Discuss: Coyotes at the Mall

Apparently, the coyotes of San Francisco are doing pretty well . . . all things considered.  One can imagine them slinking across the Golden Gate Bridge from Marin County under a full moon at 4 a.m. some morning.  Maybe this morning? Or cruising north from the ridge tops of San Mateo County. No respecters of boundaries, those coyotes.  Up for an adventure and tired of the routine, they gallavant, perhaps with pups in tow, to the DeYoung Museum to check out the munchies.  Or Golden Gate Park: an excellent place for coyote and homeless alike.  We have so much in common, after all.  Kindred spirits over aeons of memory.  The coyote brings us back to ourself.

Thanks for the article.

Yup! Or is that - ‘Yi-iiip’? Years ago - warning, this isn’t pretty - I followed a pickup on a back road in eastern Montana. The bed was piled above the side rails with coyote carcasses. Bugged me. Later, talking to a biologist friend he shrugged, held out is hands in that what-can-you-say gesture, and replied, ‘They’re smart. Don’t worry. Cities are next.’

And there they are. Maybe they like pigeons…

Woof.

This winter a pack moved into the valley behind us. Every night, and some days, we hear them whooping it up. With the heavy snowfall this last winter, we had them right up to the barn, where they picked off a few geese.
Their populations seem to fluctuate, with a few years ago a mange outbreak severely reducing their numbers. Now that they are more numerous, we expect to see fewer rabbits, possum and fox in the area, despite the lush growth this wet summer.
We don’t begrudge their predation, although it requires precautions, like decent fencing, and not pasturing young animals nearest the valley.
They are one of the numerous influences on the local wildlife populations. Amongst other changes, we have seen Virginia possum for the first time, and re-introduced wild turkeys.
Hopefully the reforestation initiatives in the area will counterbalance the influence of the growing city to he south and west, and we can continue to observe the complex patterns.

I live in the city limits of Chattanooga. Many cats have served as prey for the Coyotes one of our include before I recognized they are living with us. Last week I went out at 10PM and my outdoor/indoor cat was squaling and I went over to pick him up and kicked up a coyote in my yard. Two nights ago I ran another one off. The cat in discussion is very wary and he has several escape routes like a fence to get behind but I will be more cautious for him. It is good to live with nature but sometimes surprising also. Given our location close to the Appalachians it is possible to have a Black Bear. I am glad civilization can’t beat nature back totally. TM

why are there only 4 comments here?? arent people interested in the coyotes??