud, it looks we have a coyote nesting in the brush next to our property. I saw it this morning as I was walking down to the office. Bad news for our kitties. And right now I don't know where Little Tyke is, but she usually is out this time of the morning.

I was afraid of this. Once the dogs all got old and died, the wildlife started moving in. Already we've had deer nesting this spring, so he may be after them.

I have a neighbor who is a cattle rancher who will hopefully take care of the problem. I almost got a chance to get off a shot but he was probably over 100 yrds away. I can't safely shoot that direction with a rifle and he was out of range for the shotgun. As soon as I approached he took off.

 

[Danger]

You could mine the nest while he's out...

 

[Evo]

Oh No! Please let us know if Little Tyke shows up.

 

[Borek]

Is Little Tyke old enough to carry a gun? Just in case?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh No! Please let us know if Little Tyke shows up.

She is probably fine; otherwise she would have been hanging out of his mouth when he took off.

Borek, I tried to give her a gun but she is one of those bleeding-heart liberals who refuses to use one.

 

[turbo]

Good luck, Ivan. Those guys are pretty wary - that's how come they keep expanding their ranges into well-populated areas. Luckily, red squirrels aren't that bright, so I was able to clean them out of here with a pellet gun. Before I got rid of them, I could tell all my chipmunks apart by their scars - they were getting ripped up pretty badly. A few months after the squirrels were cleared out, the only way I could tell the 'munks apart was by their behavior - this one runs at me, climbs my clothes and searches my pockets for seeds - that one runs to my feet, and waits for me to lower my hands with some seeds in them before she'll climb in and let me pick her up - you get the picture. I just couldn't stand to see them all gashed up over and over again.

 

[Waveform]

Oh well, I'll probably get my *** burned.

You can't fool with Mother nature. If you do you face the consequences.

Sorry.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Tsu just called and said that Little Tyke is asleep on the bed. Whew.

Around here the cattle people keep the predators in check. I called one of the leaders in that group who probably already has someone working on the problem. But this is not good. That was much too close. He or she may be nesting just a few hundred feet away from where I sit.

 

[physics girl phd]

Tsu just called and said that Little Tyke is asleep on the bed.

Keep them all indoors if at all possible. I had one friend in Colorado whose cat got taken (he would have stayed and tried to fight the coyote)... and one friend whose cat was attacked but miraculously survived.

This second kitty was so fat that even though there was a large chunk taken out his side, no vital organs where damaged. The vet did emergency surgery, cleaned the wound... and since the cat was excessively chubby, there was enough skin to pull over and seal the wound. He's now "lopsided" --- with one side still chubby and the other side totally removed from the attack. But man... he's one of those "nicest cats in the world" (the kind that jump right on your lap right away, purr and settle in... then won't leave!).

 

[hypatia]

Thats so scary, let's hope all your pets remain safe.

 

[binzing]

Crud, it looks we have a coyote nesting in the brush next to our property. I saw it this morning as I was walking down to the office. Bad news for our kitties. And right now I don't know where Little Tyke is, but she usually is out this time of the morning.

I was afraid of this. Once the dogs all got old and died, the wildlife started moving in. Already we've had deer nesting this spring, so he may be after them.

I have a neighbor who is a cattle rancher who will hopefully take care of the problem. I almost got a chance to get off a shot but he was probably over 100 yrds away. I can't safely shoot that direction with a rifle and he was out of range for the shotgun. As soon as I approached he took off.

While I recognize the problem at hand, I'd hope that you'd try and run him off before resorting to killing him...

 

[DaveC426913]

Crud, it looks we have a coyote nesting in the brush next to our property. I saw it this morning as I was walking down to the office. Bad news for our kitties. And right now I don't know where Little Tyke is, but she usually is out this time of the morning.

I was afraid of this. Once the dogs all got old and died, the wildlife started moving in. Already we've had deer nesting this spring, so he may be after them.

I have a neighbor who is a cattle rancher who will hopefully take care of the problem. I almost got a chance to get off a shot but he was probably over 100 yrds away. I can't safely shoot that direction with a rifle and he was out of range for the shotgun. As soon as I approached he took off.

You live next to a cattle rancher? I live in the middle of the megametropolis and we've got coyotes in the city parks...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

While I recognize the problem at hand, I'd hope that you'd try and run him off before resorting to killing him...

I kilz em an then I eatz em. Mmmmmm, nothin like coyote an grits.

