Coyotes can be about as tall as a 50-pound dog, and they’re pretty bushy-haired, so they can look heavier than they really are. But any coyote I’ve ever seen is really skinny beneath that hair.
For coloration, a key indicator is the tip of its tail. I think all coyotes are light-colored, but the tip of the tail is dark.
That’s true. Here in the AZ summer heat, they shed most of their coat and really look scrawny and mangy. Also, when have seen them in the pouring rain, it’s funny to see how skinny they are., like a hairy dog after a bath.
There were two coyote attacks in Calgary parks this summer.
Both on small children (who did have parents near by)
It was just one animal each time, not a group.
Animal services determined the coyotes involved were part of a group that someone had been feeding for quite some time.
(sorry no links - the newspaper no longer has its search function it seems)
I have twice seen coyotes here in North Texas recently. Both times I came across them while cycling. The animals looked very unhealthy/mangy and fled when they saw me. Both times I surprised them and came very close before they ran. In one instance the coyote was in the woods and probably had little contact with people. The more recent time the animal was on a sort of low populated suburban street. Its body had almost a wippet shape. There have not been any attacks which I have heard of and these animals were small enough (30 or 40 pounds) that they would only be a real threat to children.
The coyote is an opportunistic hunter/forager. So I guess the answer to the question of whether or not they might attack humans is decidedly–yes. If you were small enough or in a weak enough state you might look like food to them. However, I think you have to keep in mind that even a small injury can be disatrous/fatal for a coyote so they are really not interested in taking chances.
I’ve heard a common story out here in Utah red-rock country that a female coyote will lure your male dog away from you while you’re hiking and lead him into a trap where the rest of the pack will pounce on him and gobble him up. But I can’t find any documented evidence to that.
Here’s some cool coyote stuff:
http://www.desertusa.com/june96/du_cycot.html
http://www.desertusa.com/june96/cycot_qa.html
Have coyotes bred with wild domesticated dogs like dingos in Australia? In Australia they are trying to protect dingoes, because pure dingoes are becoming quite rare.
I’ve come across coyotes about 20 times in my life, and I would say that racoons are far more likely to stand their ground. Hell, even squirrels are braver. My most common memory of the coyotes is their ass end and a cloud of dust.
But I do enjoy what they do to the urban cat population in my neighborhood (Saint Paul, MN. Two blocks from the Mighty Miss). A DNR guy once told me that they know when coyotes are moving up the river valley by spikes in the number of ‘missing cat’ posters. I hope they get the one that sprays right outside my window. He-ee-erre coyote-coyote-coyote…