I think it's probably much the same situation we see with mule deer and whitetails. Mule deer need much more open, unoccupied spaces than whitetails. Their preferred browse and forage is not as dense as that of a whitetails, so they must range much further to get the same quantity of it. As a result, mules are on the decline as we encroach ever deeper into their habitat. Whitetails are on the rise, even moving into traditional mule deer range.

Much the same with wolves. Packs of wolves can't make it on primarily small game, where coyotes can essentially live on rats and moles and the like. Wolves need good populations of the larger ungulates as prey species, and we don't find those in close proximity to people (except for the whitetails previously mentioned - maybe the wolves will one day follow them in).

Wolves also evoke a far different reaction from us. God forbid one is seen in any kind of setting closer in than the fringes of the "wilderness". We expect the ranchers that are "out there" to deal with them, but just watch what happens if or when one ever shows up in suburbia. It will most certainly be "game on" - we would not rest until it was trapped or killed. Coyotes, meh - folks are not afraid of them. Most actually think it's kind of cool to see one in their neighborhood, with no idea of the ramifications of such a sighting.

Heh heh - that last one is clearly an invasive species that must be dealt with accordingly...

called grand son....

Coyotes in Eastern Montana Very thick !
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1446434297.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1446434314.jpg

Friend Shot this from a hot tub.
Hello Kitty !
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1446434383.jpg

Marv,
I had not heard that story. Not really surprised though. Not too many decades ago any time a coyote or a lion encountered a human, it was 9' tall (on horseback) and blowing fire and thunder (shooting) at at em. Animals had evolved a natural fear of humans. Now they encounter humans jogging, mountain biking, or sitting aroundwearing $1200 worth of REI green and brown outdoor wear and whispering gently. I figure evolution is working the other way now. With no claws, not much in the way of teeth, no fur, and agile only as long as we are upright, few of us would be able to fight off a few determined coyotes. Sooner or later, the animals will figure this out.
Dave

Um.. I think the prediction about evolving coyotes threatening humans is ridiculous.

Naked man vs coyote in a cage match? I'll take the man every time.

Give me a big knife and I'll take on a whole family of them.

:rolleyes:

two coyotes kill a buck - Bing video

I'll take one on one...

I lived off of coyote creek in Cerritos and live on Coyotes hills in Fullerton. When I lived in Cerritos my house backed up to the regional park in the area. I'm a pretty light sleeper and I can tell you that a pack of six will yelp and chirp to each other when they're apart closing in their box. First you'll hear them chirp 1/2 mile apart, 5 minutes later they're 1/4 mile apart and soon 100 yards apart next you'll be hearing their pray dying.

I don't know that I've gone a single day in AZ without seeing a coyote. They're usually roadkill, but I've seen them trotting down the middle of the street in my HOA and even one running on the sidewalk as I rode my motorcycle parallel with him a few feet away. We had one approach us in a parking lot in Tucson once that was a giant. He had obviously been fed a lot by dumb tourists and had no fear of people or cars.

I hear animals screaming sometimes late in the evening right after that, the coyotes howl back and forth for about 30seconds. I think they tell each other there's a kill.

There is a difference between evolution and learned behavior. They learned not to fear people, which is bad for them and people.

I live in the city of Charlotte. 2 miles to a Ruth's Chris, Nordstroms and Neiman Marcus stores. I've seen coyotes, wild boar, deer and fox in my backyard. Pretty awesome.

I grew up on the outskirts of San Diego, and used to hear the coyotes regularly, and lost more than one pet cat back then. We would never see them though, they would stay up in the hills and come down at night looking for food.

I now live in the suburbs of northern Cincinnati, and we've seen coyotes on the prowl here in the last few years. In fact, one of them cornered one of my neighbors in his garage awhile back, trying to get to his little dog. Luckily neither neighbor or dog were hurt, but the coyotes definitely seem more aggressive and not scared of people like I remember from SD 30+ years ago.

Priceless!!

It's been several years since I have hunted, and once did have leased land about 25 miles from Del Rio, TX. These are not from my game cam, but we did see the last in daylight a few times with our own eyes.


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Me too. But put me in there with 3, 4, or more? I'm not so sure.

As for the knife, yeah then I've got an artificial canine tooth of sufficient length and strength to do a lot of damage. I'd actually rather have a 3-4 foot stick, with sufficient mass to act as a club, and a sharpened point to reach out and do damage. But the point is that we humans are relatively fragile.

Tobra correctly points out that "evolution" is the wrong term. It is learned behavior. These animals once learned to avoid humans. Now our behavior is teaching them that humans are really nothing to fear.

I live in the high desert of New Mexico, and my place backs up to 37,000 acres of Natl. Forest Wilderness area. We get lion, bobcat, bear, mulies, whitetails, coons, wild horses, and damn near everything else you can imagine on four legs, wings, or that slithers. I enjoy these animals. But when they are a problem its time for them to go. I think the coyotes are a problem, and its getting worse over time. I mention that I shoot them on sight. I don't shoot very many. They know my place is dangerous and are rarely seen during daylight. But they are always around, in very close proximity. I know where 3 dens are on neighboring properties. If I had my way, those dens wouldn't be there. But my neighbors think the coyotes are wonderful (yet they wonder where their cute little dogs went). They call the sheriff when they hear me shooting. The deputies come out and quietly agree with me that my neighbors are stupid.

Oops, sorry to hijack a thread about cool things seen on game cams.

If you carry a gun and you see one of these in your neighborhood is it within the law to shoot it?

I have no idea so This is a legit question.

It is within the law to protect yourself against predators anywhere in Texas. Former Presidential candidate, and former Governor, Rick Perry, whacked one while out for a jog, in the most liberal city in the state.

That's enough affirmation for me.

No worries at all. This exchange has been excellent.

The reason I posted this was I grew up waayyy before game cams. We used tintype cams. Here is a sample:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1446482352.jpg

So we'll figure it out. :cool: