Posted on 11/06/2004 3:37:00 AM PST by SLB
I live in Sullivan Co. NY, two hours from Manhattan. These dogs are all over the place. They are big. 50lbs isn't unheard of. Males have been killed that weigh 70lb or more. The largest that I am aware was taken during deer season last year around Syracuse that weighed more than 100 lbs. That is a serious predator..
I have been taking targets of opportunity but I think I will try and borrow SLB's neighbors puppy.
We used to live in San Marino Calif. I saw a coyote in town one day on Canterbury Street. Just standing there in a front yard on a busy intersection. Then we lived in Claremont Calif. and there was a wild game refuge across Foothill (which is Rt 66). There were lots of coyotes over there and we didn't dare let our cats outside. Coyotes would come at night and kill and eat any cats or dogs that they could catch. The strays in the alley always disappeared. It was scary.
The "City of Glendale",Vehicle Maintenance yard, caught a mountain lion on their security camera,leasurely trotting through the yard.
Our northeastern coyotes are not like western ones. Genetic studies have been done on them and they turn out to be Coyote/Canadian Grey Wolf hybrids. My sheep & cattle farmer neighbors in southwestern PA had a big problem keeping them at bay.
Weasels also roam D.C.
A coyote is one smart critter. Get out of your car with nothing in your hands and he will just stop and look at you. Get out of your car with something in your hand and he is off.
I have been near numerous coyotes. They always run.
I know of one death in the US in Southern California of a three year old.
Predators are a part of the ecosystem. Removing all predators is not a good idea. Too many people over react to coyotes.
I walk every night with coyotes howling on both sides of me. It is creepy when you hear them. They can ebdangerous to some pets. My neighbor had a chow husky mix that killed a few coyotes. They ganged up and finally killed him apparently. If they can take down a big dog like that, a small would not have a chance.
I live in CT and have coyotes in my back yard all the time....
http://www.ctwoodlands.org/ctwoodlands/spring'99/coyote.html
[you need to copy and paste the '99/coyote.html part to see page]
And they're not merely coyotes like the western type.
They're wolf hybrids.
They've been in our area for years and my dad had a pack of them just stare at him from the crest of ridge, showing no fear whatsoever.
He said their size was similar to that of a German Shepherd.
There are rumours that MD is going to "reintroduce" mountain lions, next.
I guess the hikers here better start packing heat.
There's a bunch of 'em here in SE Tennessee too. I see them regularly. I recently saw a mom and 3 pups cross the south end of my runway.
I think mountain lions have already been "reintroduced" in the mid-atlantic. Here in PA, the number of people claiming to have seen one continues to grow, and the evidence that they are here continues to grow. PA Game Commission's response to hard evidence is always that it was a stray that escaped from a zoo or preserve. Seems like they're escaping more and more often though...
Oh, great.
Guess it's time to take the .22 out of the ATV gun rack and put the 30.30 in.....:-|
You sure it wasn't a pack of wolves? Maybe they heard the exit polls and started an assualt on the white house a bit too early. Jim
Yep. Ought to have something bigger than a .22 anyway, for the growing number of bears...
Out West, we call them, "Pest Control." Racoons, skunks, roaming cats.
They were just looking for any stray Democrats.
Hope they don't get poisoned from the likes of Tubby Teddy and Bella Lugosi Pelosi.
Now, to reintroduce Wolves to D.C!
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