Wildlife in our gardens

Thank goodness you saw it so you know not to trust letting her run in there!! Living rural like I do I worry about coyotes with my little dog. They pretty much stay in the woods but just another reason I keep a pack of dogs on my place…and a donkey!

Katy

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I love donkeys too!

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That’s too bad that they’ve gotten into your orchard. They have very little fear of humans out where I am. When they see you, they do not take off and flee, but rather sit and watch, only reluctantly giving up the right of way if they are on or near a trail. A couple of years ago I was out running on a trail with Shadow and I spotted a coyote along a ridgeline near us. As it came down the slope, the trail I was on meandered near it. It was about 50yds up the slope from the trail and just stood there watching as we came closer. When I drew opposite of it, I stopped, picked up a rock and hucked it at the coyote. THey should fear us more! Anyways, up a good slope, decent distance and I do not have the strongest throwing arm, so the rock fell short (and probably a bit off-line…) So the coyote just watched the rock and I could see it going “That all you got?” With that, it slowly turned and wandered away from the trail.

I’ve had a few other encounters with them and am always seeing Nextdoor posts about missing dogs/cats. They have become quite the pests. Thankfully none in my backyard. Yet.

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I’ve learned to keep corn well away from my camper and it seems to satisfy the bears. I’m way out in the country and they are very skittish about humans. I’ve only ever once seen any signs of bear around my camper. I’m with you on the screen tactics though. I have resigned myself to the fact they are here. I have a camera picture with 5 there at once. 2 males a momma and 2 Cubs. Now coyotes…that’s different. Dead on sight here. Unbelievably destructive animal and will kill anything that doesn’t kill it. I’ve seen deer carcass obviously having been surrounded by a group of coyotes from the trampled grass around the carcass. They will definitely eat your family pet. I even bought thermal to keep the population down hunting them at night. Go out and call one night. You may be shocked how many are there and how close they really are. Very Wiley animal too…very smart.

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Coyote’s eat rabbits, deer, and rodents. I wish the neighbors didn’t kill them.

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That’s certainly your call. Florida and many other states have totally open season on them. No restrictions no reduced season. And with good cause. They will also come directyin your backyard and on your porch and eat your dog, cat or small child as well.

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I don’t recall hearing of any human deaths to coyotes in our region.

We don’t have pets or livestock, so I don’t have that visceral concern. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I did. I do have a young daughter, and I wouldn’t have her outside by herself at dusk or night.

Until they eat your dog.

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They ate my cat, but that’s how it goes in the food chain. We’re overrun with rabbits here this year, and that’s what the coyotes take care of. Useful animals

Wish I could be as strong as you Lois! :heart:

If you have a cat that you let out, you have to know this might happen. The cat was a hunter, the coyote was a hunter.

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i peppered a fox the other day in my yard with 20 ga. birdshot. he was so far away i doubt any penetrated but the way he reacted he got the message to stay away from my birds! i aimed for his butt so i didn’t want to kill him. foxes are vole eaters and voles my mortal enemy! as long as he stays in the abandoned field near my property eating voles instead of my birds were good! :wink:

I’ll admit I have no records that indicate any sort of alarming statistics of humans of any size being attacked by coyotes. I just know how opportunistic they are and if given the chance they will take a child thinking of it as a dog , cat or any other animal. All coyotes are viscous to a serious degree. I can testify to the devistation they can bring down on population of good animals in almost every state in the country. Especially where they have unreasonable limits on hunters and believe they have to protect every animal alive. It’s proven over and over hunters are the best conservationist and if just left many animals will over populate to a degree of not having enough resources for them to eat. In some places the cute little deer are so overly protected they stand in fields and starve. I’m not hateful about conservation I just think some places don’t look upon hunting as a form of conservation. I do. That’s all. And coyotes are very high on my list for eradication.

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i agree! deer go to thick protected swamps in the winter called yards here. in deep snow winters the deer follow trails to ease getting around en masse. coyotes attack them from the side to force them to jump off the trail into the deep snow, then eat them alive! coyotes are lighter so they don’t sink as much as the deer do. a thaw and refreeze or a ice layer on top of the snow will allow them to kill off a whole yard of deer in a winter! many times they will kill them even when they just made a kill that same day! they are opportunistic and so am i if i see one!

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In my backyard:

Outside of my front door 3am

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We have coyotes in our woods, but you rarely see them. They are the big Eastern kind mixed with wolves, so it’s always startling when you do see one. They chase the deer in the fields at night, my neighbor says.

But we can’t have small animals out at night anyway here. Our bobcats are big and eat cats and such :frowning: Or kill them (for fun?) during mating seasons at least. I used to think I liked bobcats, but not anymore!

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We shoot Bobcats too. We have quite an abundance of them in Florida. Some big some not so Big. I have one that’s been done by a Taxidermist on a table greeting you when you walk in my camper. I don’t know if it’s true but I’ve heard they are one of few cats that kill for fun. Not always just to eat. Quite a season for them here too…November 1st. through last day of March… I see them regularly while out hunting at night. My wife told me not to tell her if i shoot one…She’s a Cat Lover…So am I but Bobcats are different then my pets…

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i hunted s. PA awhile back. theres nearly as many deer there as people!

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I have lived in this place for almost 20 yrs, we do occasionally see a deer runs through and we see traces of foxes. But, just within the last few weeks, Fox and deer start to show up regularly. Fox shows up every night screaming, and this deer just come to eat the wild mulberry everyday.

Deer raid gardens. Coyotes raid deer. I’m fine with that.

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