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1AngryTaxpayer is right. It is mostly Coops and Sharpies that eat adult birds (also falcons and the occasional owl). Snakes, raccoons, and crows are also nest predators, but again that is what they are supposed to do. Aside from their direct impact on prey species, every bird, rodent, reptile, or amphibian cats kill is taking food from our native predators.
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Originally Posted by senecat
I never said anything about not liking a particular animal, just stating the problems that are occurring as the number of coyotes is rising exponentially. Coyotes are creeping into areas of large populations of people and since you say you are a biologist why then wouldn't you see a problem with this?
I think I speak for most biologists when I say we see this "problem" in the exact opposite way.
In a lot of ways, the growing urban coyote population is an ecological success story. As people develop, and expand, nature is adapting. Wildlife that used to be very seldom seen even in pristine habitat is becoming abundant in our backyards! Granted, "our backyards" take up more space than they ever have before. I don't have the data in front of me right now, but last I checked approximately 70% of North American wildlife species now live in suburban/urban environments. Our wildlife have to live somewhere, and we can all share the habitat if people are willing to give a little.
On December 3rd at 7 PM, Dr Roland Kays is giving a lecture at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in DT Raleigh on our Eastern coyotes. It is part of the museum's "Extreme Mammals" exhibit. That lecture would be a great opportunity to learn more about coyotes, and get your questions answered by a professional.
Roland Kays is also doing a tracking study of free roaming cats to find out where they go. I don't know if he is still recruiting cat owners for the study, but you can certainly ask him about what he has learned so far from the data he's collected. It's really interesting stuff!
Sorry, I did not read all 5 pages, but my stance is... cats are animals like every mammal. Domesticated or not... these animals long to be in nature.. as do most humans with any sense of psychical existence. That said, it is not always convenient to have an outdoor cat. But one has to ask oneself; what one is doing harboring any animal in a fully human-created cornucopia, where we think we can master said emulated natural environment indoors. Can we?
We think we can, and animal behaviors somewhat back up the claim that we can. However we have to remember that all pets came from the natural world in which we dominated. Thus, we should act as the God's we are in the animal kingdom and fully evaluate all aspects of ownership over said animal.
I would say growing up, the happiest and most memorable cat my parents ever had, was an outdoor cat. It's not always possible to have an outdoor cat given the area it lives etc... but if the option exists... I'd much rather see a cat enjoy nature as I do. But only if that option exists. Responsible pet ownership is key though. Dogs or cats.
Last edited by StaticMedia; 11-14-2015 at 11:38 PM..
Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
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True indeed. Nothing more miserable then hearing a cat whine at the window for hours wanting to go out. Growing up my cats went out in the day and came in at night. Or vice versa. They were much happier and easier to care for then my indoor cats. The only problem is cats that aren't "fixed" will tend to wander farther or fight other male cats but that's easily "fixed" in most cases.
True indeed. Nothing more miserable then hearing a cat whine at the window for hours wanting to go out. Growing up my cats went out in the day and came in at night. Or vice versa. They were much happier and easier to care for then my indoor cats. The only problem is cats that aren't "fixed" will tend to wander farther or fight other male cats but that's easily "fixed" in most cases.
Mine love to look out but do not want to leave for the outdoors.
The Coyotes I've seen here are significantly larger than the scrawny 25-30 lb ones I've seen out west. I have a picture of one that was hit by a car on Highway 98 outside of Wake Forest that would be in the 45-50 lb range.
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