# wow, I saw a coyote in my backyard today! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 25, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659 "2014-01-25T01:44:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/21 "2014-01-25T17:00:25Z")
Coyotes hunt by day in Albuquerque, usually in open space parks or along the river. They don’t seem terribly shy and I’ve gotten a few pictures. Mountain lions and bears sometimes come to town too, with the lions sometimes eating pets. The police usually tranquilize them and move them out to the wilderness. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/22 "2014-01-26T14:03:56Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > My dog is not small enough to be considered ‘prey’ to a coyote. But I think if he were to chase after one or surprise it at a kill, there could be a fight - and my dog would not win! Normally, he is old enough and well trained enough that most mornings I let him out off leash to take care of business in the yard - and he comes right back. But I’m pretty sure that he would chase or otherwise take issue with, any coyote that might be in the area. And that would not end well. So I think I’m going to have to only let him out on his tie out now… I’ve heard that sometimes they will have a lone coyote lure a dog into chasing them into the brush where the rest of the pack is waiting. They’re smart. I would not count on having him tied up to keep him safe. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/23 "2014-01-26T15:59:17Z")
Coyotes live on our property. Even then, we rarely see them, as they most often move & hunt at night. Many a nights I have been awoken by them. They rapidly yelp/bark for a minute or so, then go quiet. I am not sure what causes them to do this. We also live about 1000 yards from a train track. When the train goes by, the engineer blows the whistle. The coyotes will respond to the whistle by howling in the same key as the whistle. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/24 "2014-01-26T16:06:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > We have an occasional coyote here in western Pennsylvania. A few years ago a neighbor came around and asked everyone if we minded him shooting any coyote. Surprisingly, no one minded. Had he asked about deer, squirrel, rabbit, etc everyone would have objected. I have mixed feelings about them. On the one hand, I have respect for their intelligence, hunting skills, and survival instincts. On the other hand, they’re not indigenous to Ohio (the first sighting was around 100 years ago), and they’ve destroyed the rabbit population. Given the latter, I have no problem with people shooting them. Here in Ohio, it’s open season on coyotes. If you have a hunting license, you can hunt them 365/24/7, with any caliber rifle, and there’s no bag limit. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/25 "2014-01-26T16:43:34Z")
I live in a semi-suburban, semi-rural area on the North Shore of Massachusetts, and I’ve seen them in broad daylight at least three times, going about their business and not particularly impressed that a human was nearby observing them. Once while riding my horse, who spotted the coyote before I did and stopped dead till it had trotted across our path and out of sight, then went ahead reluctantly with senses tuned to the place in the woods where it had disappeared. Once while driving along a back road, when it crossed the road several dozen yards ahead of me and kept trotting across the field beyond, not appearing to care that my car had halted when I drew abreast so I could watch it go. Once emerging from behind the greenhouse at the farm where I was boarding my horse, walking calmly onto the farm lane leading away from the barnyard where my car had just pulled in. It stopped, turned to look at me, paused, then turned away and trotted leisurely away toward the hay fields. There’s very restricted hunting of anything in my area, although there is a [coyote hunting season.](http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/laws-regulations/coyote-hunting-regulations.html) Even that is hedged about with restrictions – necessary, I’d say, given how densely settled the region is despite its semi-rural character. Coyotes appear to know they’re pretty safe, and don’t have much fear of humans. Cats and dogs regularly go missing. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/26 "2014-01-26T22:40:34Z")
I used to have a three or four hundred yard wide field to the north of me separating my neighborhood from another. A small creek ran through it and the coyotes would pass through hunting and going to the open fields east of town. Then they routed the creek into an underground drainage pipe and built a development there. Now my neighborhood is overrun with rabbits. I liked the coyotes much better. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/27 "2014-01-26T22:44:27Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I [come across them every once in while in the streets](http://s14.postimg.org/kjbrl84ap/coyote.jpg) around here (East Hollywood/Los Feliz), which is next to Griffith Park, where they thrive. Interestingly, in the middle of Griffith Park is the zoo, where they have [a lone coyote sadly kept in a cage](http://s18.postimg.org/5y74bticp/Coyote.jpg). That’s probably a very crazy coyote, poor critter. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > This thread is amusing. Round these parts, coyotes are considered a filthy nuisance and are killed on site. > > I popped one a couple weeks ago, and “Gary”, who I shot thru the neck a few years ago, is hanging over the back of a chair. His buddies are howling out back as I type this! I didn’t say I wanted them hanging around in my back yard and eating the stray cats, I said that I admire their adaptability and how loyal and crafty they are. Oh, and its [sight](https://www.google.com/#q=sight) or [cite.](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cite) Sorry, that’s one of my peeves. Yeah, I’ve got a lot of them. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/28 "2014-01-26T23:04:38Z")
I prefer Foxes. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/29 "2014-02-07T20:49:28Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > I’ve heard that sometimes they will have a lone coyote lure a dog into chasing them into the brush where the rest of the pack is waiting. They’re smart. I would not count on having him tied up to keep him safe. Also known to use a female in heat to lure out a dog to the rest of the pack. No dog, no matter how large is safe from them, really. They get overwhelmed by numbers. Sorry about that “sight” error. I shoulda caught that. I are college educated, after all. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/30 "2014-02-08T01:08:21Z")
> [@LilyoftheField](#): > > My dog is not small enough to be considered ‘prey’ to a coyote. But I think if he were to chase after one or surprise it at a kill, there could be a fight - and my dog would not win! Normally, he is old enough and well trained enough that most mornings I let him out off leash to take care of business in the yard - and he comes right back. But I’m pretty sure that he would chase or otherwise take issue with, any coyote that might be in the area. And that would not end well. So I think I’m going to have to only let him out on his tie out now… Coyotes are territorial and view dogs as competition for food and mates. So they don’t always view your dog as dinner. Where I live in Arizona they have been known to attack dogs being walked on leashes. And they are definitely not afraid of people. Where coyotes are abundant, it pays to be vigilant. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/31 "2014-02-08T01:15:26Z")
Coyotes can be rabid. Even if they can’t beat your dog in a fight, they can give it rabies and you’ll have to out him down. Or you might get bitten and you’ll have to go through treatment for rabies. I’d get a BB or pellet gun (that way you don’t kill it) and drive it it off with a few well-placed shots. Better safe than sorry. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659/32 "2014-02-08T01:42:45Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Also known to use a female in heat to lure out a dog to the rest of the pack. No dog, no matter how large is safe from them, really. They get overwhelmed by numbers. > > Sorry about that “sight” error. I shoulda caught that. I are college educated, after all. 😛 Coyotes are really pretty amazing. They are one of the few species of wild animals who’s population increases with human expansion. No, I’m sorry. I’m like the world’s worst speeler and really should be the last to cast stones. Besides, on re-reading what you wrote, you could have meant that you shot them in situ, which really does make sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-i-saw-a-coyote-in-my-backyard-today/679659.md?page=1)