This is cattle and sheep country. If my dog chases the neighbor's cow, my neighbor has the right to shoot my dog on sight. Coyotes require immediate intervention. As far as I know, they are always shot.

 

[rootX]

As far as I know, they are always shot.

Yet, they are least concern (not extinct)

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.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyotes

 

[Ivan Seeking]

You live next to a cattle rancher? I live in the middle of the megametropolis and we've got coyotes in the city parks...

In the hills around Los Angeles, they have occasional problems with mountain lions in areas where homes were built recently, and during times of drought. That can be a very serious problem. I once heard a mountain lion scream while I was walking through the woods at night, and it's not something that I'd care to hear again.

Are the coyotes any danger to humans? I guess children could be a target?

 

[rootX]

Are the coyotes any danger to humans? I guess children could be a target?

I read somewhere that they don't attack humans unless some people go and feed them. According to wikipedia or some other place I read, they don't look dangerous to adults (>10-15).

 

[DaveC426913]

Are the coyotes any danger to humans? I guess children could be a target?

Occasionally someone walking their http://stamp-search.com/images/ant9405co-small-dogs.jpg" finds themselves holding a leash with no occupant.

Parents with toddlers have been followed.

 

[turbo]

If a coyote attacks a Cairn terrier, my money's on the Scottie.

 

[moose]

At my parents' place, there are coyotes everywhere. I've never had a problem with them. The only times I even pay attention to them are when I'm walking my tiny dog.

 

[DaveC426913]

At my parents' place, there are coyotes everywhere. I've never had a problem with them. The only times I even pay attention to them are when I'm walking my tiny dog.

You probably don't notice the coyotes what with the gang of ten-year-olds stomping on your glasses and giving you wedgies after seeing you walk your tiny girlie dog.

 

[DaveC426913]

Say, are you moose from BAUT?

 

[moose]

Say, are you moose from BAUT?

Nope. You're referring to bad astronomy and universe today right?

You probably don't notice the coyotes what with the gang of ten-year-olds stomping on your glasses and giving you wedgies after seeing you walk your tiny girlie dog.

It's not my dog, it's my mom's dog. Tiny girly dogs for the win.

 

[binzing]

I kilz em an then I eatz em. Mmmmmm, nothin like coyote an grits.

This is cattle and sheep country. If my dog chases the neighbor's cow, my neighbor has the right to shoot my dog on sight. Coyotes require immediate intervention. As far as I know, they are always shot.

We live in the same type of country, albeit not green. I still don't agree with it, and around here in much more conservative San Juan County most people let the coyotes run.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We live in the same type of country, albeit not green. I still don't agree with it, and around here in much more conservative San Juan County most people let the coyotes run.

You mean that you would sentence who knows how many baby lambs to death just to save a dirty old coyote?

http://www.richardedwardsphotos.co.uk/lambs/IMG_9115_lambs.jpg

Have you no heart?

And what of my little baby?

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3384/littletyke4wkssmps2.jpg

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1759/dsc00080et6.jpg

 

[binzing]

You mean that you would sentence who knows how many baby lambs to death just to save a dirty old coyote?

http://www.richardedwardsphotos.co.uk/lambs/IMG_9115_lambs.jpg

Have you no heart?

And what of my little baby?

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/3384/littletyke4wkssmps2.jpg

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1759/dsc00080et6.jpg

[/URL]

We lock our cats in at night here. And our pygmy goats along with our mini donkeys aren't particular protected and they're just fine.

Sheep=range maggots, lambs turn into sheep sooner or later.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We lock our cats in at night here. And our pygmy goats along with our mini donkeys aren't particular protected and they're just fine.

So your point is that people that have been ranching this area for decades don't know what they're doing? I think it's pretty much common knowledge that predators eat prey.

 

[Evo]

What if your cat doesn't come home at night binzing?

Ivan, the pictures of little Tyke are so cute!

 

[turbo]

So your point is that people that have been ranching this area for decades don't know what they're doing? I think it's pretty much common knowledge that predators eat prey.

The coyotes around here kill and eat deer. I think it's safe to assume that calves and sheep would be easy prey, especially lambs.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I used to shoot the skunks too but it seems that we can live with them. Course we do find one in the kitchen every now and then. And Tsu did completely freak when one came running out of the bedroom one night.

