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I've lived in Canton for 6 months and I've never seen a single coyote. I have seen several deer and lots of kamikaze squirrels (they love to wait for you to get close, then run in front of your car) I've also never heard of any meth problem here. Just like hipsociety said, I'm sure there are people who have a problem here (just like any other city) but I wouldn't say it's a city-wide problem. My kids play outside with their friends almost every day. The only thing that has ever been close to a problem is they got a few ticks from going into the pine trees. All in all it is a fantastic place to live.
Canton does have coyotes like most of GA, but I never had an issue with them. I did however have to move from Canton due to the meth and crime problem there.
What meth problem? You'll find the same problem all over the state, as well as all over the U.S.. It depends on the company you keep and the company you are surrounded by, granted that some places are worse than others.
I've lived in Canton for 6 months and I've never seen a single coyote. I have seen several deer and lots of kamikaze squirrels (they love to wait for you to get close, then run in front of your car) I've also never heard of any meth problem here. Just like hipsociety said, I'm sure there are people who have a problem here (just like any other city) but I wouldn't say it's a city-wide problem. My kids play outside with their friends almost every day. The only thing that has ever been close to a problem is they got a few ticks from going into the pine trees. All in all it is a fantastic place to live.
I agree.
Me being the tender-heart, I'll usually swerve to avoid hitting them, even though I'm putting myself and others in danger.
I have a suggestion for the moderators which I will post direction to them, but also in the room as stray mods read these....
Can the forum program be set up in such a way that once a post hasn't received any replies for a set period of time (such as let's say, 6 months), that the post is completely erased from the room archives altogether?
Example: This thread was started in November of 2006. The original question was about wildlife in the burbs, and people posted now and again on it until 7/31/07. Then, nearly A YEAR later, someone comes in and makes a post in it about crack (?), and poof - people are still replying to it.
This happens in all forums, but in the Atlanta forum especially, folks tend to look up VERY old topics and start replying to them frequently. Maybe if a timed self-erasing feature were added this would be less of a problem, as there is most likely no way the original posters of these topics are seeing the new posts. Just a suggestion.
For everyone else: The last date of a post is in the upper-left of each reply. It might be best to let old topics die, as you're probably not helping those who asked the original questions out much by answering posts that are 1,2 or more years old.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
11,334 posts, read 26,078,419 times
Reputation: 3995
Quote:
Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127
I have a suggestion for the moderators which I will post direction to them, but also in the room as stray mods read these....
Can the forum program be set up in such a way that once a post hasn't received any replies for a set period of time (such as let's say, 6 months), that the post is completely erased from the room archives altogether?
I would rather see threads locked after a period of time, or at least some sort of warning issued before a person's post is actually accepted to an old thread (Warning: This thread is xxx days old. Do you really want to post?").
Some of the older stuff is very useful even today, so I'd hate to see threads actively removed from the database. Heck, I still find useful threads on Google groups (USENET) 10 or 15 years later.
I agree with rcsteiner. Old threads often have useful info - deleting them would seem too destructive.
Also, I don't mind when new enquirers revive old threads. Say someone contemplating a move to Kennesaw wants to know about the schools. They find a year-old thread on Kennesaw schools that seems useful, but now they want to know about the impact of a new school that's opening in the area. So they add a new query to the old thread. That doesn't seem bad - in fact, it helps people avoid repeating stuff that was in the old thread already.
The problem is, I guess, when people start adding new answers to old dormant threads. That does seem pointless, I agree.
Couple A posts a question, "Is Alpharetta a nice place to live?" and people answer over a few month period. Then the post fades away.
A year later, or even two years later, Couple B want to know about Alpharetta and also want to know about any parks in that area as well, so, they "revive" the old thread they found above, and post, "We're moving there too - can anyone tell us about parks in that area?".
We see this all the time.
Problem? A lot of regulars in the forum will see it pop up and ignore it. They will never see the newer posting and question that goes along with it, and Couple B won't get as many answers (if any at all) to their questions.
I see the point about locking instead of deleting, and that does sound like maybe a better option. If people JUST looked up old threads to get info from that is a good resource - the problem has been that some of these people start posting on those old threads and people just ignore it. So sure - a "lock after X-amount of time" feature would be good then - that way folks can still read the info but not let old threads live forever like herpes or something.
Yes, there are Coyotes in Canton. 11 adults were found and killed in Bridgemill, everyone else who sees them or has their pet killed are ignored because they do not live in Bridgemill. Only the people in Bridgemill are important to the local law enforcement agencies in Canton. Everyone else is ignored.
The den was found where Ridge Road connects to Bells Ferry Road and 7 pups were in the den. The only reason why traps were set up for them is, again, the folks in Bridgemill don't care about anyone else. Neither does law enforcement.
My dog was dragged screaming from my driveway by a coyote. My neighbor was cornered by a rabid coyote on his doorstep. Animal Control did nothing. Local law enforcement did nothing, DNR did nothing.
Buy a gun and ignore ordinance laws - shoot them on sight. It is your sole right to protect yourself and your family. You do not need a permit to kill coyotes and the season is open all year round.
