stringbreaker

It might not be a big deal to those that live in a more rural area but my commute takes me through an industrial/ warehouse area with some pockets of housing. This morning about 4:30 I was riding along and what I thought was a pretty skinny looking dog leaped out from a weeded area on my left about 10 yards ahead and he gave me a look and started trottin down the middle of the road and I thought oh great he's gonna come after me but he just looked back a couple of time and never made a sound. Funny but although the resemble a dog their whole body shape seems a bit out of porportion, very long legs and slim body a really neat looking animal. Usually I see dead skunks and possums. He was cool. I have seen quite a few wild rabbits in that area so I guess he was after a meal.

c_m_shooter

Don't worry, coyotes aren't agressive. They are only about 30 pounds anyway, not big enough to worry about.

old and new

VERY COOL! I live in NC, not much talk of them here on the southern coast. Not much talk of them in the mountains of NY either,where I'm from, not untill 15 years ago, lots of them now. Very voracious and adaptable creatures. Not aggressive towards humans. Very impressive set of teeth,no joke, unbelievably long and sharp. One friend trapped one,another shot one. Actually the one weighed well over 40lbs.

Bill Kapaun

Was that the rabid one?

cradduck

Coyotes are cool. They are the great equalizer of small yippie dogs in suburban areas across the country. About the only thing that could make them even cooler is if they would actually come up with a plan that works and catch that roadrunner once and for all.

fish0n

So you haven't heard? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk


That is cool! I live near a butte and I can hear them calling at times. The coyote might be my favorite animal; yeah the wolf is awsome, but man tried to wipe out both the coyote and the wolf, and the coyote is the one that made it! Coyotes prefer to live near humans, our habitat allows them to find food easier. In fact there is an estimated 2,000...(or is 6,000, I forget exactly, we'll just go with 2,000 to be safe) living in L.A.!!! Coyotes aren't aggressive to humans? Sorry that just isn't true; yes many tend to be more timid towards humans, but there are many that are aggressive, and have kill people, yes even documented coyote killings in L.A. California! For the most part they shouldn't cause you any trouble. One type you want to say clear from is one that isn't afraid of humans, so don't feed them!

Recent Coyote Attacks: https://www.varmintal.com/attac.htm

DataJunkie

Non aggressive? The city I work in has been having coyote issues. The coyotes have been snatching dogs and cats from backyards. Plus, following kids to bus stops. Well not following more like stalking. Guess we breed our coyotes a tad aggressive out here.
I have encountered a pair of large well fed coyotes in the same area.

ItsJustMe

I saw a coyote on the way in yesterday morning. They're not a danger to adults. Probably not to small kids either unless the coyotes are hungry and the kids are wandering around in the woods alone.

Here's a picture. He beat it away from the road fast when he saw me stop and point something at him, but at first he was only about 30 feet away.

mlh122

I've been seeing a lot of coyotes lately. the rapid land development in our area is plowing through coyote habitat so they are "homeless". Then the new residents complain when a starving coyote eats their kitten. Now there's a big anti-coyote campaign as they've been a "major problem" ever since we started building, go figure.

Eggplant Jeff

I believe he meant toward humans. Of course they'll be aggressive toward animals appropriately sized to be prey.

DataJunkie

Well... they have been aggressive towards humans (supposedly). The two I encountered merely look curious. Still.. I like it when animals run away from me.

steve2k

I live in England so I'm picturing a scraggly looking dog with rollerskates and a bright red ACME rocket on his back.

RB1-luvr

a pack of 'em used to sit outside my house just inside the wooded line whispering "let the snacks out" (cats) at night. out my way they are very shaggy and kind of nasty looking. not healthy looking.

Zeuser

I think he meant non agressive towards humans, at least adult humans. For the most part Coyotes are afraid of humans. I've run into a lot of them on my night rides in the woods and they often surprise me but they quickly run away.

I wish there were a little bit more because there are jackrabbits all over the trails at night. The little red-eyed furballs (their eyes reflect red when hit with light) wait 'til you're almost running them down before they take off. And boy are they fast! I rode side to side with one once and I looked down at my speedo... we were doing 42 km/h. Then he did a right hook into the brushes.

It seems the rabbit population is out of control. We need more coyotes around here to control the rabbits.

thepeddler

All I see is a kangaroo every now and again, not as exciting as a coyote!

deputyjones

Nice find. It is pretty rare to see a coyote by car unless they are very hungry or recently displaced like the building project talked about above. They are just to smart typically to be caught in the headlights of a car. I drive around all night in a high coyote concentration area, and I have seen 1 in all that time in my car.

Buglady

Coyotes are pretty neat. They're adapting to urban environments surprisingly well, not always making the human inhabitants happy.

For those in England, coyotes occupy similar ecological niches to your red fox. They look quite a lot like a fox too - delicate little paws, a bushy tail, and slender muzzle. They mainly eat small rodents and insects but will also scavenge the kills of larger predators, dig through garbage, and sometimes even team up to take larger prey. They are very intelligent and quite social.

I like critters

East Hill

I saw a coyote about a month ago just a mile down there road, right next to Panther Lake Elementary School. At first I didn't recognise what it was, because I didn't expect to see a coyote there. But then I realised that it was next to a greenbelt. I expect to see them down at the MUP--it's partially on a powerline right of way, and next to a creek--but to see one at the school was still an odd experience.

East Hill

GCRyder

It's hard for me to imagine that seeing a coyote is something worth mentioning to someone else. I commute from the far east side of Tucson, near Saguaro National Park. If I do NOT see a coyote or two between my house and the first stop sign, now THAT is an occurrence worthy of note. Most mornings, I will have seen at least a half-dozen of them wandering through my yard before I even leave home for the day.

We do get some less common species, though. Here's one I found lurking in our yard weekend before last:

Buglady

KITTY!!!!

Ahem, sorry bout that...

old and new

Feeding them is associated with problems. Dogs kill approximately 100 people a year. in the US

East Hill

I've only seen those big kitties three times in my life. Once was when I was viewing pronghorns in Nevada. I had crept close to the pronghorns by following a gully. Much to my surprise (and the bobcat's) I got within five feet of the cat. I have never seen an animal move so fast! Not even the pronghorns seemed to be that quick compared to that startled animal .

East Hill

Ginny

DJ, there is a pair that lives very near the Bear Creek Trail in Littleton. We see them in the evenings if we ride that trail. Usually they've caught something, probably one of the prairie dogs that also live on the trail. They are cool to see and we tell yippie dog walkers on the trail to watch out.

lyeinyoureye

Yup. Every night they're yipping and every morning they're out. I'd love to catch a glimpse of a mountain lion, but at the same time wouldn't because they wouldn't because it'd probably scare the **** outa me.

workingbike

Are you talking about the cat or yourself?

Beautiful cat. Very cool to see one. On the subject of wildlife, we had a black bear sighting in the City yesterday.