For the record, I really hate shooting animals. I had lost the heart for hunting by the time I was sixteen. One of the hardest parts of adjusting to farm life was getting used to all of the death.

 

[turbo]

I used to shoot the skunks too but it seems that we can live with them. Course we do find one in the kitchen every now and then. And Tsu did competely freak when one came running out of the bedroom one night.

For the record, I really hate shooting animals. I had lost the heart for hunting by the time I was sixteen. One of the hardest parts of adjusting to farm life was getting used to all of the death.

Skunks love to eat grubs, including the larvae of Japanese Beetles and other destructive pests. Never harm a skunk if you like to garden - they work all night long for you. For every little hole they leave in the lawn, there is at least one or more grubs gone. I love skunks.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Skunks love to eat grubs, including the larvae of Japanese Beetles and other destructive pests. Never harm a skunk if you like to garden - they work all night long for you. For every little hole they leave in the lawn, there is at least one or more grubs gone. I love skunks.

I have to credit Zooby with correcting my approach to skunks. They do get thick around here some years. You even may recall that one year we had several families living on the property! I posted a picture of one mom with seven babies.

Last year we had a HUGE hornet's nest right outside the back door of the house. I would bet there were many thousands of hornets in there. I pondered the situation for a long time and was planning a strategy to clean them out. Then, one morning I got up and the nest was gone. I have a skunk to thank for that one.

 

[turbo]

Last spring, a bear tore down both of my suet-feeders and mangled them pretty badly. I really couldn't get upset, because (s)he cleaned out a huge nest of white-faced hornets (the worst stinging insects ever!) one cold night the previous fall, which let me get safely into that blackberry patch to pick berries.

 

[physics girl phd]

I have to credit Zooby with correcting my approach to skunks. They do get thick around here some years. You even may recall that one year we had several families living on the property! I posted a picture of one mom with seven babies.

My best friend in high-school had a picture of a baby skunk from her family's property inside her locket. She went through boys too quickly to keep a picture of one of them in there... and people always wanted to see the picture inside. This way she always had a picture to show them of something just like a boy... cute, but probably liable to end up stinking.

I know what I'd keep inside a locket... a picture of Little Tyke! (presently swooning over his kitten cuteness).

 

[hypatia]

Pull out all the BIG guns to save Little Tyke! Do what ever it takes, omg he's just sooo cute

 

[Ivan Seeking]

hes just sooo cute

She; when we named her we thought she was a he.

She adores me. I've never had a cat who was so attached. Many days she will not let me out of her sight.

Anyway, yes, threaten my Little Tyke and I break out the heavy artillery!

 

[dlgoff]

Coyotes require immediate intervention. As far as I know, they are always shot.

Get a coyote call (rabbit scream) and try to get that sucker to come to you.

 

[turbo]

Get a coyote call (rabbit scream) and try to get that sucker to come to you.

That works! My cousin's husband night-hunts for coyotes and that's what he uses. Not surprisingly, he also calls in Great Horned owls that come in very quietly and scare the crap out of him. He now has a roof on his blind.

 

[dlgoff]

...Great Horned owls that come in very quietly and scare the crap out of him.

Oh yea. I had a Great Horned owl nail a rabbit about 10ft from my sleeping bag on a camping trip in New Mexico. Scared the crap out of me.

 

[SticksandStones]

Wait, wait, wait - are you telling me skunks and bears eat hornets? How can I get one of these majestic creatures on my property?

 

[turbo]

Wait, wait, wait - are you telling me skunks and bears eat hornets? How can I get one of these majestic creatures on my property?

Create a friendly habitat, and let them come to you. I don't use any pesticides, so I have to put up with infestations of Japanese beetles and other pests, but once they are here, the skunks move in and help me, and they are not getting killed off by eating grubs contaminated by pesticides. As for the bears, they were in the area before I got here, and I think that I have an individual (male or female) denning on the back side of my 10 acres, based on the frequency of track-sightings and the disappearances of protein-rich hives on cold nights when the hornets are torpid, and the destruction of my suet-cages in the spring when bears are ravenous for high-fat foods.

Edit: Black bears are very shy, and it's tough to get near enough to them to even spot them unless you are very woods-wise, or you have lulled them by exploiting their late-fall need for calories (baiting). I have been hunting and fishing for over 45 years in some pretty wild areas, and I have only seen a couple of bears in the wild, though I tend to move quietly through the woods. People who walk loudly, talk, snap branches, etc, drive away so much wildlife that they never get to see lots of stuff - a mother otter feeding her kits a trout, a baby moose taking its first steps, etc.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yea. I had a Great Horned owl nail a rabbit about 10ft from my sleeping bag on a camping trip in New Mexico. Scared the crap out of me.

