View Full Version : Coyotes attack humans
Mrs Baggins
09-06-2010, 17:04
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39024723/ns/local_news-new_york_ny/
This is what I love about you. You are always such a happy positive person and you always post good news. I am going to go outside right now and randomly discharge my hiking gun in celebration.
Sierra Echo
09-06-2010, 17:19
This is what I love about you. You are always such a happy positive person and you always post good news. I am going to go outside right now and randomly discharge my hiking gun in celebration.
I hope you don't shoot any birds! :eek:
We've been getting lots of reports of coyote sightings, as well as these attacks. That's what happens when people build in the animals' habitat.
This is what I love about you. You are always such a happy positive person and you always post good news. I am going to go outside right now and randomly discharge my hiking gun in celebration.
and i thought that was acorns falling on my roof...:D;):welcome
I hope you don't shoot any birds! :eek:
Yes! I'm going to kill them all before they get to me! It's only a matter of time. All animals are out to get us. Some are only biding their time.
and i thought that was acorns falling on my roof...:D;):welcome. Nope it's just me saving the world from vicious animal attacks.
Pedaling Fool
09-06-2010, 17:45
We've been getting lots of reports of coyote sightings, as well as these attacks. That's what happens when people build in the animals' habitat.
Actually that's not entirely true. I recently watched a special about coyotes and how they're increasingly coming into urban areas attracted by prey (our pets). The researcher who chased numerous collared coyotes remarked at how surprised people would be to know the number that live amongst them. He hardly ever got to actually see one and wouldn't know they were around if it weren't for the radio-tracking collars.
In a way they're like mice/rats and other animals that have adapted to live near us and in a way have become somewhat dependent on us.
. Nope it's just me saving the world from vicious animal attacks.
thank you, i'll sleep better tonight
Shutterbug
09-06-2010, 18:03
.... He hardly ever got to actually see one and wouldn't know they were around if it weren't for the radio-tracking collars...
I guess it depends on where you live. I see them often in Washington and Arizona. I saw this one just last week.
Sierra Echo
09-06-2010, 18:09
Yes! I'm going to kill them all before they get to me! It's only a matter of time. All animals are out to get us. Some are only biding their time.
You should start with weenie dogs instead of birds!!!
Pedaling Fool
09-06-2010, 18:15
I guess it depends on where you live. I see them often in Washington and Arizona. I saw this one just last week.
Yeah, I know some areas are seeing a real boom in their population; I know that's the case for many of the burbs in the D.C. area.
When this guy said this it was in a very nice urban area, one in which people didn't get out much at night and that's when this population got around, he said in this area of chicago they almost exclusively became nocturnal.
Here's a link of the research in that area http://houndwelfare.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/mfha-hunt-staff-seminar-part-4-wiley-coyote/
One interesting thing is that the coyotes that are adapting to urban life is that more live in a given area than in the wild and they generally live longer.
I guess cat is their health food:D
You should start with weenie dogs instead of birds!!!
:eek::eek::eek: hey, hey, hey...you leave the weenie dogs alone...
couscous
09-06-2010, 18:45
Yes! I'm going to kill them all before they get to me! It's only a matter of time. All animals are out to get us. Some are only biding their time.
Beware of the cats .. they're the ones plotting your demise .. read it in one of their diaries (http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/humor/otherhumor/dog_cat_diary.htm).
Beware of the cats .. they're the ones plotting your demise .. read it in one of their diaries (http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/humor/otherhumor/dog_cat_diary.htm).
See! I told you! It's a conspiracy!
Hikes in Rain
09-06-2010, 18:54
Um, yeah...cats. I had surgery three weeks back. My beloved wife took the time off to take care of me....and a couple of days later, blew out her knee. I've got a new hole in in my abdomen, and suddenly, I'm the ambulant one! Both of of us down, and the cats are beginning to circle.........
Right out of a Jack London story, and all true.
Feral Bill
09-06-2010, 19:30
We've been getting lots of reports of coyote sightings, as well as these attacks. That's what happens when people build in the animals' habitat.
The inner suburbs of New York City?
Skidsteer
09-06-2010, 19:53
See! I told you! It's a conspiracy!
