We’re in the middle of our second big snowstorm of the winter. Rollercoaster temps again. It is going down into the teens this week. Checked the orchard for rabbit damage yesterday. Saw a few tracks but not near my trees. The coyotes must be making them shy this year! 
1 Like
i know it is off-topic, but wish i could raise coyotes. Their smarts and athletic abilities(some say they run faster than greyhounds) make me want to study them up close.
Come to my orchard. They are quite beautiful. We have one that is Albino. An amazing site in the snow. They live in a marsh near a pond behind my orchard. After seeing many of their track this winter I was surprised to see any rabbit tracks yesterday.
Coyotes (pronounced cy-yote-s; not cy-yoties, as in Wile. E. Coyote) are still everywhere here. They are amazing animals and you can hear them “yip” at sundown.
However, they don’t run faster than greyhounds. They hunt them w/ greyhounds. Greyhounds are larger, longer legged and faster. There are few coyote hunters any more, but years ago coyote hunters during season would spot a coyote, slam on their brakes, and pull the gates on their dog boxes. The greyhounds would catch the coyotes, despite a 300 yard lead of the coyotes.
I’m sure part of it was that the greyhounds had perfect nutrition/veterinary care, but part of it was of course genetics.
Not commenting on the ethics of the hunting. This goes back/involves a lot of history of coyotes killing various livestock (pigs/chickens) which were the livelihood/staple of many rural people.
For my part, I love coyotes and wouldn’t kill one. They dig after voles in my orchard, and are generally beautiful to observe. Their yipping at nightfall is music to me.
2 Likes
When I first moved to TX there was a coyote hunter who ran the greyhounds. I only saw it happen one time but yes the greyhounds were way faster than Texas coyotes. But the greyhounds did have some pretty nasty wounds. That was early 70s. Never saw or heard about it later.
could be that there may have been some which actually run just as fast, or simply just have more endurance given the several-hundred yard lead. Makes me also think some coyote hunter’s greyhounds were simply just tricked by wile e coyote when the chase got to the bush/woods, hence the anecdotes.
thanks for the first hand accounts-- was skeptical myself
do you have ravens too? Would love to watch or even raise them too, being wile e coyotes’ avian equals in brain pop. Anecdotes about those animals, which the majority find creepy, so intrigue me!
Crows yes, are they ravens as well? They always fly in groups of three.
1 Like
ravens are crows too, only much bigger and sinister in appearance.
crows, ravens, and blue jays are in the same family. Crows are super smart too. If only they’d sell them in pet shops.
funny that it is ok to shoot and even eat crows(saw on food channel), but it is illegal to raise them as pets.
We have many crows. They are not my favorite bird, nor are bluejays as they rob the smallers birds nest of their eggs and eat them. 
We have coyotes now here in Michigan. I don’t think they were ever here before? They eat livestock, and in the suburbs they eat mostly dogs. Well lot’s of reports of dog attacks. Cannibals I guess? Sounds like a really nice animal-Not! About a 100 videos of such things on YouTube.
1 Like
The particularly like small poodles and shih tzus! They have eaten friends dogs, very sad. People here feed the deer and coyotes raw chicken. Cannot stop them from doing it.
their conniving nature is unfortunately related to their smarts. The only time when crows are fools is in the dark of night, when their jet black plumage is useless in preventing detection by great horned owls.
Crows having negligible night-vision
While visiting a friend in NY he showed me what was left of a large deer killed by coyotes a few days earlier. Only bones and not all of them remained. He keeps his dog indoors at night.
1 Like
We have been seeing coyote x domestic dog crosses around here for sometime now. No fear of humans and quite aggressive towards pets and livestock, they are the size of a small German shepard. When they start howling, it sounds like 100’s and from every direction. Sorry Olpea, these are big, aggressive, predators just like the mountain lions we are starting to see also(thanks Ia.DNR). Too many pets, chickens, small kids to allow big predators free run.
3 Likes
According to Websters both are acceptable. Well it says cy-yote-s is chiefly a western pronunciation. Although I’m in the Midwest and never heard the two syllable pronunciation. OK it’s Fat Tuesday here, back to the celebration…
I probably screwed up the pronunciation. I’m not used to trying to convert text to pronunciation.
I meant it as a two syllable word and will give it another attempt because re-reading my own post looked confusing to me. Around here everyone pronounces Coyote as Ki (long i) Oat. The “e” is silent on the end. (two syllables)
I think that’s the way Websters pronounces it. They say “coyote” rhymes w/ afloat, airboat, banknote, etc.
Of course I just added that pronunciation tidbit as a meaningless part of the discussion. It really doesn’t matter how one pronounces coyote. Just know that if you pronounce coyote, as “coyotie” (three syllables) around here, you will be identified as a serious city slicker. 
BTW, enjoy Fat Tuesday. I’m not Catholic, but look forward to Lent. All the Parishes around here have excellent fish fries on Friday. They fry some excellent catfish.
3 Likes
Good time to travel to Phoenix…
It was 5F when i took my kids to school…still single digits (although the sunshine feels great).
1 Like
Warmwxrules, is this miserable week with it’s one two punch of frigid northern air going to be the last of it for awhile here in the southeast, or does it look like more gut punches coming afterward?
Our coldest week this winter has just started and I’m already miserable. I’m soooo ready for balmy weather to return and stay.
Peach trees are starting to wake up here in North Texas. I wish they would wait another 4 or 5 weeks, but that doesn’t look like it is going to happen:
2 Likes