I live in upstate in a fairly rural area, but certainly not deep woods. My home is sandwiched between Route 81 (a main north-south thruway) and a parallel road Route 11. The two roads are about 200 yards apart.
I've had issues with coyotes before and ended up shooting one with my .270 after it kept coming right up to the house in broad daylight looking for food. I had several run ins with it for over a year and it got bolder and bolder and refused to run when I confronted it. I have a bunch of grandchildren who love to play in the yard on the swing set, monkey bars, and trampoline. My brothers and sisters have small kids that come over all the time and play in the yard as well as nieces and nephews with their small children, so I don't like coyotes that close.
Now there is a litter of pups that routinely play in the yard and aren't that afraid of people. They watch me mow the lawn with curiosity rather than fright. When I park my car, they stop playing long enough to watch me get out of the car and walk to the door, then return to playing.
I love nature and am fascinated with the bald eagles, weasels and mink, coyotes, and the occasional bear and even wild pigs, etc., but I just don't want to shoot these little coyotes that I fear are going to become a big problem in a very short while.
The DEC is closed this weekend, but I was going to call them Monday morning to see if there's a way to capture them and take them into the deeper woods somewhere.
Any other suggestion is welcome.
I took a few pictures this morning of them playing in the yard or the flower box by the shed.
1) he uses large firecrackers to get their attention. 90% of the time, the bear will run for the hills and they pose no threat at all
2) When they don't run, he uses a special gun that shoots rubber bullets. This usually makes the more stubborn ones run for the hills
3) When a bear doesn't respond to firecrackers or rubber bullets and seems unafraid of humans, they shoot the bear dead using 300 Win. Mag hollow points.
As long as a wild animal runs away from you, they are not a threat. It's when they don't run it becomes an issue.
My experience with the coyote that I finally shot a couple years ago was interesting. I had seen him numerous times for over a year. But one day I went outside to have a smoke and there he was about 30 ft away concentrating on a field mouse. So I said, "HEY!" He looked up at me and at first just stared. But he didn't run. So I said, "Look - Fire" as I held up my lighter and lit it. Instead of running, he cocked his head to the side like he was curious. So I said, "you're supposed to run asshole", but he didn't. I then thought to myself, "I am not giving my yard up to a coyote" so I took a couple of quick steps towards him. Instead of running, he took a couple of steps towards me. That made me nervous. So I started running right at him and he took off, but not very far. He hid behind a tree and poked his head out to see what I was doing and snarling at me. So I said to myself, "fuck this, I'm going back inside". Then he took off. A while later he was coming right to the house looking for garbage or food right in the broad daylight. So I got out my .270 and popped him. I felt like shit killing it, but he had just gotten too bold and unafraid.
Bottom line: once coyotes no longer fear you - they are dangerous as hell, just like any wild animal.
There isn't some animal control farm upstate where trapped skunks, bears, raccoons, and coyotes sing kumbaya by the river.
I'd draw a map our my property, but don't know how and you'd understand. I have about 25 acres of land. I'd say it's shaped like a big "T" with my house at the base of the "T", except that the left hand side of the T is filled in. The right side of the T belongs to my neighbor and the den is on his property. It's overgrown brush and tall grass. He thinks the coyotes are cool and doesn't want to blow up the den.
I found one on my property a couple years back and destroyed it. There was a woodchuck hole under an old scrub apple tree that suddenly was about 20 inches in diameter and much deeper than when woodchucks lived in it. I suspect coyotes dug it up to get to the woodchuck and then decided it would make a good home.
Yup, the more populated they become, the food supply goes down. They feed primarily on rabbits and field mice or moles, but they will take down a small deer and we have a case in my town where coyotes killed and half ate a calf.
The most dangerous time for a doe giving birth to a fawn is during the actual birth. Coyotes can smell it for a mile and the newborn fawn doesn't stand a chance if they find it.
But year, any small animal is food to them. I'm not sure they actually eat foxes and dogs, but see them as competition for food or competition for the land they've staked out as their own. I pay very close attention to the nature in my back yard and there are times when the yard is covered with rabbits and woodchucks up on the hill. And there aren't any coyotes. Then a year later there won't be a rabbit or woodchuck to be seen anywhere because the coyotes have cleaned them out. So it goes back and forth like high tide low tide, only in year long intervals. I always felt sorry for the rabbits. Their only role in life is a food source for foxes, bobcats, and coyotes. They survive because the breed nonstop and have big litters. By the time a rabbit is three months old, it's already having more baby rabbits. Their lifespan in coyote and fox infested areas is about 4 or 5 months....if they're lucky!
you take away their habitat they are forced to enter yours.
I wouldn't worry about the pups in the picture, my first thought was the mother was killed somehow (hit by a car, hunter, etc.), but adult coyotes are absolutely a threat to small children.
not sure if that qualifies as paranoia though so I'll wait until a passive aggressive poster comments on it (not you ctc)
Thanks PJ
Dusk is the time to watch when you are walking your little dog or letting young kids play at the edge of cover. It's just common sense. There are the outliers naturally. just like teaching you kids what a rattle snake sounds like and to run
A few years back I was in with a group that leased 20,000 acres of Lykes Brothers land called rainy slough. We had the quail rights so we could train our bird dogs there. There were other leasor's who had the deer, turkey, and hog rights.
Quail are actually way down on a coyote's prey list. Too much energy to exert on little energy return. They pray on quail nest predators such as coons, opossums, skunks, hogs,etc.
I am with you that Marvic is answering his own question. Get a dog or a critter (donkey), that will run them off the pproperty.
That's where I live, I'm at the Trinity Center all the time.
Gotta think I've crossed paths with you at some point.
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No response to my input concerning a Den? Those pups just do not show up at your place for the Hell of it. Seriously....their den is close by. Young carnivores rarely travel from home base until they get large enough for Mom to train them to hunt and feed themselves. In the meantime Mom hunts and the pups hang out at your place...which is their home too. Find the den and destroy it.
I'd draw a map our my property, but don't know how and you'd understand. I have about 25 acres of land. I'd say it's shaped like a big "T" with my house at the base of the "T", except that the left hand side of the T is filled in. The right side of the T belongs to my neighbor and the den is on his property. It's overgrown brush and tall grass. He thinks the coyotes are cool and doesn't want to blow up the den.
I found one on my property a couple years back and destroyed it. There was a woodchuck hole under an old scrub apple tree that suddenly was about 20 inches in diameter and much deeper than when woodchucks lived in it. I suspect coyotes dug it up to get to the woodchuck and then decided it would make a good home.
Ummm, what happens if you destroy their den?
It wouldn't lead to cruel suffering?