View Full Version : coyotes?
earlyriser26
10-29-2007, 16:17
Just finished hiking from woody gap GA to springer last weekend. Finally cleared out for good views from springer on saturday. stayed above hawk mt. shelter on AT. Sometime during the night a group of coyotes? came up close to our tents and started Howling. scared the you know what out of me at first.
I love the sound of yapping coyotes!
Yes, coyotes. There are no wild Red Wolves in the area.
I love that sound, although when they get up real close, it can startle you. Happened on the Florida Trail once. Hammock Hanger, Josh & Leigh from Hiker Hostel, and Youngblood were with me. The coyotes surrounded our campsite and started yipping. It was pretty cool.
Jim Adams
10-29-2007, 16:22
they wont hurt ya...they're just pissed that you were there.
geek
max patch
10-29-2007, 16:23
Just finished hiking from woody gap GA to springer last weekend. Finally cleared out for good views from springer on saturday. stayed above hawk mt. shelter on AT. Sometime during the night a group of coyotes? came up close to our tents and started Howling. scared the you know what out of me at first.
There were 2 big cats -- only caught a glimpse so I'm not going to attempt to identify them -- crossing the fs rd just north of three forks last weekend.
warraghiyagey
10-29-2007, 16:25
Their howls are the antithesis of the call or the loon yet a great memory for those who have heard them. I can't think of another sound so bone-chilling yet mesmerizing.
SGT Rock
10-29-2007, 16:25
Get a harmonica and play along with them.
warraghiyagey
10-29-2007, 16:26
There were 2 big cats -- only caught a glimpse so I'm not going to attempt to identify them -- crossing the fs rd just north of three forks last weekend.
Probably black panthers. Sorry, I couldn't resist.:) :)
There are no wild Red Wolves in the area.
I'm always skeptical whenever someone says there are no Red Wolves (genetic hybrid between a grey wolf and a coyote) in north Georgia.
In March of 1999, a group of us (Shamrock, Tortoise, Choovers, Kenny and me) witnessed what we'd call a wolf, not a coyote, chasing down a deer just north of Stover Creek Shelter. It was one heck of chase and the fur was flying!
Since we didn't get a DNA sample we'll never know for sure what type of canine it really was..........I'm a believer.
MrsGorp
I'm always skeptical whenever someone says there are no Red Wolves (genetic hybrid between a grey wolf and a coyote) in north Georgia.
In March of 1999, a group of us (Shamrock, Tortoise, Choovers, Kenny and me) witnessed what we'd call a wolf, not a coyote, chasing down a deer just north of Stover Creek Shelter. It was one heck of chase and the fur was flying!
Since we didn't get a DNA sample we'll never know for sure what type of canine it really was..........I'm a believer.
MrsGorp
Mrs Gorp:
I conducted a 20 minute interview last month with a person involved in the Red Wolf recovery program. That's what I base my comment upon. My discussion with Tish before, during and after the recorder was picking up our conversation. You are welcome to listen to it at the following link;
http://americanhiking.chattablogs.com/archives/060988.html
Some wolves had been restored to the Smokies in the 90s, but unfortunately that effort failed.
dessertrat
10-29-2007, 17:31
I've never heard of coyotes being a danger to anyone on the AT. I would be more scared of a pack of feral dogs than coyotes. And even if there were red wolves, I doubt they'd be dangerous to humans either.
I agree. A rabid coyote would be cause for concern.
Where I live I hear Red Wolves fairly regularly howling in their enclosure. It's pretty cool actually. As you might imagine.
I would be more scared of a pack of feral dogs than coyotes.
Or a rabid racoon. :eek:
gsingjane
10-29-2007, 18:19
Someone told me once that coyotes, unlike wolves, can't cooperate to hunt together. That is why even though they seem to pack to howl (although not around here, they seem pretty solitary in our neighborhood), apparently they won't group together to bring down prey (human or otherwise).
