Tweet
What is it with fearless coyotes? I even have guardian dogs. When 2 coyotes showed up this morning, in broad daylight, my 9 month old Pyrenees cross puppy went charging up there barking and displaying. They just looked at her like..."prove it." I sprinted for the house and my 12 ga., and they weren't even scared of me until the shotgun went BOOM. It was just at the edge of the gun's range so not sure I got either of them, might have marked one. They seem to be scared of absolutely nothing! WHAT is going on? Where I come from coyotes are spooky, slinky, nocturnal creatures, not sauntering around in broad daylight ignoring both people and BIG dogs!!
-
-
One of two things (or both), they were hungry or a female was in heat. -
Been noticing that and hearing the same question from people in several states. Increasing number of attacks on dogs and other animals around Phoenix metro area. In Colorado in October, a pack attacked a large man walking down a road and beat him up good enough to require hospitalization. While walking a game trail last fall I rounded a bend into three of them, about 20 yards away. They did not run off. I just watched them for about 10 seconds when one of them took a step toward me. Enough for me, so I gave him lead poisoning, at which time the other two took off. First time in the wild I met coyotes that didn't run off immediately.Comment
-
They are getting more brazen around humans and domestic pets. I have also heard that eastern coyotes have cross bred with wolves, so that may be making them stronger - they are suppose to weigh several pounds, on average, more than their western cousins.Comment
-
That behavior is not an everyday occurrence but it does happen. I lived around coyotes for many years. They seem to have an extra-sensory perception. They know when people are defenseless or safe and will show themselves routinely if they get this sense. They are also accustomed to being the toughest critter around so they don't fear dogs, especially if they are in groups.
I laughed when one morning during breakfast we watched a half dozen of them tree our dog on the picnic table outside our window. We lost about 300 chickens a year to them and they always found a way to get to our chickens no matter what we did.
I had a buddy get hypothermia and laid down on the ice as he faded. A pack of about 25 coyotes quickly surrounded him and the leader put his nose on my buddy's nose. That woke him up and he fired up into the coyote's chest. I mounted that guy and he was one of the largest coyotes I ever mounted but he did have powder burns on his beautiful chest hair from that smokin' rifle.Comment
-
Dakota, your response begs a question.
Let's hear the story of your buddy.Comment
-
I have found in places where there are hunted often that they will run at even the slightest thing. I have also seen them in down town tempe arizona. they come up the salt river wash and have almost no fear of people. They eat garbage and cats. They have been reported in just about every part of the city except central Phoenix.
Rocky if you are firing a 12 gauge then you might as well go big and brake out the .223 or something with a little longer range.
Best of luck mikeComment
-
For the last two weeks there have been 3 of them stalking our roping steers on the alfalfa meadow. My wife goes out to wrangle in the horses and steers and the yotes stay put, keeping a distance of about 150 yards. No fear, no threat, just following the wrangle. I plan on interrupting their morning tomorrow.Comment
-
Coyotes are an incredibly intelligent creature. I agree with DakotaMan that this is not typically behavior. I live in ranch country that still has a few large sheep ranches around. One or two coyotes lure the the guard dogs, typically Pyrenese like yours, one or two others sneak in and pick off a few sheep. On another occasion while we were haying for the grandparents in Minnesota when I was young I watched as three coyotes ate a calf as the cow calved, my grandmother is a very strict nonbeliever in predator hunting and they had already been at it awhile before we noticed. This past fall while we were hunting pheasants my brother's GSP came boiling out of a draw back to us with a coyote hot on his tail, needless to say as soon as the dog cleared there was a dead coyote. Hope that the shot put some fear in them but I would still carry if I were you, better to be safe than sorry.Comment
-
Thanks guys for all of your input. I am a transplant to the lower Midwest, and I come from the Rocky Mountains where every once in awhile we'd see a little coyote (not much bigger than a fox) run over on the road but that was about it. Maybe you'd see dead sheep, but you didn't see the coyotes. They're very small, very nocturnal, and very sneaky. Here, they're huge! Some of the ones I've seen are almost as big as my female German shepherd. They have no problem whatsoever with being out in broad daylight, they attacked my sheep one day at 11:00 in the morning. And they're very bold. Unfortunately I don't have a varmint rifle, I have a regular .22 or a 30-06 to choose from, other than my 12 ga. I'm a little concerned about the power of a 30-06, we have 12 acres but unless I had a really good line where I could shoot into the hill I'd be really worried about where my shot would end up. That's why I've been using 12 ga. I need some 00 buck I think. Any other advice on what to use?Comment
-
Use #4 buckshot, I have killed wild deer running dogs at 130+ yards with that load.Comment
-
Those coyotes might be mangy too. That will make them act weird. Get someone to put together some varmint loads for that 30-06. A very light bullet hopped up will present no danger to neighbors. The proper load will explode if it hits a twig.Comment
-
Proverbs, more on my buddy John (actually my brother-in-law's good friend). He was a fun kid who loved to hunt but never seemed to be too smart about it. We decided to walk the river breaks and chase coyotes out one day. It was about -10 degrees or so and John showed up with a light jacket, no long Johns, no hat and no gloves. I told him that I didn't want him to go out with us dressed that way as he was sure to freeze before completing the four mile walk we had in mind.
He advised that he knew what he was doing and the cold didn't bother him. So we went. At the end there was no John. I circled back a mile or so and found him walking down the river dragging the biggest coyote I'd ever seen. His fingers and ears were frozen and he looked pretty bad. I put my gloves and hat on him and got him back to the house to recharge.
He told us the story of getting so cold he just couldn't go any longer. So in his infinite wisdom, he decided to sit down on the ice and rest up for a bit. He didn't remember laying down but indeed he did. He said he really didn't remember anything until something touched his nose and woke him up. He focused his eyes and was shocked to see a pack of coyotes standing around him in a feeding frenzy. He said he was so scared he could feel the adrenalin moving through his numb body; as it went down his arm and into his hand, he raised his 30-30 and pushed the leader of the pack back a foot or so. The coyote stood his ground until he pulled the trigger. Then he said the pack scattered in all directions and he was so fear stricken, he just got up and ran, dragging the coyote behind him somehow with frozen fingers.
At first I didn't believe him but sure enough. The coyote had a nasty four inch diameter powder burn on the bottom of his silvery chest. The bullet exited from the top middle of his back. You don't see many shots like that on a coyote.Comment
-
Coyotes have so little pressure in urban and suburban areas these days that have no fear. I would bet if you did get one of those coyotes the other one would be much more cautious around humans from that point on.Comment
-
Dakota - thanks for the story. Your buddy's decision to "rest" for a while sounds like typical behavior in response to hypothermia. Good thing you were there to look out for him!Comment
Comment