Ever Encounter a Coyote or Other Wild Animal? WWYD About Future Walking? (look, Idaho)
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We used to get mountain lion wandering through town. Pets, especially domestic cats, out for the night were in the most danger. But I recognize I am nothing but a meal to a mtn lion if I'm caught unawares.
Coyotes are mostly opportunists, they go after easy prey, though they have shown themselves to be a threat to women who are menstruating. Be smart.
Humans have never actually been "at the top of the food chain" because we utilize invented weapons rather than the physical characteristics we were born with, like every other animal does. It's the weapons and the ability to completely destroy habitats that has put us there, not relying on any natural physical ability to defend ourselves and overpower other species. Take all that away and we are actually very far down the list as compared to the true apex predators.
I've pondered this before.
Thinking that in reality a human without "props" have about the same ability of self protection as an earthworm.
Bunny's are faster. Squirrles can go straight up a tree or across an electrical line. Deer are agile & fast; they can go from standing still to clearing a car in seconds & their hooves are nothing to sneeze at. We aren't the only creatures with thumbs ... primates have thumbs & we would be torn to shreds by one that was 1/5th our size.
We do have one qualifying physical characteristic; our brain. Maybe natural selection favors brain vs brawn?
So just this morning one of my 15yr old daughters took the dog out for a before school walk. They usually do it together (twins) but this morning the other one was running late.
She got almost all the way back when a woman pulled her car up to her & told her to "Get home; real quick!" Because she had just passed "A whole pack of WOLVES down the street by that tree" ... & motioned over across the street to a small open space area that our house is 2 houses away from.
I'm pretty sure what she saw were coyotes & that wouldn't surprise me as we have had them in our yards every night. Although I swear I saw a wolf within city limits about 6 months after the fire ... there was a full moon & it "loped" right in front of me & across the street. Pure silver/grey & big. It just didn't walk like a coyote yet it's walk was streamlined like a wild animal; not scattered like a dog.
I live right off a main busy road in the city, but there's a couple wooded/undeveloped lots in our neighborhood. Over the last 7 years I've lived here I have seen a few coyotes. About 3-4 months ago I looked out my bathroom window that looks out to my side yard, and that borders one of the wooded lots, and just slowly walking by was a coyote. I hadn't seen one in about 3 years so it surprised me, and it being daytime, it was unusual too. I garden a lot, so thankfully I've not encountered a coyote, or any other worrisome animal.
There's a variety of small wildlife in my area, and one wouldn't think so where I live.
So just this morning one of my 15yr old daughters took the dog out for a before school walk. They usually do it together (twins) but this morning the other one was running late.
She got almost all the way back when a woman pulled her car up to her & told her to "Get home; real quick!" Because she had just passed "A whole pack of WOLVES down the street by that tree" ... & motioned over across the street to a small open space area that our house is 2 houses away from.
I'm pretty sure what she saw were coyotes & that wouldn't surprise me as we have had them in our yards every night. Although I swear I saw a wolf within city limits about 6 months after the fire ... there was a full moon & it "loped" right in front of me & across the street. Pure silver/grey & big. It just didn't walk like a coyote yet it's walk was streamlined like a wild animal; not scattered like a dog.
Could have been a coy-dog. Wolves have extremely long legs compared to dogs and coyotes. Their tails will almost look short in comparison to their leg length. Their feet are also noticeably big. Their overall appearance is gangly and lanky. Coyotes look more compact. The color isn't definitive. They vary from almost pure black to pure white (but white is usually at high latitudes). Coyote coat color varies a lot less than wolf coat colors. Once you've seen a wolf you will be shocked how distinctive they are.
As for being worried about coyotes, I am not. They have no real reason to target you as food, as they are quite successful wherever they happen to live. If a coyote does not leave or even react once they realize they've been seen, there is a chance it is sick, but again, not likely to actually attack a healthy human. I remember once when I was a kid living in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mtns near Glendale, CA I saw a large brindle-grey, light-eyed canine lying on the backyard lawn. Probably waiting for our terriers to wander too close. When I called out it casually got up, glared at me, turned and leaped over a 4' fence as if it was nothing. Never forgot it, but I knew it was probably a hybrid of some sort.
Last edited by Parnassia; 08-25-2017 at 12:46 AM..
So just this morning one of my 15yr old daughters took the dog out for a before school walk. They usually do it together (twins) but this morning the other one was running late.