We had a baby coyote in the wooded ravine behind our house last summer, and it was awesome the few glimpses we got of it. Lock up your cats, though!
Jane in CT
You are welcome to listen to it at the following link;http://americanhiking.chattablogs.com/archives/060988.html
Jeff,
I enjoyed the interview and the web cams of the red wolves at the Chattanooga Nature Center. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Tish remarked that in 1980 seventeen captured red wolves were brought into captivity and the healthiest established the current reestablishment breeding program. Who can say there weren't 18 or 19 remaining red wolves and perhaps a couple "slipped" through and were free to roam.
She did said there were a "handful" remaining in the wild. Where are they?
She said the red wolves favor white tail deer. I've seen coyotes here in Vermont that were twice the size of what I saw in Georgia. I still believe it was a red wolf.
Unless I missed it, I didn't hear anything in the interview that said the Red Wolf wasn't in North Georgia.
MrsGorp
I'm sure Tish would welcome an email inquiry. Send one along and let us know what she says. Personally, it would be great to know they still exist in the wild. Eastern Cougars too.
ChimneySpring
10-29-2007, 20:29
Someone told me once that coyotes, unlike wolves, can't cooperate to hunt together.
Generally, this is probably true. However state game officials in VA have confimed that in certain counties (primarily with poor fawning habitat), they have learned that hunting as a group (and thus taking adult deer) is their best chance for survival.
I had a social group around my property for about 3 months this spring. Nothing quite like awakening to howls, screams, and yips at 4:30 in the am. Startling, but something my son will always be able to say that no one else he knows has experienced.
-SEEKER-
10-29-2007, 20:54
I was fortunate enough to hear the coyotes during the night at Justus Creek campground in 2006. AWESOME!
I've been lucky enough in my hikes on the Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota to get to hear wolves howling (May 2006) and coyotes howling (August 2006), both times at dusk -- a great thrill. When I was hiking this year I shared a tentsite one evening with a couple of women, one of whom helps a friend of hers train sled dogs. She has seen wolves many times while doing training runs with the dogs in winter (wolves are much easier to see in winter). Now getting to see them in the wild would be even cooler than hearing them! She said that although her dogs-in-training can be hard to handle when they come across a rabbit or deer on the trail, that they don't react at all to wolves, even when they encounter them pretty close on the trail. Close relatives, I guess.
I guess my reply drifted a ways from coyotes in Georgia to wolves and coyotes in Minnesota, but I 'll take any chance I can get to share stories about encounters with animals like these in the wild.
warraghiyagey
10-30-2007, 02:15
I'm sure Tish would welcome an email inquiry. Send one along and let us know what she says. Personally, it would be great to know they still exist in the wild. Eastern Cougars too.
MOWGLI, if I could only tell you how mad some here were at me when I mentioned that black panthers still live in upstate NY. I had people who'd never even been in NY State saying horrible things to me. Doesn't change the fact that in the last 12 years I've seen two. Seen alot of fishers too. They're not even close to being able to confuse. One snarky poster even suggested I must be talking about a militant group from the 60's. Yikes.
I've seen them - and even more signs of them. And plenty of others I know have seen them too. They're stelathy for sure. But they do still walk this land.
Coyotes? I may be wrong but i've always understood that when a coyote pack goes into that shrill yippin mode that a kill has been made, dinner time!
thew coy dogs are fun to listen to.but fact is they should be on the other side of the big river.they are a great nucence.if you have had to shoot a four day old calf with half its stomach eaten out you would have little different side .wolves are so much worse. ask an alaskan.all nature is cool until it bites you.
warraghiyagey
10-30-2007, 02:42
thew coy dogs are fun to listen to.but fact is they should be on the other side of the big river.they are a great nucence.if you have had to shoot a four day old calf with half its stomach eaten out you would have little different side .wolves are so much worse. ask an alaskan.all nature is cool until it bites you.
I disagree. All nature is cool until there is none left. Stay tuned, it won't be long.
earlyriser26
10-30-2007, 06:33
Coyotes? I may be wrong but i've always understood that when a coyote pack goes into that shrill yippin mode that a kill has been made, dinner time!
