Where do coyotes live, what to do when you see a coyote, coyote habitat and pet coyote's there is a lot to them

 We lived in La Quinta California from 1996 until August 1999 I left for work at 4:30 am to beat the

The valley, golf course and mountains in a picture that includes 80% of
the small city of La Quinta California, look at all the coyote habitat that
is available.

heat. I would drive around the block, it is a relatively small town in a valley between high desert mountain ranges and a lot of wild space. I at one time described it as being in the middle of miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. It was a really nice place to live, however being "Northerners" my wife (upstate New York) and me (Bloomington Minnesota), the summer temperatures were more than we were able to handle. On my way to work after rounding the corner of the block we lived on, many mornings I would see 3-6 adult coyotes laying on the front lawn of a house. The same house every day, I don't know why they chose that house, it wasn't the least bit isolated, it is across the street from a PGA golf course. On the far side of the golf course the landscape transits immediately into a drastic slope to the top of a mountain I'm guessing is 3,000 feet high. The coyotes were perfectly at home in the early morning light relaxing and looking around, they were not in the least bit concerned about anything. They were acting like a pet coyote would act, or more like a pet dog, is that a historic coyote habitat in the middle of a busy little town? Where do coyotes live anyway? Is there a standard coyote habitat? What to do if you see a coyote, in many areas of the country it is more like what to do when you see a coyote. (Coyote fact sheet is here.)
  Coyotes are naturally timid animals, most frequently they are seen during the mating season which occurs from January through March, then again in the fall, September through November when the baby's leave the coyote pack. They are often seen as a matter of fact in urban areas, it is not uncommon to see coyotes traveling to and from their favorite hunting grounds through residential areas. Other than protecting pets and children there is no response or action needed when a sighting such as this occurs. Most coyotes see or hear us long before we see them, they will avoid humans at all costs.

Llama's can handle Coyote's with ease, with razor sharp hooves
and a fearless dominating personality, the predators are no
match for these natural watch "dogs". Actually better than
livestock dogs, just more persnickety. 

  There are some actions we can take to "scare" coyotes away, these actions are referred to as "hazing", meant to scare them away while doing no harm to them.
1) Don't run away, it can incite their natural instinct to chase, in this case chase us if we run.
2) Puff yourself up, appear as large as you can, wave your arms, beat on a can or log, shout loudly, stomp your feet.
3) Whistle's, air horns, drums, any way to make loud sharp noise.
4) Toss things at them, sticks, the dogs ball (I don't think they retrieve), anything you can get your hands on, toss it with no intent to injure.
5) Water hose available? Spray them, a spray bottle or squirt gun with a mixture of water and vinegar if they get close.
6) Carry a soft drink can, tin or aluminum, filled with rocks or pennies, and sealed up with tape. Shake it vigorously, it will startle them, they will leave. Read here to find ways to deal with a coyote after encountering one
Hazing works extremely well when the entire community participates and works together. Hazing will last for a long time if all food that attracts them is controlled, pet food, open garbage cans and even bar-b-ques will attract them. If the coyotes are feeding nearby, or if hazing does not scare them away, notify the police and the local wild life control divisions of the local government.
  Pets and small children must be protected from the threat of coyote attacks, never leave them unattended, cats and dogs should always be on leashes, most of the time when coyotes attacks dogs they are off leash. On a walk carry the can with pebbles in it, a whistle, or other type of noisemaker like an air horn, pepper spray and the vinegar/water squirt bottle work well on a walk. If possible continue to make loud noises if the animal does not retreat, walk backwards (do not turn your back on them) into your home or other protected area. If possible pick up and carry the child or pet, keep control of them. If a bite is sustained, suspect rabies and get immediate medical attention.
  Where do coyotes live? The coyote is native to North America, smaller than it's cousin the gray wolf, in fact the smallest of all of it's relatives the eastern and red wolf. The range of the coyote is complete saturation of North and Central America, sighted as far south as eastern Panama for the first time in 2013, Alaska is their furthest known northern range limit. The coyote is very adaptable and is able to adapt to any environment they find themselves in. There have been 19 coyote sub species identified, there are most likely more. The average male weight is 20-45 pounds 15-40 pounds is typical of females, fairly small animals, in the desert they appear small and scraggly. They live in small family units or in larger coyote packs of unrelated adults and coyote pups.

Coyote pups and an adult, they will leave the family and coyote
pack when they are about 6 month's old.