She got almost all the way back when a woman pulled her car up to her & told her to "Get home; real quick!" Because she had just passed "A whole pack of WOLVES down the street by that tree" ... & motioned over across the street to a small open space area that our house is 2 houses away from.
I'm pretty sure what she saw were coyotes & that wouldn't surprise me as we have had them in our yards every night. Although I swear I saw a wolf within city limits about 6 months after the fire ... there was a full moon & it "loped" right in front of me & across the street. Pure silver/grey & big. It just didn't walk like a coyote yet it's walk was streamlined like a wild animal; not scattered like a dog.
That said, the woman who stopped Cos_Christi's daughter, had 99.99999% seen a group of coyotes. Wolves are even more rare than mountain lions here. Coyotes on the other hand, are all over the year, in small numbers & in packs, thousands, everywhere. They're not exactly a surprise to those of us who spend any time outdoors or paying attention :-) I wonder if that woman had just moved to the area? Out of towners are often not used to our proximity to wild life &/or the lack of danger the animals pose.
I live in the city, surrounded by businesses and shops. But it's a new area, and there are 2 undeveloped fields very near. I often see foxes, always just after dark or, on occasion, early in the morning before daylight. I've seen them walk, single file, right down the sidewalk in front of my apartment. Sometimes, they are alone. One neighbor once opened his front door and there was a fox on his porch.
I've warned my neighbors, who rarely leave their apartments or even open their blinds, to never, ever walk their dogs after dark. They look at me like I'm the crazy one. Oh, well. It's a matter of time.
Why? Foxes don't attack dogs or people. I lived among hundreds of foxes in my suburban area, they're great, they kill rodents :-). The worst thing they do is their vocalizations can be terrifying & annoying as hell. That said, they almost never vocalize. But we had one that often spent time in our tiny suburban yard & would sit on our fencepost screeching like nothing you've ever heard at 2am. We think she was in heat.
I once almost tripped over one, walking at night, I mean inches away from each other, we both went our separate ways. Obviously rabid foxes can be an issue, but they are quite rare. People who are unfamiliar with areas where wildlife encounters are common, can be unduly frightened - I remember a woman screaming at me in all caps one of my message boards. I had posted a pic of a fox taking a nap in the middle of the day, in my yard. She started screaming that it was rabid & to call the authorities & that it was "not normal fox behavior" LOL. I told her she didn't know the foxes in Colorado ;-) I told her not to worry, it wasn't rabid, everything was fine, that we tons of foxes, this was no big deal. She wouldn't let up until another person from Colorado posted & vouched for my sanity, that this was in fact a pretty common occurrence & there was no need to call the DOW.
For a good 13 years, we knew where they had their kits every year, it was on a hill at an elementary school in the hood. There was a little concrete embankment where momma could hide them. Every year, we would walk by & watch them. Their behavior with babies was fascinating & they are so beautiful! Sadly, about 4 years ago, the ones in my immediate neighborhood disappeared :-(. We really missed them. I am told by the experts that either a disease or predators got them, but I hadn't noticed any increase in predators over prior years (we've always had lots of predators), so I have to assume it was disease.
There really isn't anything for a human to worry about walking in the proximity of foxes, day or night, unless they are rabid, but that holds true for any rabid animals. We have more rabid bats here than anything else. That & Bubonic Plague & Hantavirus. Just avoid mixing with rodents & feces & you'll generally be just fine.
ETA: foxes are pretty small, I was surprised to hear that they are fairly regular prey for owls & some other birds of prey! Once at Rocky Mtn National Park, I had pulled to the side of the road & crinkled a wrapper, as I was getting out of my car. Here comes a fox, came up to about 6 feet in front of my mom & I, stopped, sat & basically begged like a dog LOL.
That said, the woman who stopped Cos_Christi's daughter, had 99.99999% seen a group of coyotes. Wolves are even more rare than mountain lions here. Coyotes on the other hand, are all over the year, in small numbers & in packs, thousands, everywhere. They're not exactly a surprise to those of us who spend any time outdoors or paying attention :-) I wonder if that woman had just moved to the area? Out of towners are often not used to our proximity to wild life &/or the lack of danger the animals pose.
On the East Coast coyotes are believed to have hybridized with wolves. No one knows for sure what the sex lives of these wild creatures are. Coyotes are not typically pack animals but wolves are. Maybe we're seeing some of that as reintroduced wolves in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana are crossing with local coyotes and spreading.
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