It was shrill, but I wouldn't call it yippin. More like a howl. It was hard to tell how many there were, but I would guess 3 to 5.
Jim Adams
10-30-2007, 06:57
wolves are harmless!
geek
warraghiyagey
10-30-2007, 12:05
wolves are harmless!
geek
Unless they're Lone.;)
The Cheat
10-30-2007, 12:37
Heard lots of coyotes this weekend while camped at the Telephone Pioneers shelter in Pawling, NY. They were busy all night apparently.
whitefoot_hp
10-30-2007, 15:59
I have always heard that coyotes are extremely shy of humans, and that is why some hunters hunt them simply for the sport of an elusive kill.
while camping near the chattooga on several nights i heard coyote yells but it always seemed like they were the same good distance away. one morning, in my hammock, i heard something walking around and i leaned out of my hammock and saw this grey mutt looking dog that took off as soon as we made eye contact. it was funny because i was in that grey area between asleep and awake.
I've been lucky enough in my hikes on the Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota to get to hear wolves howling (May 2006) and coyotes howling (August 2006), both times at dusk -- a great thrill. When I was hiking this year I shared a tentsite one evening with a couple of women, one of whom helps a friend of her's train sled dogs. She has seen wolves many times while doing training runs with the dogs in winter (wolves are much easier to see in winter). Now getting to see them in the wild would be even cooler than hearing them! She said that although her dogs-in-training can be hard to handle when they come across a rabbit or deer on the trail, that they don't react at all to wolves, even when they encounter them pretty close on the trail. Close relatives, I guess.
I guess my reply drifted a ways from coyotes in Georgia to wolves and coyotes in Minnesota, but I 'll take any chance I can get to share stories about encounters with animals like these in the wild.
Enjoyed you sharing it!
leeki pole
10-30-2007, 18:03
I'm sure Tish would welcome an email inquiry. Send one along and let us know what she says. Personally, it would be great to know they still exist in the wild. Eastern Cougars too.
Mowgli, I'm still working on that cougar sighting. Got the game cam out, but so far only deer. Guess the cougars don't like cracked corn, but I'll keep trying.:)
Don't forget to put out some chicken fingers for the yeti.
Ramble~On
10-30-2007, 20:45
I spend a pretty good amount of time in the Cade's Cove area of GSMNP.
I prefer to walk the fields and trails rather than drive the loop.
I wear camouflage and carry a super-telephoto lens for my camera along with a pair of 20x70 binoculars...I often set up behind a blind and wait for something to walk by. It seems everytime I see coyote during daylight...they've already seen or smelled me and the only pictures I get are of their tails.
Coyote are some damn elusive little suckers....and they're smart.
Jim Adams
10-30-2007, 21:38
I spend a pretty good amount of time in the Cade's Cove area of GSMNP.
I prefer to walk the fields and trails rather than drive the loop.
I wear camouflage and carry a super-telephoto lens for my camera along with a pair of 20x70 binoculars...I often set up behind a blind and wait for something to walk by. It seems everytime I see coyote during daylight...they've already seen or smelled me and the only pictures I get are of their tails.
Coyote are some damn elusive little suckers....and they're smart.
Unless it is by accident from a car, most people are very fortunate to see a wolf or coyote in the wild...they usually know that you are in the area long before you know that they are...if you ever know!
I have spent years of time in true wilderness up north and have only been fortunate enough to see 7 wolves and 3 were in one group but they are there...you can get them to answer your howls almost every night.:sun
geek
rlharris
10-31-2007, 09:28
I'm fortunate that it is not necessary for me to go far from home to hear wild animals.
On a summer night when the windows are open, it is not unusual for me to hear coyotes in the woods around the house.
Under the right conditions, I'll also hear bears: males courting their true loves.
In the eerie division is the vocalization of a fisher!