Why would the season be open all year? Because they are overpopulated, and yes, they are in Canton preying on the subdivisions off of 20 near Teasley Middle School. If you live in that area, do not leave food outside, do not let your pets outside at dusk or early morning or night (mine was on a leash not but 10 feet from me).
My dog getting killed changed me. All I could do was try to run after the coyote in the dark and my dog looked back at me screaming. I bought my very first firearm in my life and am going hunting. I am going to do the job of those who were supposed to have done it when the coyotes were first seen and reported at the Teasley Middle School soccer field.
I want my tax money that is deducted for their payroll back.
As an environmental scientist (though not currently practicing) - I am always discouraged at the often misguided American philosophy of 'give me, give me, give me.' Of course, this philosophy is written no where but generally a well understood one. Americans are often by nature - greedy in many ways. While we no doubt have the greatest country on earth, it has created some small and some big issues. Depending on your appreciation for the environment, this one can fall anywhere in between
As an examaple of American greed and overindugence, I would compare the issue of going out and killing eradicating coyotes to the obesity epidemic we have in this country. In other developed countries (take any of the asian cultures for instance), they do not eat 16oz steaks, 1/2 lb burgers etc. Granted you may not like some of their other exotic foods, but they are all served proportionately. So how does this analogy compare to killing wildlife because you personally find it a nuisance? Well as mentioned - Americans often like to undulge themselves and essentially go overboard with things - be it food or personal vendettas on coyotes.
Now to explain a bit more about coyotes. Other posters here mentioned that coyotes are not native to Georgia - and while that may be true - neither are you posters. OK - aside from the sarcasm...coyotes in fact are an animal that unlike something like say an armadillo that simply can not handle the climate of the northern sates...they have become over time something of a native or staple of the environment and important part of the ecosystem wherever they live - or they simply would not be able to live and reproduce there successfully. And if you think that they are doing so well because they ate your nine cats or your dog, you are sorely mistaken. Believe it or not, but in the grand scheme of things, animals like dogs and cats are not a even a fraction of the coyotes diet - and definitely not part of their 'natural' diet. While no one should have to suffer the loss of a pet to a coyote - you have only yourself to blame. I have 3 dogs and have had cats in the past. These are domestic animals that are not a part of the landscape - where as the coyote very much is. In fact, coyotes have been studied in great numbers and their main diet consists of rabbits and other small mammals and rodents plus, nuts, fruits and insects. While rabbits are cute and cuddly - I assure you they will do far more harm to a natural or man made created environment than a coyote. How you may ask - rabbits reproduce exceptionally fast. This is nature's way of balance. By rabbit's producing offspring at such a fast rate, they assure the continuation of the species because nature intended for them to be the prey animal for so many other predators - from coyotes to bobcats to fox to hawk to owl...
By eradicating prey animals like the coyote, you offset the delicate balance of nature and in fact allow rabbits to reproduce more than they were intended. This leads to defoliation and damage to rare and important plant species. In turn, that creates browsing problems for deer and other herbivores who depend on those same plants to survive.
So again - while it saddens me to hear of people losing a pet to a coyote, the coyote is not to blame - but rather you are. That may be hard to swallow. My suggestion is that if you want to have a small dog - keep the dog on a leash, put up a fence (though coyotes can and will dig if they see opportunity) and always attend to your dog when you are outdoors. This may be asking a lot of you - but you should take it in to consideration when purschasing/adopting a small species of dog. As far as cats, I will tell you that as a cat owner who lets your cat outdoors - you are inviting all kinds of problems. Cats have been recorded to reduce native bird populations in some areas by as much as 10%+. So for those of you who argue that the coyote is not native...think about the decimation of native bird species your non native cat is destroying. Also, domestic cats have been found to be preyed upon by the very large great horned owl - which will even attack foxes and skunks (yes skunks). Your cats are doing a terrible injustice to the environment by destroying native species and inviting unwanted species like coyotes right in to your own backyard. Only you are to blame for the death of your cat. Sorry if you find that to be a cruel statement - but its simply a fact - not an opinion. You should not be hypocritical and call coyotes non native nuisances when your cats kill far more than their share of native species and actually draw the coyotes in closer to urban environments - a double whammy.
My advice (take it or leave it) is to attend to small dogs when outside and NEVER let a house cat outdoors - that is creating an epidmemic to the environment in which most cat owners are completely unaware. So now you know. I hope this will dispell some of the notions that coyotes are entirely evil. They are considered opportunists and actually help the natural selection process by reducing rabbits, old sick and weak animals - so that the animals with better genes can continue to reproduce and grow their own populations. This is known as natural selection. When you introduce cats and even domestic dogs in to the enviroment - you and you only have disturbed the natural selection process. Its time we start taking responsibility for our pets (including spaying and neutering) and live in harmony with wildlife.
Thank you for reading this post and while I know there will be those that agree and disagree - please note that the above statements in regards to wildlife are all facts - often hard to hear if you have lost a domestic pet - but I encourage you to consider it a lesson learned before finding the need to try and tarnish the facts. Thank you!
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Canton