A well documented one:
Animal Conspiracy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LDnQpD_uFQ)
Sierra Echo
09-06-2010, 19:57
Last night when I was laying in bed reading, my cat, fisher, came to lay beside. He then proceeds to stick try to stick his paw in my mouth. Nasty Beast!!!! I figure he probably had just gotten out of his litter box. I believe that is called germ warfare!~
Last night when I was laying in bed reading, my cat, fisher, came to lay beside. He then proceeds to stick try to stick his paw in my mouth. Nasty Beast!!!! I figure he probably had just gotten out of his litter box. I believe that is called germ warfare!~
maybe he thought you had a fur ball...:eek:
Danielsen
09-06-2010, 21:35
To be fair, this was all wolf territory we're talking about. Then we killed all the wolves and made it human territory. Then the coyotes adapted to us, and the deer overpopulation we created. This really isn't a case of us moving in on them, rather, the other way around.
Any attempt to cast humans or animals as the "good guys" or "bad guys" based on any of that is patently silly, of course. Except, perhaps, if you're a believer in the animal conspiracy. ;)
Sierra Echo
09-06-2010, 21:43
maybe he thought you had a fur ball...:eek:
Well in that case, he was being nice trying to help his momma!
IronGutsTommy
09-07-2010, 00:47
humans are a part of the ecosystem as well. in the wild if a smaller animal encroaches on another animals land, it gets dealt with, sometimes viciously. we should feel no worse about killing a coyote or other animal encroaching our territory. hunting is more of a grey area than defending ones property, because its done in their territory more or less, but im fine with it as long as its not just for sport and the carcass is field stripped for meat and fur.
In the past two years coyotes have killed a girl in a National Park in Nova Scotia, plus attacked another women walking her dog. I believe just recently another teenager was bitten on the head while sleeping outside in Nova Scotia.
Here's some links I could find:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/10/28/ns-coyote-attack-died.html
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/10/27/ns-coyote-attack.html
That said, it is extremely rare and something I don't even think about when hiking. Definitely no need to carry a gun to protect yourself. Some common sense and at worst some pepper spray is all that is required.
To be fair, this was all wolf territory we're talking about. Then we killed all the wolves and made it human territory. Then the coyotes adapted to us, and the deer overpopulation we created. This really isn't a case of us moving in on them, rather, the other way around.
Any attempt to cast humans or animals as the "good guys" or "bad guys" based on any of that is patently silly, of course. Except, perhaps, if you're a believer in the animal conspiracy. ;)It gets even more interesting than that. Before the ice bridge allowed humans and grey wolves and domesticated dogs to enter North America, it was the domain of coyotes and dire wolves, and other species of course. The dire wolves became extinct because they were too big and slow, and did not adapt well to the new competition and changing climate and extinction of large mammals like woolly mammoths. The coyotes were initially driven back by men and dogs and grey wolves, but are now making a comeback. It is further complicated by dogs and wolves and coyotes all being so close genetically that there some intermixing, and because all of these species or subspecies are very plastic and adaptable in size, shape, and behaviour. It is fascinating to watch.
It is interesting that we have such a high acceptance for motor vehicle accidents and fatalities, and even for attacks on humans by animals such as other humans, various snakes, insects, bacteria and viruses, compared to our very low tolerance for attacks on humans by other mammals such as bears, cougars, and coyotes. Interestingly, domestic dog attacks do seem to be tollerated, to some degree. I am talking in relative terms here. So it is not an anti-mammal thing. Not really sure what drives these issues.
I think we should lower the speed limit by 5mph, and not worry too much about coyotes. We do need to hunt them, to control their numbers and aggressiveness, but we should have some tollerance for human fatalities caused by animals. That's just nature. We should be less tollerant of alot of other stuff before we worry too much more about bears, cougars, wolves, and coyotes.
4eyedbuzzard
09-07-2010, 08:43
We have some problems with coyotes, coydogs / dogotes up hear in northern NH. Mostly they'll kill smaller pets and livestock (they love chicken) and occaisionally bring down a deer. You'll hear them going nuts in the woods after a kill. There numbers seem to be increasing as of late, lots more folks have reported missing pets the past few years. I lost a dog to them last year :( :mad:, can't say I wouldn't take a shot at one crossing my property - just out of revenge.
Actually that's not entirely true. I recently watched a special about coyotes and how they're increasingly coming into urban areas attracted by prey (our pets).
I dont know what researcher you got that information from, but its surprisingly contradictory to what the Department of Environmental Protection here is CT says. The coyote population is directly related to the deer population. In Litchfield County where the AT runs the deer population is a very sustainable and healthy 15 per square mile. In Fairfield Cnty (densely populated, full pf NYC commuters) the population is approximately 60 (yes, 60) deer per sq/m. The reasons the DEP cites are a near total lack of hunting pressure, and alot of good vegetation. Im sure Westchester Cnty next isnt very different.