  The coyote has natural enemy's, humans being at the top of the list, then followed by cougars and gray wolves. A curious part of the coyotes existence is that they will mate with sometimes with gray, red or eastern wolves, seems a little Romeo and Juliet situation going on at times. The coyote howls, the pack of coyote's living across the river from us will raise a stink during fall and winter nights, it's a haunting sound. All of the animals take notice, pet dogs and cats as well as the peahens and peacocks across the road in the ranch. Another interesting fact is most wolves contain at least some level of coyote DNA, it makes the mind spin a bit. But where do coyotes live? Coyotes originally inhabited open spaces and the central plains when the US was first being occupied by the first Europeans. Their habitat is chosen dependent on food and water availability, suitable den locations for raising young is very important, as well as how many of their enemies are around competing for food. The coyote is not territorial outside of the mating season, and is much less aggressive than towards intruders than a wolf typically is. Coyotes will chase intruders off, scaring them and sparring, rarely results in terminal injury. Fights and problems increase during times of scarcity of food and water. The coyote habitat is much like the wolves, they use a den usually a hole in that has been abandoned by other animals. They use the den during gestation and while raising the coyote pups. The dens are typically located in valleys, canyons, coulees, in banks, bluffs and any abandoned buildings, tanks and vehicles. I worked at a place in the California desert where we found the remains of a coyote in a processing fan that had been left open for many years, abandoned manufacturing plants make a great habitat. They take good care of the coyote pups, if a flea infestation takes place the adults move the pups, the dens are continuously being maintained by the adults. They clean the den, dig it deeper, as well as adding more ways to enter and leave, they also add more rooms, the den is usually used for many years.
  Coyotes hunt in packs leaving the pups out of the hunt, success in taking down large prey depends mostly on the terrain and such situations as snow, ice and mud which challenges even the most fit adult. They hunt mice, squirrels, birds mostly caugt alone, the pack of coyotes only hunting together to take down large game. They are natural enimie's of porcupines, one of their rare preditors, only the experienced older animals attempt taking a porcupine. They will lay claim to their prey by urinating on it. Interesting the coyote will sometimes team up with the American Badger, helping each other dig up rodents and other prey. Coyotes and Badgers have been observed laying their heads on the badgers and licking their faces with no protest from the smaller animal. I can't get over how adaptable these animals are.
  The coyote carries (most likely) the largest number of illnesses, diseases and parasites due to it's large wild range and the extreme variety of food they consume. The viral diseases known to infect them are not limited to rabies, distemper, infectious canine hepatitis, equine endephalitis as well as oral papillomatosis (a white mass in the mouth covering the tongue and mucous membranes that resemble cauliflower. Read about their diseases here.
  They don't typically attack humans, during the period from 1976 to 2006 160 attacks on humans occurred, mostly interestingly enough in Los Angeles county. Two fatalities occurred, one in Glendale California and the second in Nova Scotia Canada. The majority of attacks took place in Southern California near the wild space and human inhabited suburbs.
  What about coyote attacks on dogs? I will take a long answer, coyotes are currently the number one most populist predator of livestock, they are responsible for the majority of sheep goat and cattle losses. In 2004 for example the National Agricultural Statistics service discovered coyotes were responsible for 60.5% of the 224,00 sheep deaths that occurred during that year. (Thanks to Wikipedia for that information). 90,000 coyotes are killed each year to protect livestock in the

Fine livestock protective dog, these dogs are fearless, I've
been bitten by two dogs, a wiener dog (Charlie) and
a dog just like this one, he was huge.

Western United States. Do coyotes attack dogs? If they are small enough not to present a danger to them they will, but normally will not take on a large dog. Livestock dogs trained to protect livestock from these predators work will in open ranges and contained pastures, they are recognized as an economic asset. In exceptional cases coyotes have been known to attack even big strong breeds such as rottweiler's, only in very exceptional case, typically larger dogs such as greyhounds are able to chase the smaller predators off and have been known in extreme cases to have killed coyotes. Smaller breeds do not fare as well, we must keep control of our smaller pets.
Learn about the relationship between Native Americans and the American Coyote.
  On our island due to the abundant rain we received last winter we had an explosion of baby rabbits. A mid stream island (small) was flooded, it was a rabbit paradise. All of those rabbits, some wild breeds and some domestic that were "set free", now all of them are one huge mixed population. We have a lot of rabbits now, the second generation from the baby's born during the spring are now having offspring of their own. With lots of greenery and an abundance of habitat for them to gain safety in. Every dog on the island are now tuned into the bunny's, they can not catch these guy's, coyotes can. We are now expecting a influx of coyotes until the rabbit population is reduced, then the larger predators will again leave. A friend was telling me about a fishing trip he was on in his boat,  he fishes every day), he was in a remote part of the river system when he saw a coyote swimming

Here he is, swimming, they do swim underwater as well. 

from one island to ours. As he approached the animal, it dove under water and swam to shore 30 feet away and re-surfaced at the shore line, running up the bank and into the hinterlands. They are extremely versatile animals, however they don't do well as pet coyotes. When they are pups training is easy, they interact well with people, the Native Americans of the Great Plains were known to domesticate them, they are playful and relate well to humans they are accustomed to, they do not trust strangers, there have been cases of coyotes having been trained to "point" and retrieve. As for me, coyotes are to me a very admirable animal, along with Raccoons and Crows being my favorite wild animals. That's the point, they are better left wild, it's like we have them as pets with the exception of not having any interaction with them other than observing. I personally think that is best for us and them.
  Thanks for reading, leave a comment or suggestion and share the blog with everyone. Thanks again.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com