Very concerned over pack of coyotes in my area. Should this be reported?

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by hunterseat

There's an environmental branch within our organization and they've given me the same info about killing them causes an increase in litter size. Although that doesn't really make sense to me, it seems an even better reason to figure out how to control their population.

Part of this has to do with social stress, competition for resources, and obviously contagious disease. Many species react to low populations with a spurt in fecundity, though the exact mechanism differs with the species.

In some species (game birds that flock for part or all of the year are a good example), higher population creates more social stress, which raises stress hormones, which affect physiological condition, alters behavior, and suppresses fecundity. Clutch sizes tend to be smaller. If the population is low, that pressure decreases, so clutch sizes increase. Even though the direct reason for the increase in fecundity isn't to boost the population back to some idea size, that's how it ends up functioning.

A more obvious one is competition...for food, defensible territories, mates, den sites, etc. If the population of your direct competitors is low, you get a bigger portion of available resources...so you are in better physical condition and can bear more young. If the population is high, just the opposite. Different species have different tolerances for competition.

One big reason there's a problem with the coyote population size is lack of predators...man is really the only one left that's serious enough for them to contend with and we're not behaving in the manner of a natural predator at all. The other reasons are created by us; we tend to concentrate easy pickings food around ourselves and its available all year round year after year. The coyotes can just move closer and stay fat. More of them are physiologically able to bear young because of it. No easy pickings food all the time, fewer puppies survive to reach adulthood and bear young of their own.

[Bondurant]

I live in Phoenix. Coyotes are common in the Phoenix metro area. Attacks on humans are rare enough that it makes the news if it happens. A few years ago there was a few attacks in Peoria. Quite rare unless rabid. Some coyotes are mold because they are used to people but most would likely scatter in the presence of humans. Never a bad idea to use caution.

[Drewjdeg]

I don't know if I would necessarily be worried about a specific pack, coyotes are pretty common in wooded areas all over the state. I'd argue that people are often within close proximity to coyotes without even knowing it. They tend to keep their distance.

[guidoLaMoto]

Many good posts above.


A couple points of clarification:


-Pre-Columbian range of coyote was limited to west of the Miss. R. Their preferred habitat was open spaces like prairie. Pioneering farmers de-forested large tracts of land this side of The River, turning it into de facto prairie and the coyotes where able to capitalize on that.


-Coyotes are at the top of the food chain in their niche-- they feed on smaller rodents/birds & insects. No real competitor. Wolves hunt larger stuff whenever possible so minimal interaction between the two, although all carnivores generally don't tolerate each other very well. They don't play well with others.


-Coyotes historically don't form packs like wolves. They hunt in solitary, but many reports of interbreeding with wolves in east Canada, and the hybrids are apparently forming in packs. It seems to be spreading east & south into the US, and it remains to be seen what impact this will have on expected behaviors.


-Before retirement, we lived on the edge of Chicagoland, fast up against the 66,000 ac Forest Preserve. (Yea, I'm one of those FIBs.) It was quit common to see coyotes strolling up our street. They were very tolerant of humans, passing within 20 ft of me as I gardened on the front lawn, pausing to glance back at me like they commonly do, just to make sure I wasn't following. If my German Shepherds were with me on leashes, they'd meander to leave a 50 ft buffer, but still nonchalantly proceed, although the dogs had their cape hairs bristled up and growling in that low way when they're serious.


-Now that we live in rural WI on 40 ac surrounded by a few corn/bean plots, pastures, but mostly woods. I hear the coyote howling nightly, but haven't seen one in 5 yrs.


- I agree about hunting for population control. If population is large and harvest is low, it's like dipping a bucket in the lake hoping to make a hole....Killing one only makes sense if it's an individual who has discovered your chicken coop and will now habitually return. It needs to be taught a lesson.


-If you think coyotes in your neighborhood may prove menacing, I understand they're suckers for that trick where you paint a fake cave opening on the wall of the cliff and then they smash into it.

[WyoNewk]

I grew up on a farm in Kansas and went on a couple big coyote hunts (with my dad and older brother) where we'd all be spread out and walk inwards to a central point and gun them down with shotguns as we approached the center. I can't recall how many square miles for sure, but I'm thinking it was 5 or 6 miles square (25-36 square miles).

By the time we approached the center, coyotes were getting fairly thick, as were the hunters, and shotguns were perfect. I might have had a .22 single at that point, but I had to walk the coyote hunt without a gun.

I don't know if they still do those things at all. Do they? The last one I was in was nearly 65 years ago, before our family moved from Kansas to Iowa where coyotes weren't a problem.

Our house was on a knoll with good visibility, and I can recall a couple times at least when my dad shot a coyote nearly a half-mile off with his 45-70. I think we got $25 reward for a pair of coyote ears. That was in the '50s, so that was a good reward at the time. (If I'm remembering it correctly.) And yeh, we also got something for the skin.

