Coyote FAQ:
Q: Can coyotes jump fences or walls?
A: Yes, coyotes use their front paws on the top of a fence and use their hind legs to propel themselves over the top.
Q: Do coyotes attack people?
A: Yes, coyotes have attacked people. It is not common, but there have been more attacks reported in recent years due to the urbanization and population growth of cities that boarder wildlife areas.
“Coyote attacks on humans and pets have increased within the past 5 years in California. Forty-eight such attacks on children and adults were verified from 1998 through 2003, compared to 41 attacks during the period 1988 through 1997; most incidents occurred in Southern California near the suburban-wildland interface.” (Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem, Timm and Baker ’04)
“Out of the 89 coyote attacks in California, 56 of the attacks caused injury to one or more people. Out of those that caused injury, 55% were attacks on adults. In 35 incidents, where coyotes stalked or attacked small children, the possibility of serous or fatal injury seemed likely if the child had not been rescued.” (Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem, Timm and Baker ’04)
Normally coyotes are timid and shy away from people, but they have been known to attack people. There was only 1 known fatality that occurred in California in 1981. A 3 year-old girl was attacked and killed by a coyote when she was playing unattended in her front yard.
If people feed coyotes or if there is a food source associated with humans the coyotes will become less fearful of people and more attacks will occur. So in order to reduce or eliminate attacks it is VERY important that we condition the coyotes to fear people.
Q: Do coyotes attack livestock?
A: Yes. Most larger livestock are safe from coyote attacks unless an animal is very old or sick. Coyotes most often target foals, lambs, calves, pigs and chickens.
“Coyotes account for 65 percent of all cattle and calf losses to predators and 61 percent of sheep and lamb predation (ADHIS.usda.gov) Wildlife Services (a program within the USDA’s and Animal and Pant Health Inspection service). “
Q: What do coyotes eat?
A: Coyotes adapt to whatever food sources are available. They are scavengers. The coyote's diet consists of many items including: calves, lambs, sheep, livestock carcasses, rabbits, mice, snakes, squirrels, birds, chickens, domestic cats, small dogs, insects, citrus fruit, food scraps in trash, compost, seeds, berries and pet food.
Q: Where do coyotes take their kill to eat it?
A: Coyotes take their kill to a safe place to eat. They may carry their prey up to a mile before consuming it. They don’t leave much behind and tend to eat whatever they can fit in their mouth. In some cases they may even eat a leather collar on a pet. For this reason, not much evidence or waste is left behind.
Q: What animals are the coyote’s predators?
A: Mountain lions have been known on occasion to take down a coyote. However, the primary predator of the coyote is the wolf. Since the wolf has been eliminated from California, save for a small number recently reintroduced to Northern California, the main predator of the coyote in California is man.
Q: What diseases or parasites do coyotes carry?
A: Distemper, hepatitis, parvo virus, and mange (caused by mites). Coyotes also can be infected with rabies and tularemia, that can be transmitted to other animals and humans. Numerous parasites live on the coyote including mites, ticks, fleas worms and flukes. Coyotes are known to carry heart worm which is transmitted to dogs from mosquito bites.
Q: What methods do you use to remove problem coyotes?
A: I utilize both traps and predator calling with dogs, which is a method of hunting I use for trap shy coyotes.
Q: Can coyotes jump fences or walls?
A: Yes, coyotes use their front paws on the top of a fence and use their hind legs to propel themselves over the top.
Q: Do coyotes attack people?
A: Yes, coyotes have attacked people. It is not common, but there have been more attacks reported in recent years due to the urbanization and population growth of cities that boarder wildlife areas.
“Coyote attacks on humans and pets have increased within the past 5 years in California. Forty-eight such attacks on children and adults were verified from 1998 through 2003, compared to 41 attacks during the period 1988 through 1997; most incidents occurred in Southern California near the suburban-wildland interface.” (Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem, Timm and Baker ’04)
“Out of the 89 coyote attacks in California, 56 of the attacks caused injury to one or more people. Out of those that caused injury, 55% were attacks on adults. In 35 incidents, where coyotes stalked or attacked small children, the possibility of serous or fatal injury seemed likely if the child had not been rescued.” (Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban Problem, Timm and Baker ’04)
Normally coyotes are timid and shy away from people, but they have been known to attack people. There was only 1 known fatality that occurred in California in 1981. A 3 year-old girl was attacked and killed by a coyote when she was playing unattended in her front yard.
If people feed coyotes or if there is a food source associated with humans the coyotes will become less fearful of people and more attacks will occur. So in order to reduce or eliminate attacks it is VERY important that we condition the coyotes to fear people.
Q: Do coyotes attack livestock?
A: Yes. Most larger livestock are safe from coyote attacks unless an animal is very old or sick. Coyotes most often target foals, lambs, calves, pigs and chickens.
“Coyotes account for 65 percent of all cattle and calf losses to predators and 61 percent of sheep and lamb predation (ADHIS.usda.gov) Wildlife Services (a program within the USDA’s and Animal and Pant Health Inspection service). “
Q: What do coyotes eat?
A: Coyotes adapt to whatever food sources are available. They are scavengers. The coyote's diet consists of many items including: calves, lambs, sheep, livestock carcasses, rabbits, mice, snakes, squirrels, birds, chickens, domestic cats, small dogs, insects, citrus fruit, food scraps in trash, compost, seeds, berries and pet food.
Q: Where do coyotes take their kill to eat it?
A: Coyotes take their kill to a safe place to eat. They may carry their prey up to a mile before consuming it. They don’t leave much behind and tend to eat whatever they can fit in their mouth. In some cases they may even eat a leather collar on a pet. For this reason, not much evidence or waste is left behind.
Q: What animals are the coyote’s predators?
A: Mountain lions have been known on occasion to take down a coyote. However, the primary predator of the coyote is the wolf. Since the wolf has been eliminated from California, save for a small number recently reintroduced to Northern California, the main predator of the coyote in California is man.
Q: What diseases or parasites do coyotes carry?
A: Distemper, hepatitis, parvo virus, and mange (caused by mites). Coyotes also can be infected with rabies and tularemia, that can be transmitted to other animals and humans. Numerous parasites live on the coyote including mites, ticks, fleas worms and flukes. Coyotes are known to carry heart worm which is transmitted to dogs from mosquito bites.
Q: What methods do you use to remove problem coyotes?
A: I utilize both traps and predator calling with dogs, which is a method of hunting I use for trap shy coyotes.