Urban coyotes

[Boy Named Sue]

Saw one in the belle isle woods trail two weeks ago

[Dumpling]

Just now at lunchtime there was a pair foraging by the Rouge River very close to where it
goes into the Detroit River.

[Jimaz]

Another from a few years ago: Coyotes Suspected in Attack on Deer in Rochester Hills Man's Yard

The man who came out to remove the carcass told Plotzke the deer had been taken down by coyotes and, given the 125-150-pound stature and relative good health of the doe, it would have taken about 4-6 coyotes to overcome the deer.

That's kind of creepy.

[nain rouge]

Jim Fouts must be incensed with these coyotes. Hurting deer? Not on Fouts' watch.

[rb336]

The man who came out to remove the carcass told Plotzke the deer had been taken down by coyotes and, given the 125-150-pound stature and relative good health of the doe, it would have taken about 4-6 coyotes to overcome the deer..

Coyotes rarely hunt in larger groups than pairs. Is the density of the population enough to create this type of behavior? unless it is a pair with pups that are nearly grown, I don't see it happening. it could be a feral dog pack

[JoeGeds]

Another from a few years ago: Coyotes Suspected in Attack on Deer in Rochester Hills Man's YardThat's kind of creepy.

These coyote stories come up every year, and they are just loaded with mis-information. Coyotes are VERY small. The largest ones [[males) weigh 45 lbs at most. The overwhelming majority weigh about 30-35 lbs. They may appear larger due to their winter coats, but they are small. Humans are not at risk at all of getting attacked by coyotes, unless the animal has rabies or other issues. Dogs can be attacked, but larger breeds [[labs, goldens, etc) could really only be killed by a pack of 6 or more. They can be injured, however, and small dogs of course could easily be killed by them so they are of some concern to us as dog owners. Also, you should know that coyotes are in your midst. They are everywhere. they are 99% nocturnal, which is why we rarely see them - but they are there. they thrive in large cities like Detroit. There is an abundance of food [[feral cats, pigeons, etc) and plenty of habitat [[all they need is a place to hide/burrow). Also, there are very little predators that kill them, so naturally, they thrive. The bottom line is that humans have almost zero chance of being attacked, and large dogs have no worries [[although they can be injured), but small dogs should not be let out at night unless your yard is secure. BTW, I quoted the link above above about the deer being killed by coyotes because it is obvious this deer was killed because it couldn't run as it was hit by a car. The deer was not "healthy" at all, which the story says. If this doe were not hit by the car, only a large pack could've killed her.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Saw one last year coming out of the woods near the Rouge River, at Civic Center Drive and Telegraph in Southfield. Thought it was a dog at first, until I looked closer and saw that distinctive fur and tail.

[Johnnny5]

These coyote stories come up every year, and they are just loaded with mis-information. Coyotes are VERY small. The largest ones [[males) weigh 45 lbs at most. The overwhelming majority weigh about 30-35 lbs. They may appear larger due to their winter coats, but they are small. Humans are not at risk at all of getting attacked by coyotes, unless the animal has rabies or other issues. Dogs can be attacked, but larger breeds [[labs, goldens, etc) could really only be killed by a pack of 6 or more. They can be injured, however, and small dogs of course could easily be killed by them so they are of some concern to us as dog owners. Also, you should know that coyotes are in your midst. They are everywhere. they are 99% nocturnal, which is why we rarely see them - but they are there. they thrive in large cities like Detroit. There is an abundance of food [[feral cats, pigeons, etc) and plenty of habitat [[all they need is a place to hide/burrow). Also, there are very little predators that kill them, so naturally, they thrive. The bottom line is that humans have almost zero chance of being attacked, and large dogs have no worries [[although they can be injured), but small dogs should not be let out at night unless your yard is secure. BTW, I quoted the link above above about the deer being killed by coyotes because it is obvious this deer was killed because it couldn't run as it was hit by a car. The deer was not "healthy" at all, which the story says. If this doe were not hit by the car, only a large pack could've killed her.

While I agree that the odds of a human getting attacked by a healthy coyote are extremely rare, it does happen. I've had coyotes stand their ground and advance while hunting with my dogs, and I've had them in my yard come after me [[and my dog) in the springtime when they had pups. Realistically children or adults of very small stature are probably the only ones at risk of being killed by a coyote, but even an adult male could sustain serious injuries.


Here's a news report from a few years ago about a woman who was killed by 2 coyotes in Canada.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1..._n_337836.html

And here's one where an adult male was attacked by 3 coyotes just over a year ago.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2398070.html


In a city like Detroit I'd be far more worried about stray dogs and humans than the occasional aggressive coyote, but I wouldn't discount the threat from a coyote, especially one accustomed to humans or possibly sick or injured.