The DEP and Municipalties in Fairfeild Cnty are struggling to find a way to cull the herd, but run into challenges every step of the way. There isnt much open space for a normal hunting season to have any impact, and the organized mass hunts end up with protests by the same people that complain when a coyote takes the opportunity to make lunch out of Fluffy.
If you want to reduce the number of coyotes, reduce the number of deer. I cant wait to see what happens when we finally get the wolves and mountain lions back.
berkshirebirder
09-07-2010, 09:01
It IS interesting to stop and think about our tolerance for human death at the hands of other humans (war, crime, traffic accidents, etc) compared to our response to attacks by other animals.
The situation is a lot more complicated than this, but I wonder how much our reaction to animal attacks stems from the way it makes us feel that at least there's SOMETHING we can control (or take definite action against).
We have some problems with coyotes, coydogs / dogotes up hear in northern NH. Mostly they'll kill smaller pets and livestock (they love chicken) and occaisionally bring down a deer. You'll hear them going nuts in the woods after a kill. There numbers seem to be increasing as of late, lots more folks have reported missing pets the past few years. I lost a dog to them last year :( :mad:, can't say I wouldn't take a shot at one crossing my property - just out of revenge.
I think it would make sense to control them through a combination of controlled hunting or trapping, as well as more opportunistic varmint-type control. The latter would be most selective in reducing agressive animals, but would need tighter controls since it would be a more open season. It might be limited to private property, for example. The term 'varmint' has a negative connotation which is, I think, unbefitting. I think it should be possible to hunt and kill these animals without losing respect for them. 'Revenge' is not necessarily a bad motive though. I think it is an appropriate and natural reaction. It makes sense that more incidents of encroachment be met with more incidents of selective or general hunting, to reduce their numbers and agressiveness. First and foremost we should study and respect these animals though, as part of the beauty and complexity of the nature we should ourselves try and become a closer part of, once again.
Pedaling Fool
09-07-2010, 09:22
I dont know what researcher you got that information from, but its surprisingly contradictory to what the Department of Environmental Protection here is CT says. The coyote population is directly related to the deer population. In Litchfield County where the AT runs the deer population is a very sustainable and healthy 15 per square mile. In Fairfield Cnty (densely populated, full pf NYC commuters) the population is approximately 60 (yes, 60) deer per sq/m. The reasons the DEP cites are a near total lack of hunting pressure, and alot of good vegetation. Im sure Westchester Cnty next isnt very different.
The DEP and Municipalties in Fairfeild Cnty are struggling to find a way to cull the herd, but run into challenges every step of the way. There isnt much open space for a normal hunting season to have any impact, and the organized mass hunts end up with protests by the same people that complain when a coyote takes the opportunity to make lunch out of Fluffy.
If you want to reduce the number of coyotes, reduce the number of deer. I cant wait to see what happens when we finally get the wolves and mountain lions back.
I don't know who the reasearcher was either, just saw him on a TV program, can't remember which channel. However, my link I posted earlier contains information about coyotes in the same area this guy was tracking them -- urban chicago. I was very surprised to see the neighborhoods he was tracking them through.
As for exploding deer population causing an increase in coyotes, yes that's true in some areas. But that doesn't explain why they're being seen in very urban areas. In these areas it's more an attraction of things such as, pets, trash, rodents... One researcher did an autopsy on a coyote hit by a vehicle and found something like 12 rodents in the stomach.
The point is, that coyotes are very adaptable animals and they are learning to adapt to a variety of environments, even our concrete enviros. You're citing research in Ct I'm citing research in urban Chicago. I'm sure they're both right.
4eyedbuzzard
09-07-2010, 09:30
'Revenge' is not necessarily a bad motive though. I think it is an appropriate and natural reaction.
It's interesting though that I would consider revenge given that my dog and the coyotes are damn near the same species. It's just difficult losing a dog given how attached we become to them. I likely wouldn't take a shot a a passing coyote, but it helps to think that I might. ;)
Mrs Baggins
09-07-2010, 09:39
I have a friend who is a bird keeper at the National Zoo in DC. They had to rebuild their outdoor bird areas because coyotes were coming in and killing the zoo's birds that had outdoor habitat areas.
When we lived in Fountain Hills AZ (east of Scottsdale) they'd easily hop up onto the walls surrounding the backyards and help themselves to pets left outdoors.
