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I would like to have an informal chit chat about coyotes. Please feel free to interrupt if you have questions. Opinions are like noses, everybody has one, and this is simply mine. I have been known to change my opinion in the event of extenuating circumstances or freak incidents, but I do not think it will change when the subject is Canis latrans, the lowly coyote.
The coyote is one of the most adaptable animals in the world. He can change his breeding habits, diet, and even social behavior to survive in a wide variety of habitats and situations. He works alone, in pairs, or in packs, depending upon environmental requirements for survival. The coyote has a good sense of smell, hearing and vision, along with being intelligent and just plain sneaky. He is to be admired.
The adult coyote weighs fifteen to forty five pounds and can be up to five feet in length, including tail. His coat is a mottled, streaked mixture of black, brown, white, blonde, and gray that makes him virtually invisible in tall grass. A true scavenger, a coyote will eat almost anything animal or vegetable. He normally dens in the ground, usually not far from water, but has been known to use other shelter. He can run more than forty miles per hour for short distances. Mating season is January and February, and the pups are born in April or May. The females breed at one year old and the average litter is six pups. The pups are reddish brown and their eyes open at nine to fourteen days. Only five to twenty per cent of the pups survive the first year.
So what does a coyote have to look forward to in life? Not much. His natural habitat disappears at a steady pace. Even in the wilds of West Texas, where there is still some room, the coyote is classified as vermin. In some counties there is a bounty, a price on his head, which translates literally to the ears and scalp bringing from five to eight dollars from local or state agencies. Here in Plano the mere sight of a coyote brings frantic phone calls to animal control with demands that “something be done” to save the public from this “vicious, dangerous animal.”
The experts (those people who have access to excessive amounts of reference materials) agree that most animals, wild or domestic, will attack if cornered, threatened, or provoked. In my experiences moving a coyote from one cage to another using a catchpole noose, I have cornered, provoked and prodded with the only reaction from the animal being sulking, cowling and an expression of “Please don’t hurt me!” Take my word for it, please don’t try this at home. The chances of a coyote attacking are very remote if he is simply left alone.
This highly instinctual animal possesses vast amounts of “gumptitude.” Case in point, the photo shows a female coyote that came to us recently from the wilds of suburbia. Animal control officers answered a coyote sighting call and noticed an adult coyote loitering about the edge of a park pond. The officers approached and the coyote, probably a male, retreated and dashed into some deep brush. As they got closer to the place where he disappeared, a female coyote rose up on her front legs and literally dragged herself into the brush. Later that evening a citizen called from that same location to report a coyote hiding in a hedge beside her house. By the time officers got there the coyote could hardly move and was easily loaded into the truck.
This female coyote was horribly emaciated and almost completely covered with sarcoptic mange, a parasitic disease. There were two bloody oozing sores on her leg. She had suffered for a long time in this condition but still fought to survive. You will not find the word “gumpitude” in the dictionary, but I believe that this word would accurately describe the will of the coyote.
We humans inadvertently supply the coyote with all the basics required to live long and prosper. We feed them in our garbage cans when the lids are not closed tightly, in neat little bowls on the patio for Fido or Kitty, and with small, clueless mammals (dogs and cats), which should be kept in the house or closely supervised. Also, in an effort to be ecologically correct we pile food on compost piles. When our lovely fruit tree actually produces fruit, we pick up some and leave the rest to "fertilize" our turf. All of these things are prime cuisine for the coyote.
The coyote, just like any wild animal, will tend to stay in an area that provides all the amenities and easy access to all the comforts of home. Although non-migratory, he will change territory over great distances if the supplies run dry. As a homeowner living near suitable habitat you might want make an effort to eliminate the amenities.
A psychology professor I had in college spent a lot of time trying to convince us that there was no such thing as common sense. He believed that we all began as a “clean slate” and that all behavior is learned. I disagree with that theory. Although I do not claim to think like a wild animal, I do understand some of the basics and believe if everyone used common sense there would not be problems with coyotes.
For instance, don’t let your pet outside unleashed! Walk your dog on a trail if in the park. If while walking your dog you are spotted by a coyote, he might think, “lunch-on-a-string.” His instincts tell him your little dog meets most of the criteria of a potential food item, e.g., small, moving, seemingly injured, and already caught. If a confrontation occurs, make no attempt to stare down a coyote, act alive like someone having fits. Noise, waving arms and screaming will make a coyote leave for the same reason you would change geographical locations if a person started doing a Tae Kwon Do dance in front of you.
Do not allow your cat to go outside. In doing so you are in effect introducing a domesticated animal into a wild environment. If a coyote doesn’t get it, something else could. This advice has worked for me. I have yet to lose a dog or cat to a wild animal.
Just look on the bright side, which I am prone to do, if you live in an area frequented by coyotes you will not have cottontail rabbits eating your pansies, or rats in your bird feeder. I need not mention the fact that those road kill squirrels will disappear almost as soon as the vehicle hits them. If you open your garage door one morning and find a coyote has started your car and has it in Drive, give me a call, I am capable of changing my mind about them.
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