Besides being scary, how dangerous are Coyotes when confronted by humans, it will surprise you.

  I worked in the central valley for a long time, there is a lot of empty space there, there is also a lot of farming going on. The company I worked for had a site that consisted of 180 acres, we used about 15 of it, however part of my job was "vector control", which meant get rid of the ground squirrels. Dealing with them was pretty tough, they multiplied like crazy, it was nuts because the population started at what seemed like just south of a million little furry creatures. I never came close to eradicating them, I never even came close to anything that could be a control of them, I had better luck gathering up the old farm equipment and tires, they did not breed. There was a huge variety of animals out there, fox, coyotes, jackrabbits, as well as the normal run of the mill raccoons, skunks, and possums. The facility was many years prior the largest feedlot on the west coast, at that time we had about 1,000 head in the corrals. Beyond the stockyard was an empty 100 acres, in the middle of that was the community dump. There was no garbage in the dump, it was a place to put old farm machinery, tires, and all that is related to rural life.

There was some old stuff in the dump as well.

  I would drive out to the dump at least once a day, it was part of vector control, at dusk the most amazing chain of events took place. The first participants to show up were the Jackrabbits, tall, lean and fast, not to ignore the fact that at least 100 of them would show up. Shortly after that, the coyotes would form a large circle around them, penning the rabbits in. As if a starting pistol went off, all of a sudden the coyotes charged the rabbits, there were at least 50 coyotes. Dust, debris, and squeals filled the air, coyotes and rabbits were frantically running everywhere, most of the rabbits escaped, most of the coyotes had a rabbit. The most interesting thing about the whole episode is that it took place every single night, and it most likely still is. The rabbits after thousands of years (I am guessing at how long it's been going on), have never changed or gotten smarter unless maybe these are the dumb ones and the rest don't participate. I don't know what the deal was, but it was one of the most curious events I have witnessed in my life.

Coyote and Jackrabbit, they are both really fast.

Which brings me to:
  My daughter lives on 15 acres next to the foothills of the Sierra Range of mountains in the central valley. She and her husband own and operate a successful tree trimming business, it's a lot of work needing a lot of storage space. They have what looks like an acre covered with wood cut to fireplace lengths waiting to be split and sold for firewood. They have chickens, goats (on occasion) and they will let out their pasture to people wanting to feed a steer or a bull. They also have a few pigs, right now two they have just purchased and keep in a secure pen in the pasture, they have a watchdog or two. They also have a lot of coyotes, the opportunist of the world, they show up each evening trying to get at the chickens and other livestock. Of course, they worry about the coyotes getting at their animals, but more than that they are fairly frightened of them, thinking the coyotes may very well attack them. This is in an area where I saw the first Mountain Lion I had ever seen, it was on a full out run and did not notice anything except where it was headed. I told my daughter I would be more concerned about the Bobcats, not the Coyotes or the Puma's, although a Lion will attack a human it is rare. The Bobcats, however, are the size of a medium dog and unpredictable, I don't trust them. (I have mentioned that on other blogs I have written). (Link to information disputing my fear of Bobcats.)
  How dangerous are Coyotes? Let's take a look-see:
There are two recorded cases of humans being killed by Coyotes, in the United States and Canada combined (in the past 500 years). It is a rare incident when a none rabid Coyote attacks a human, most people that do get bit do so in the course of attempting to rescue a pet that has been grabbed by one of the predators. Compared to the 15-20 humans killed by domestic dogs each year, 2 human casualties by Coyotes in the past 500 years is very minimal. It's safe to say Coyotes do not attack people. If you are being challenged by Coyotes, they are after all pack animals, here is a list of some things we can do when facing an attack:

1)  Back away from the animals, slowly and carefully, do not turn your back on them.
2)  Do not run, they will think you are prey and most likely will chase you.
3)  Throw things at them, sticks, rocks, any objects laying around that have some weight to them.
4)  Be as loud and obnoxious as you possibly can be, if you have a pan or other hollow metal items, beat on them, just like we were taught to do to chase a bear away.
5)  If the animal does attack (remember it is extremely rare) protect your throat and arteries.
6)  Don't harm the animal, it will enrage them and may cause a fight response in them.
 (Link explaining what to do when you see a Coyote)
  They do live amongst us, they are very adaptable animals, they are timid and stay in their wooded rural areas, however, they are not hesitant to wander in urban areas. I lived in the California Desert for 3 years, the name of the city is La Quinta, like the hotel chain. I had to be at work early in the morning, I would get out of bed at 4:30 am, then head for work at 5:30. Most mornings I would encounter two large Coyotes, laying in the grass in the front yard of houses one block from my house. They looked like domestics dogs relaxing in their own yards, indeed they appeared to be approachable, but never approach them, they are wild animals and will defend themselves. Every day I would see several of the animals on my way to and from work, it was common then.
 (Link to building a Coyote and predator-proof chicken coop)
 
Here are a few suggestions for those of us that live in Coyote country:

1)  Create an environment that is not appealing to the Coyotes, they do not fear us any longer. Make them unwelcome by keeping your trees and shrubs trimmed, don't give them a place to hide. Install Coyote proof fences, motion sensors that activate noise, water systems or lights.
2)  Don't leave food outside of your home, that includes pet food as well as uncovered trash cans.
3)  If you live in their habitat, be prepared for an encounter, learn all you can about the animals, carry a large walking stick, have a noise maker on your person, and pepper sprays work as well.
4)  "Haze" the animal, inflate your self, make yourself appear larger, wave your arms over your head, shout in loud commanding tones, use lights, whistles and something to beat on to make noise.
5)  Toss stuff at them, (as mentioned above).
6)  Spray them with water, either from a hose or water gun, ammonia or vinegar will surprise them and cause them to escape.
7)  If you are injured by one of the animals, seek medical assistance immediately, then call the appropriate authorities.

Link to this page explaining the difference between a
wolf and Coyote

  Coyotes are scary animals, the howling at night is un-nerving, as well as when one is seen in the yard or general vicinity of the house. They are however relatively harmless, attacks on humans are extremely rare. They don't see humans as a food source, even small children are safe from attacks, but do not leave them unattended because two people have been killed by them in the past 500 years so there is always that chance. This is the information I gave to my daughter as well, it did not releave her concern, it is safe to say her biggest fear is harm to the livestock.
  She has a rifle, there is a major problem with that, however, shooting the Coyotes may eliminate some of them but to me, it's like spraying for bugs. If shooting them is the solution, is the foal to kill all of them? If so it's at least an uphill battle, much like spaying for spiders, there is an endless population with more always showing up. When living next to the Mountains like she and her husband do there is a huge population of the animals that will fill the void when one pack is eliminated, there will be no end to them. My idea and commitment is engineering them out, better fences, louder noises, flashier lights and a bigger watchdog.
Thanks for reading and sharing, let me know what you think in the comments.

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com