Coyote Problem

[TAFKALVS]

our dog will go tearing after them if we let him out to pee at night or early morning...thank god our local coyotes aren't that aggressive

tho the fuckers are smart

we have an invisible fence and they just retreat out into the street while fluffy bellows at them from the yard...they are pretty indifferent to his noise and arrogantly just wait for us to take him back inside

We have mountain coyotes that have to survive harsh winters and don't have access to ample garbage cans. Our yotes are hungry little buggers.

[KQ]

Last night the coyotes were quite raucous and sounded close to the barn. Have been finding a lot of scat along the river road too. When I first moved here in '08 it was crazy at night - sounded like hundreds of them surrounding the place. Coyotes are considered a pest species so it's always open season on them. Ranchers do a lot to keep them in check and I'm okay with that as they don't seem in any danger of becoming threatened. I often see them in my horse pastures in the middle of the day.

[Mazderati]

Don't get the coyote hate. They're wild animals. Of course they're going to hunt to eat. Just like your own dog would do if it were wild.

[KQ]

Don't get the coyote hate. They're wild animals. Of course they're going to hunt to eat. Just like your own dog would do if it were wild.

Don't hate them but don't enjoy losing animals either. For a rancher it's tough. Coyotes lay in wait for calves to be born then grab them and run. Each calf is worth upwards of $1,200.00. That's precious income for a rancher and no, these aren't people who have their cattle up in the hills on open range. These are folks who live just outside the city limits in the unincorporated county with fenced off property and cattle within sight of the house. It's the same as a thief that steals from any business.

[TAFKALVS]

Don't get the coyote hate. They're wild animals. Of course they're going to hunt to eat. Just like your own dog would do if it were wild.

Like I said, I enjoy watching them from a distance and I don't actively hunt them. But if they get within 100 yards of our house I smoke 'em. Seems pretty simple and fair for all the parties. Since enacting that policy they avoid coming that close.

What city do you live in?

[summit]

Actually it does work. It won't significantly reduce the total population it it's just a local effort of course, but coyotes, much like crows (interesting article on crows learning about danger here.) are adapted to live on the edge of, and infiltrated though, human society. And they know that, like Clint said, "Dying ain't much of a living."

They learn the danger areas, and they pass that knowledge on to each other and to subsequent generations. Keep killing coyotes and crows and you'll see a lot less of them over time. There will be just as many of course but they will simply avoid you, as makes sense from a survival standpoint. If they're overpopulated locally and you have a ready food source they will risk death to eat as you might expect, but if things are fairly well-balanced locally they'll just eat soemwhere else.

This.

And there's a reason Hippy Prof. Dan went to the NYT for his soppy letter to the editor instead of his local Sante Fe New Mexican.

[Mazderati]

It's the same as a thief that steals from any business.

No, it's not. That's how the ecosystem works.

[bodywhomper]

there's a lot of research done out of logan on some of this subject.

i live in an rural area where people raise livestock (cattle, milk cow, goat, sheep, alpaca, chicken, turkey, goose, etc.) for domestic and commercial use. There is a constant debate among these folks about how to treat the predators (black bear, coyote, fox, lion). i hear it mostly revolve around bear.

It's the same as a thief that steals from any business.

that is a fucked-up analogy and assumes that other species understand our cultural constructions of thievery, stealing, and punishment.

[Mazderati]

Like I said, I enjoy watching them from a distance and I don't actively hunt them. But if they get within 100 yards of our house I smoke 'em. Seems pretty simple and fair for all the parties. Since enacting that policy they avoid coming that close.

What city do you live in?

Let me guess. You've got me pegged as a city slicker who has no experience with wildlife and can't possibly have an educated opinion on the matter. But, here's the thing. Standing on your front porch with its builder grade rusty wrought iron columns wearing nothing but boxers and mustard stained t-shirt yelling at those damn coyotes like you're Leonardo DiCaprio at the front of Titanic as if you can't be inconvenienced by the natural order of things is right out of the hick playbook.

[Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo]

No, it's not. That's how the ecosystem works.

You're right, and humans are part of that ecosystem, have been ever since we set foot on this continent 10,000 years ago. And just like a mama elk will do what she can to protect her investment in her newborn calf, so will ranchers protect their investments. Unfair for the coyotes? Probably, but coyotes are smart and their population dynamics are such that hunting them often only ensures plenty more coyotes. Short of a concerted and widespread campaign of poisoning and gassing dens when the new pups are born in the spring, coyotes in this country, even out west, are in no danger of extinction. Your sympathy is misplaced and smacks of a hubris and condescension only humans are capable of.

[summit]

that is a fucked-up analogy and assumes that other species understand our cultural constructions of thievery, stealing, and punishment.