Funny! I bet that would darken the shorts a bit.

Has anyone ever heard a moutain lion? The first time I heard one, honestly, I thought someone was being murdered in the woods. I immediately thought of someone being stabbed to death.

 

[Danger]

Has anyone ever heard a moutain lion?

There was a situation in BC a few decades back, wherein a kid about 10 years old got chased by a cougar. He stumbled, lost one of his gumboots, then recovered and ran home. The neighbourhood got together and went hunting. They found the cat and shot it. Upon autopsy, it turned out that the only thing in Tabby's stomach was the kid's gumboot. It had been starving to death.

 

[OAQfirst]

Funny! I bet that would darken the shorts a bit.

Has anyone ever heard a moutain lion? The first time I heard one, honestly, I thought someone was being murdered in the woods. I immediately thought of someone being stabbed to death.

Like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKw4OFAu1WM&feature=related

Edit: Just noticed that the photos can be a bit graphic for anyone of sensitive nature.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

There was a situation in BC a few decades back, wherein a kid about 10 years old got chased by a cougar. He stumbled, lost one of his gumboots, then recovered and ran home. The neighbourhood got together and went hunting. They found the cat and shot it. Upon autopsy, it turned out that the only thing in Tabby's stomach was the kid's gumboot. It had been starving to death.

Wow, and that distracted the lion long enough for the kid to get away?

 

[Danger]

Wow, and that distracted the lion long enough for the kid to get away?

Yeah. Weird, huh? I can only assume that there was enough of the kid's scent in it that the cat mistook it for meat.

 

[turbo]

Funny! I bet that would darken the shorts a bit.

Has anyone ever heard a moutain lion? The first time I heard one, honestly, I thought someone was being murdered in the woods. I immediately thought of someone being stabbed to death.

If you have ever heard the night-call of the Green Heron, you would call 911 immediately to save the woman who was screaming. If you've got a green-horn camping and you hear that call, you can have some fun, but you'd better let them in on the "secret" pretty soon or you'll be up all night babysitting a bag of raw nerves.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Like this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKw4OFAu1WM&feature=related

Edit: Just noticed that the photos can be a bit graphic for anyone of sensitive nature.

That sounds pretty close, but the screech part was much longer... and louder. Definitely much louder! [unless you happen to run your audio through a good sound system...]. It was waaaaay to close for comfort. Not something you want to hear while walking through the woods in the dark.

 

[mgb_phys]

In the past 100 years, a total of five people have been killed by cougar attacks in B.C. All but one of these fatal cougar attacks occurred on Vancouver Island. ... there were 29 non-fatal attacks in B.C - 20 of which occurred on Vancouver Island. The vast majority of these attacks were on children under the age of 16.

http://www.britishcolumbia.com/information/details.asp?id=11

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Yeah. Weird, huh? I can only assume that there was enough of the kid's scent in it that the cat mistook it for meat.

Not so weird, I'm pretty sure that this is mentioned as a technique to escape from situations like that. Ideally you can throw him a steak.

In fact, that is true. I remember this now from my days as a Boy Scout. Many campers will put themselves between something like a bear, and their food. The people then get attacked when all the bear really wanted was the food. I remember one story about a guy at Yosemite that decided to keep his bacon safe by putting it under his sleeping bag, with him in the bag!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

http://www.britishcolumbia.com/information/details.asp?id=11

I thought this was interesting.

Mountain lion attacks on people apparently increased dramatically since 1986. For example, in California, there were two fatal attacks in 1890 and 1909, and then no further attacks for 77 years, until 1986. From 1986 through 1995, nine verified attacks occurred, an average rate of almost one per year. Attacks were numerous enough to form a support group for attack victims, called California Lion Awareness (CLAW; Outside, 10/95).

http://tchester.org/sgm/lists/lion_attacks.html

But I know for a fact that this is not accurate. I can remember at least a few actual attacks through the 60s and 70s; and it was fairly common [maybe one set of sightings per year, all relating to the same animal] to hear of sightings in the outlying areas of Los Angeles. It may be that the information just wasn't tracked well.