Jim Adams
10-31-2007, 09:32
I'm fortunate that it is not necessary for me to go far from home to hear wild animals.
On a summer night when the windows are open, it is not unusual for me to hear coyotes in the woods around the house.
Under the right conditions, I'll also hear bears: males courting their true loves.
In the eerie division is the vocalization of a fisher!
Nice want to sell?:D
Just kidding but I am jealous.
geek
We hear the coyotes regularly in the state forest behind our house. They were unnerving at first, then you start to wonder what all the whining is about.
trailale
11-05-2007, 15:56
Someone told me once that coyotes, unlike wolves, can't cooperate to hunt together. That is why even though they seem to pack to howl (although not around here, they seem pretty solitary in our neighborhood), apparently they won't group together to bring down prey (human or otherwise).
In MA last summer at dusk, I heard "clippity clop" on a road that ran parallel below the ridge I was hiking on. When the hoof beats ceased, a pack of coyotes (no wolves in these parts) whooped up a storm for about 40 seconds. I assumed that they had brought down a large animal and were celebrating.:-?
rlharris
11-05-2007, 18:45
The "clippity clop" sound very likely was that made by a white-tailed deer (they're hooved animals). Coyotes can and will bring down a deer. Brad and I found the remanants of a deer carcass (a femur and lots of hair) that had obviously been supper for one or more coyotes. This was in the woods just a couple of hundred yards from the house.
We have a growing population of Eastern Coyote here in New Brunswick, which as supposed to be a mix of Coyote and Eastern Wolf, but not that much is really know for sure about them yet. They seem to be larger than coyotes and smaller than wolves but more timid than either. We also have Coy-Dogs which are supposed to be a mix of Coyotes and Feral Dogs, and perhaps less timid but fewer in number, and more likely to be shot. My overall impression is that wolves and domestic dogs and coyotes are really all one big species, but a very plastic one, in terms of genetic and behavioural adaptability.
ChimneySpring
11-06-2007, 09:49
Someone told me once that coyotes, unlike wolves, can't cooperate to hunt together. That is why even though they seem to pack to howl (although not around here, they seem pretty solitary in our neighborhood), apparently they won't group together to bring down prey (human or otherwise).
According to the VDGIF, and the wildlife biologist in my region, this is not always the case. Also, it's not a case of "can't", but more a genetic disposition of "not wanting to". In cases where the deer habitat is poor (certain areas in the GWNF here in VA), coyotes do hunt in pack fashion since they can't generally take down an adult deer by themselves. I was also told that the "yipping" is more of a close proximity socialization technique that they use (whereas the howl can be more long distance). Doubtful they were celebrating a kill.
Gray Blazer
11-06-2007, 11:43
MOWGLI, if I could only tell you how mad some here were at me when I mentioned that black panthers still live in upstate NY. I had people who'd never even been in NY State saying horrible things to me. Doesn't change the fact that in the last 12 years I've seen two.
Same thing happened to me in N FL. I saw a black panther and the rangers about had a fit telling me I was nuts. I saw some bigfoot tracks in Etonah State Forest last July.
Gray Blazer
11-06-2007, 11:45
Oh yeah, heard a pack of coyotes last time I camped at Beauty Spot. Pretty neat.
warraghiyagey
11-06-2007, 16:18
Same thing happened to me in N FL. I saw a black panther and the rangers about had a fit telling me I was nuts. I saw some bigfoot tracks in Etonah State Forest last July.
You used to be in the 'N FL'? Who'd you play for, Carolina. . . you know , the Panthers.:p
Gray Blazer
11-07-2007, 08:58
If a panther knocks at your door....don't anther.
Pedaling Fool
11-29-2007, 22:40
Same thing happened to me in N FL. I saw a black panther and the rangers about had a fit telling me I was nuts. I saw some bigfoot tracks in Etonah State Forest last July.
You had me going, until the bigfoot tracks.
Saw a pink panther once..........uh, can't rember much else about that night (hmmm, must be old age) :-? :eek: :D