You've grossly misinterpreted her statement. She means the effect of predation is the same as theft.

The coyotes are not shot for violating human laws, but to stop and prevent predation.

The ideal of sustainable ranching does not include yotes taking what they please. The ideal of conservation does not preclude shooting nuisance predators that venture into residential areas.

We are the apex predator of this planet, but bounties on yotes, don't fall within sustainability or conservation ideals.

[Mazderati]

"Plenty of coyotes out there. Doesn't matter if a couple thousand are killed." Like it's all figured out.

I'm not a fan of indiscriminate killing. What can I say.

[TAFKALVS]

Let me guess. You've got me pegged as a city slicker who has no experience with wildlife and can't possibly have an educated opinion on the matter. But, here's the thing. Standing on your front porch with its builder grade rusty wrought iron columns wearing nothing but boxers and mustard stained t-shirt yelling at those damn coyotes like you're Leonardo DiCaprio at the front of Titanic as if you can't be inconvenienced by the natural order of things is right out of the hick playbook.

What city do you live in?

[Mazderati]

Not relevant.

[summit]

"Plenty of coyotes out there. Doesn't matter if a couple thousand are killed." Like it's all figured out.

I'm not a fan of indiscriminate killing. What can I say.

Coyotes understand territory. Killing a coyote on your territory to deter others from predating pets/livestock on your territory is not indiscriminate killing. The result is thousands of dead coyotes and this is a valid and justified form of controlling and deterring nuisance predators.

Offering a bounty to kill as many coyotes as possible in the wild is indiscriminate killing and a waste of taxpayer dollars.

[riser4]

Not into killing animals for no reason other than killing animals. I find that to be sick and twisted. At least harvest something from the animal. Trophy's don't count. That's just macho posturing. And for dog's sake apologize to it for killing it. Pest control is warranted if no reasonable option exists. Like it or not, humans have taken other animals habitats. The definition of 'reasonable' is of course the sticking point. Keeping coyote's to a 100 yd perimeter is reasonable. So's shooting off the porch wearing boxer shorts.

[TAFKALVS]

Not into killing animals for no reason other than killing animals. I find that to be sick and twisted. At least harvest something from the animal. Trophy's don't count. That's just macho posturing. .

I wholeheartedly agree.

And for the record, I wear a bathrobe when porch hunting.

[plugboots]

Killing a coyote on your territory to deter others from predating pets/livestock on your territory is not indiscriminate killing. The result is thousands of dead coyotes and this is a valid and justified form of controlling and deterring nuisance predators.

I'm not sure I'm reading you right. It has shown to not work on a real sustainable basis.

[BCMtnHound]

I'm not sure I'm reading you right. It has shown to not work on a real sustainable basis.

Negentropy - forever messing with the notion of sustainability [emoji12]

[summit]

I'm not sure I'm reading you right. It has shown to not work on a real sustainable basis.

Depends... the worst type of reinforcement is intermittent reinforcement. If they have as successful hunt one time, shot at the next, and nothing the third, well that won't work.

[riser4]

And for the record, I wear a bathrobe when porch hunting.

Hmmm. I think the sleeves might ruin my already crappy aim unless i was using a porch railing or other rest. Pockets are cool though. And if it is chilly out, nice to keep the breeze off the junk. I can't hunt, porch or otherwise, inside the city limits here at my humble adobe.

[GimpToo]

Well, since I am somewhat a 'city slicker' . . . what happens to the carcass after eliminating such "yote" that is within 100 yards of your porch - have no feeling either way, just curious . . . thanks!!

[Bunion 2020]

Thread degeneration in progress.

I think Summit has summed it up best.

If they are preying on your animals or pets then about the only thing they understand is a bullet.

However if you are like many of the shitheads around here I must say STFU, their idea of a good time is to go out into the middle of bumfuck Egypt and attempt long distance shots in the name of Sport or entertainment on a living creature that is just trying to earn a buck (as it were).

MHO.

[DougW]

We have had no problems though only have one year with calves. Actually I saw our herd putting a run on a coyote crossing their field. One morning I was coming by an noticed they were all bunched up together. 3 very pregnant cows( one had twins) , one cow that didn't take and nine steers all on the big side. I saw them all moving together and then saw the reason, a very scared looking coyote running away with pretty frequent looks over his shoulder. Then 3 big steers broke and really put a chase on him. In all chased him about a 1/4 mile top the back corner of the field.

[tenB]

Not relevant.

Yes it is relevant. I shoot them off my back deck wearing a wife beater and tighty whities. I lost a 5yr old lab to coyotes last year. They come too close to my puppy and kids now, so my ecosystem is adjusting accordingly. Nothing indiscriminate about it. Fully intentional with defined purpose.