We have a VERY LARGE deer population within our city. It is a small city of 100,000 people but it has alot of woods and parks and it is surrounded by woods. The deer have become increasing less shy. We see them every night and it is not uncommon to see them just about every day now too. my wife and I saw a small doe and her young fawn just this morning about 10 houses down from my place after walking my daughter to her first day of middle school. The deer and fawn (still a few faint spots) were not shy at all. The doe approached us. The fawn watched. I spoke to them. That sort of thing.
We get coyotes on the outskirts of towm, moreso in winter it would seem. I have only encountered them once, out on the ice in winter. They were shy and ran off after circling around the small wooded island I was on. They were gone by the time I returned to the shoreline but I had heard all their howls and saw all their tracks. I heard them disappear across the river. They seem to be capable of moving extremely fast and covering great distances. I would agree that it is the deer that they are after, and hares and such, and not so much small pets, or children, or grown men, but I would say that there are some inherent risks in having coyotes, and deer, so close to our populated areas. Perhaps it is just a matter of time before something happens and we need to become less much tollerant. When we react, we tend to over-react, then after a decade or so we tend to forget again. It's like shovelling snow off of roofs. It takes someone to fall off and kill themselves to get it to go out of fashion again.
I think we should do a little more encroaching on nature, but with our feet and minds, and not so much with our houses and streets. We need to get out and study nature more and become part of it. Then we will be more likely to co-exist and control these populations more intelligently. Perhaps if we learned more about nature, by becoming a closer part of it and observing it first hand as well as studying it in a more in-depth scientific and academic sense, we might see how complex life is, but also how simple life can be. We might find the secret to controlling our own human population some day without starving or killing each other. God know what that might look like or when that might be. The secret is out there though. I am sure it is.
I think I will try and observe and study our coyotes more this winter. Maybe shoot some, someday. Someone probably has to. I think I will study them first though, and see what I can learn. It won't be easy. It's not like I have a lifetime to study them, and I am sure it would take alot longer than that to know everything. learning something about them is better than nothing though.
Pedaling Fool
09-07-2010, 09:46
Coyotes are basically doing the same thing as us by hunting some pets. http://houndwelfare.wordpress.com/2010/04/26/mfha-hunt-staff-seminar-part-4-wiley-coyote/
"People living in rural communities have long known that coyotes will kill cats and dogs. Gehrt confirmed this but noted that, except in unusual circumstances, coyotes rarely eat the cats and dogs they kill. But keep those pets locked up, all the same, as coyotes present a real danger to them."
Appearently they see the pets as a threat to their food supply (I guess) and they're protecting their interests. They also have a big effect on foxes, especially the grey fox.
I have noticed alot more foxes withing the city this year also and wonder if they are being driven into the city by coyotes. I think that might be part of it, but also because it was a somewhat mild winter this past year. Lots of stuff going on in the woods. I don't get out nearly as much as I should though.
That's the thing about animals like bears and coyotes. It is like the uncertainty principle. You can't every really get close enough to study them, without changing them in some way. Even then the only ones you study are the ones you get close enough to to observe, and then those are probably the ones you have to end up shooting.
Sarcasm the elf
09-13-2010, 20:54
To give an update on this story, they confirmed a couple of days go that the Coyote was rabid.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/default/article/Coyote-killed-in-Rye-Brook-confirmed-rabid-650773.php
I live about 20 miles away from where this happened and rabies is an ongoing and underreported problem. Though so far it has fortunately only resulted in a few human fatalities.
Skidsteer
09-13-2010, 21:16
I likely wouldn't take a shot a a passing coyote, but it helps to think that I might. ;)
Our Game Wardens are begging us to shoot coyotes in GA.
By JAK:
"I think we should lower the speed limit by 5mph"
Now THAT is the FUNNIEST thing I've read on this website :D!
By JAK:
"I think we should lower the speed limit by 5mph"
Now THAT is the FUNNIEST thing I've read on this website :D!
If we lowered it by 10mph we could let wolves and dogs run free as well. :D
Incahiker
09-14-2010, 10:35
Just curious, but why are all the animals in Canada more aggressive then anything south of it? I always hear the the Canadian black bear is much more aggressive then the ones here in the state and also with the coyotes that killed the musician? Does anyone know or have any theories about that? Is it because they rarely see humans up there, what's the difference, they are the same species?
vamelungeon
09-14-2010, 11:01
Our Game Wardens are begging us to shoot coyotes in GA.
Same here in Va and I do.