As farmers, we didn't like coyotes at all. More than once they killed newborn piglets or calves. I've got no idea what's done these days to control them.

[2x3x29x41]

Originally Posted by hunterseat

I noticed this thread since I'm an avid coyote hater. I've lost many pets, mostly barn cats to them from MS to CT. They're like stray dogs breeding uncontrollably. I'm living in a Mojave Desert town. People have been bit trying to protect their pets.

Generally they don't pack up but as a litter grows they're a pack. If they wanted to take down a new foal/ baby horse, they can and will. They'll go after anything for a meal if they're hungry. Not just small pets.

I don't trust them around children. There's an RV park here and the coyotes have taken to watching the kids playing.
Most states have a generous coyote season. Shoot them.

Btw, dogs don't consider them as kindred spirits. They don't like them either.

FFS...

McGovern Park and Havenwoods are smack in the middle of Milwaukee, a city of 600,000 people.

No. No, do not hunt the coyotes that are the subject of this thread.

Sheesh...

[Curly Q. Bobalink]

Originally Posted by WyoNewk

I grew up on a farm in Kansas and went on a couple big coyote hunts (with my dad and older brother) where we'd all be spread out and walk inwards to a central point and gun them down with shotguns as we approached the center. I can't recall how many square miles for sure, but I'm thinking it was 5 or 6 miles square (25-36 square miles).

By the time we approached the center, coyotes were getting fairly thick, as were the hunters, and shotguns were perfect. I might have had a .22 single at that point, but I had to walk the coyote hunt without a gun.

I don't know if they still do those things at all. Do they? The last one I was in was nearly 65 years ago, before our family moved from Kansas to Iowa where coyotes weren't a problem.

Our house was on a knoll with good visibility, and I can recall a couple times at least when my dad shot a coyote nearly a half-mile off with his 45-70. I think we got $25 reward for a pair of coyote ears. That was in the '50s, so that was a good reward at the time. (If I'm remembering it correctly.) And yeh, we also got something for the skin.

As farmers, we didn't like coyotes at all. More than once they killed newborn piglets or calves. I've got no idea what's done these days to control them.

I had one stalk us while walking the dog on a remote forest preserve path some years ago. Never got closer than about two hundred feet (that I knew of), but anytime I turned and looked, there he was - he was waiting for me to break an ankle, LOL. At work, we had quite a bit of property, and every year would have a new litter of pups, it was fun to hear them yipping on summer nights. When one would start skirting the building across the parking lot, I told Security to holler at them, maybe even toss a rock at the boldest ones - you need to keep them afraid of humans - never feel sorry for one and start feeding it. the worst thing about them is the boneyard of used ACME rocket engines and anvils they leave behind.

[Milwaukee City]

One thing I want to add is this, get a trail cam. You'd be very surprised on what kinds of wildlife live in your area. You can get a great trail cam from campark for about $40 on amazon. I have two setup, first I thought I would have deer more in the back woods of my house but as it turns out from moving my camera all over my property 1.5 acres, I notice wildlife was making a trail right past my back door and right in front of my door mostly at night. I noticed a ton of cats, turkeys and apparently a squirrel party.



Note to self: do not camp near a log over water...lol.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyrbqiCokdw

[NDak15]

Originally Posted by Deelightful

Hello,

I've been seeing posts on another board about a pack of coyotes in the McGovern Park area and Havenwoods. Thankfully, I haven't run into one yet. I've heard that there are several and one really big one. The big coyote supposedly isn't scared of humans. We have a lot of children in the area. I'm just worried about possible attacks. People say that they are more scared of you than you are scared of them. I hope this is true. Does anyone else have any concerns? What are your communities doing about this rise of coyotes? Suggestions?

Thank you.

Just tell the girls not to wear red hoods and carry goodies to Grandma. Oh wait that's wolves. Oh wait, wolves and coyotes are going to leave humans alone. In all seriousness, you have a greater chance of being killed by a dog or a white tailed deer than a wild canine. The only threat will be if you have cats or small dogs running loose or if you have chickens or rabbits. You'd be surprised how common coyotes are in urban areas.

[guidoLaMoto]

Originally Posted by Milwaukee City

…. and apparently a squirrel party.

Yes, squirrels are well known among the serious Naturalists to be very hard partiers. They go on all night, every night. Their lewd & licentious behavior is legendary, with very high rates of alcoholism & drug addiction. Their company is shunned by all hard working, responsible species like ants, bees & beavers. (Although, I've heard, grasshoppers are almost as bad.) They are an embarrassment to the rest of the natural world. They rarely attend church services...even on Easter. For shame!