[Danny]

I saw a rat a size of a dog at my old west side Detroit home in the early 1990s

[Honky Tonk]

I saw a rat a size of a dog at my old west side Detroit home in the early 1990s

And don't forget the Agin' Hornets......

[Bong-Man]

Deer and coyote have been using the railroad corridors as travel lanes for years. Coyotes are very hard to trap because of their acute sense of smell. You can't catch them in the summer, because one drop of human scent will scare them away. If you see one repeatedly in the daytime, it more than likely has distemper or worse, and should be avoided. Had a family living in a nearby nature center. They were stealing chickens from a farm coop, and local neighbors often found them sleeping on their back porches in an adjacent subdivision. For some reason, they enjoy sleeping on hot cement, especially their pups. Like raccoons, if there is a constant source of food, they'll stick around. Eventually my place of business paid for critter control to have them removed.

[aoife]

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/a...ision/30920790

A pack of coyotes [[5-6) recently took down a horse from the Lapeer County Sheriff's Department mounted division. Not really urban, but totally scary nonetheless.

[Honky Tonk]

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/a...ision/30920790

A pack of coyotes [[5-6) recently took down a horse from the Lapeer County Sheriff's Department mounted division. Not really urban, but totally scary nonetheless.

Only if it really happened.

[chosen won]

Belle Isle is loaded with them. I saw one walk across the ice from Windsor a couple of weeks ago. I posted a couple of videos on YouTube under the name Chosen Won.

[ronaldj]

Just shooting my mouth off here. Yahoo or Google Urban Coyotes. A number of good documentaries produced by National Geographic and Canadian Geographic as far back as 2009, if not earlier. Wiley did not come by his name for nothing. As Sumas posted earlier, just following the food chain.

Sly andnon-prepossessing. Sorry, night timer, they aren't dingoes.

[Jimaz]

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/a...ision/30920790

A pack of coyotes [[5-6) recently took down a horse from the Lapeer County Sheriff's Department mounted division. Not really urban, but totally scary nonetheless.

There's a detailed article about this incident on the front page of today's Free Press: Did coyote pack attack a police horse?.

DNR doesn't believe they were coyotes despite photos and coyote tracks in the area. No one witnessed the actual attack. The horse's owner wonders if they might have been "coywolves," a coyote/wolf hybrid.

Whether or not they were coyotes seems beside the point. Whatever the animal, there's something dangerous on the loose in Oxford Township!

Investigation continues.

[aoife]

There's a detailed article about this incident on the front page of today's Free Press: Did coyote pack attack a police horse?.

DNR doesn't believe they were coyotes despite photos and coyote tracks in the area. No one witnessed the actual attack. The horse's owner wonders if they might have been "coywolves," a coyote/wolf hybrid.

Whether or not they were coyotes seems beside the point. Whatever the animal, there's something dangerous on the loose in Oxford Township!

Investigation continues.

Coywolves? That sounds adorable. The DNR needs to come up with a scarier sounding name.

I guess hybrids makes more sense. My friend had a wolf-dog hybrid she picked up out in Montana. The pup was massive and had a prey instinct that was off the charts. You needed back-up to hold her if she saw a squirrel. She was beautiful animal but I would not want to run into a pack of her kind.

[Jimaz]

I had to look that one up.

Coywolf

[rb336]

T
DNR doesn't believe they were coyotes despite photos and coyote tracks in the area. No one witnessed the actual attack. The horse's owner wonders if they might have been "coywolves," a coyote/wolf hybrid.

Whether or not they were coyotes seems beside the point. Whatever the animal, there's something dangerous on the loose in Oxford Township!

Investigation continues.

virtually impossible to differentiate coyote tracks from a similar sized dog except by an expert. Coyotes are relatively tiny - 40 lbs is a good-sized male, especially for the subspecies we have in Michigan. 6 adults might take down a healthy horse, but a pack that size is very unusual. An adult male, adult female [[significantly smaller) and a couple of 8-10 month old pups would be very hard-pressed to do so, especially when there is other plentiful and easier to bring down prey out there, not to mention garbage. I'd bet more on feral dogs who are a) diurnal and nocturnal; b) not afraid of humans; and c) often more aggressive than even wolves

[Jimaz]

virtually impossible to differentiate coyote tracks from a similar sized dog except by an expert....

I agree with all that but to be clear the coyote tracks were found by a DNR conservation officer himself. [[It could well be that he didn't have sufficient expertise in this particular subject.) From the article:

"I want to make it clear that we're not calling anybody a liar," the conservation officer said, though he admitted that he found coyote tracks in the tree line around the house.

And I think everyone involved agrees that these animals were unusually large for normal coyotes.

So, jury's still out, danger's still in.

Really sad story for the horse though.

[rb336]

I am proposing a solution - a group of animals that have been on the rise from the mississippi to the atlantic and from the ohio to Hudson Bay: the coywolf