Pedaling Fool
09-14-2010, 11:13
If we lowered it by 10mph we could let wolves and dogs run free as well. :D
The issue of speed limit is an interesting one. It’s the one thing we could do to reduce GHG, fuel consumption (less money to the OPEC "cartel"), save lives – and not only lives but also people that suffer from horrible injuries. We always hear about the number of people killed on the roadways, but not the number of people maimed – it’s a very large number.
Here in the U.S. we tried to reduce it to 55 mph back around ’74 (I believe), but even then no body really obeyed and public pressure finally got it back up.
It goes to show no one really cares about preventing/curbing all the above mentioned problems. Ride on any road and if you do the speed limit you’re moving backwards, even cops openly exceed the limit – it’s a freakin’ joke.
People want science, technology, govt, big business or some magical force to solve the above problems. There’s no way in hell they’re going to slow down at the expense of their wants, whether it be the earth, someone’s life or starving the "cartel".
I think we should do a little more encroaching on nature, but with our feet and minds, and not so much with our houses and streets. We need to get out and study nature more and become part of it. Then we will be more likely to co-exist and control these populations more intelligently. Perhaps if we learned more about nature, by becoming a closer part of it and observing it first hand as well as studying it in a more in-depth scientific and academic sense, we might see how complex life is, but also how simple life can be. We might find the secret to controlling our own human population some day without starving or killing each other. God know what that might look like or when that might be. The secret is out there though. I am sure it is. - Jak
More insightful than I think you realize. This paragraph goes along with how you answered on another thread about why you bivy out in the open/cowboy camp often.
It is interesting that we have such a high acceptance for motor vehicle accidents and fatalities, and even for attacks on humans by animals such as other humans... Jak
Another insightful comment. If we only stopped to ponder that human beings are animals too and not outside of nature but an integral part of it, as in part of a larger ecosystem and that most likely the greatest threat to life for the human species is not from other species of animals but from other humans animals. Until the human animal learns to live in harmony with each other, which is evident that they always don't, humans will not be able to live in harmony with other animal species and the Earth as a whole. There exists a root of imbalance in man that needs to be addressed or these issues between humans and between humans and the environment will continue to increase in magnitude and scope until the entire planet is in jeopardy.
Wise Old Owl
09-14-2010, 14:41
The issue of speed limit is an interesting one. It’s the one thing we could do to reduce GHG, fuel consumption (less money to the OPEC "cartel"), save lives – and not only lives but also people that suffer from horrible injuries. We always hear about the number of people killed on the roadways, but not the number of people maimed – it’s a very large number.
Here in the U.S. we tried to reduce it to 55 mph back around ’74 (I believe), but even then no body really obeyed and public pressure finally got it back up.
It goes to show no one really cares about preventing/curbing all the above mentioned problems. Ride on any road and if you do the speed limit you’re moving backwards, even cops openly exceed the limit – it’s a freakin’ joke.
People want science, technology, govt, big business or some magical force to solve the above problems. There’s no way in hell they’re going to slow down at the expense of their wants, whether it be the earth, someone’s life or starving the "cartel".
Remember when Detroit hired those out of work Nasa Techs and they made a car that was fuel efficent and a piece of junk?
I also remember Vespa's had a saftey govenor - preventing the moped from exceeding 53mph.
Now we take the thread back to whilly Coyotes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk
Danielsen
09-14-2010, 15:53
If we lowered it by 10mph we could let wolves and dogs run free as well. :D
Heck, if we lowered it by about 55mph more HUMANS might run free too, rather than locking themselves into rolling cells on their way to and from their daily work camps. :rolleyes:
Graywolf
09-14-2010, 22:47
maybe he thought you had a fur ball...:eek:
Naw, Sierra just had a tuna sandwich and the cat was trying to get a piece of it.
JAK says:
"I think we should lower the speed limit by 5mph, and not worry too much about coyotes. We do need to hunt them, to control their numbers and aggressiveness, but we should have some tollerance for human fatalities caused by animals. That's just nature. We should be less tollerant of alot of other stuff before we worry too much more about bears, cougars, wolves, and coyotes."
Good thoughts here, JAK.
Kudos!!!
All the attention bears get up north in the "no hunting zone" is easily cured.
The only bear I ever saw was running away in North Carolina, where they have a legal hunting season.
Pedaling Fool
09-15-2010, 08:28
Now we take the thread back to whilly Coyotes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk
Oh yeah...coyotes, that's what this was all about...what was the question?