Coyotes in Houston

[RCouch]

This is a reference to other Coyote threads recently posted.
KHOU TV in Houston had a short news item about a woman who was walking four small dogs on Cedar Brook Elementary School property in northeast Houston. A coyote came under an eroded fence and got her chihuahua and fled. The TV news blurb said the School cancelled outdoor activities but this wasn't noted in the web site. Coyotes can be a real threat to small children and pets in urban areas.

 

[tnieto2004]

Thats why I got a German Shepherd!!

I'm in south Houston though

 

[win71]

Coyote problem solved

There aren't many left in my neighborhood. Of course there aren't many house cats or mongrel dogs either

 

[Lbys]

What's the story?

All right, you HAVE to tell the story behind that photo. Holy Cats!

 

[Husker1911]

Re: The cougar photos: You'll hear many a tale of the locale the photos were taken, but they were snapped in Lander, WY.

Snopes is our friend:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/patiomountainlion.asp

 

[LaEscopeta]

All right, you HAVE to tell the story behind that photo. Holy Cats!

+1, I want to hear that story too. It’s my understanding deer are the nature diet of mountain lions (cougar, puma, etc) and they switch to dogs in areas where the suburbanites have moved in and eliminated the deer. They are survivors.

And about coyotes attacking small dogs on leashes or kids on school grounds. It think most of those cases are feral dogs misidentified as coyotes. Real coyotes, like real mountain lions, are able to survive living close to humans by keeping out of sight of humans. Which brings us back to: what’s the story of the lion on the back deck in the photo? I’m guessing it was not expecting a person looking at it through the back door.

 

[tnieto2004]

I wonder is there are any dogs that could stop a mountain lion from making quick lunch of them .. hmmmm

 

[Chawbaccer]

That coyote wanted Mexican take-out.

 

[TnMtnMan]

Nah, that Coyote thought he was at Taco Bell...........

 

[The Deer Hunter]

Win71, thats an amazing pic. That cat is beauteful, and scary as hell.

 

[MechAg94]

An apartment I used to live in was adjacent to a nature area. There was a family of a dozen or so raccoons that practically lived in the dumpsters. Surprised the hell out of me one day. I threw a bag of trash in there and about 9 raccoons come pouring out and climbing over the fence. I don't know why they were running. I was barefoot in shorts and couldn't have done much about it if I had wanted.

I have heard that coyotes were finding easy picking in suburbia. I haven't seen it though.

 

[win71]

Husker1911

Has it solved. Somebody e-mailed me the photo and I'm not sure where he got it.........I'm glad it wasn't my deck !!

 

[RCouch]

Can't vouch for whether or not the predator that ran off with the womans dog was a coyote or not. I can say that when we were living in the SW part of Houston (off HW 6 south of Bellaire in Providince) that there were coyotes in that area and whether or not you see them depends on how hungry they are. Or house backed up to an open field that had a continuous connection to fields and brush in the westerly direction and we saw them on occasion and sometimes during daylight. As to them being coyotes or feral dogs, they were coyotes and I've been around coyotes for years and know what they look like.

 

[Atticus]

You think that's scary...this one crept into my wife's gym bag.

 

[obxned]

We spent millions of dollars killing coyotes, and after killing all the dumb ones, are now stuck with a super-smart, super-adaptable go anywhere critter. If you don't have them in your neighborhood now, just wait - they are coming!

Actually, I think I am a whole lot more comfortable with 4-legged predators than the 2-legged kind!

 

[akodo]

I wonder is there are any dogs that could stop a mountain lion from making quick lunch of them .. hmmmm

I have been told that wolfpacks are the natural enemy of pumas, and it was this fear of wolves and wolfpacks that both aided guys hunting mountainlions with dogs, as well as kept mountainlions from eating pets. However, after a long time with almost zero mointainlion/wolfpack interaction, this fear has pretty much been lost, and pet attacks are going way up.

Now, mountain lions are a suprise attack animal, and pretty much any dog that gets pounced upon is going to be a gonner. There might be a few exceptions, some of the larger breeds, such as great danes, mastiffs, some of the larger rotts, i am talking dogs in the 150 lb range, and most people think thier dogs are a lot heavier than they actually are. Of course, if some cougar pounces on a dog only to find itself hanging onto a great dane or something, the cat isn't going to stick around and fight it out, he is going to flee.

Of course the other angle of this is a pack of dogs, not even terribly big one. Something like your standard pointer usually weighs in at 40-60lbs, but if you have 3-4, it's the same situation for the puma. He can get one down pretty easy, but then he has to fend off the others without the element of suprise, and that just isn't worth the effort.

Of couse a gaggle of yaping pekineese probably wouldn't worry a puma.

 

[JohnBT]

Coyotes are everywhere. How about this? From the AP on 3/9. JT

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - It’s best not to get between a predator and its prey — especially when they’re in the passenger seat of your golf cart.

Water plant worker Mitch Walter would offer that bit of advice and bears the scratches of one who speaks from experience.

As Walter was inspecting the Cape Rock Water Treatment Plant property Tuesday night, a rabbit leaped into his golf cart — followed by a 25-pound bobcat. The rabbit then jumped back out, leaving Walter alone with a large, frightened feline.

“The cat went from a sleek predator after fast food to a ball of fur trying to jump through the windshield of the golf cart,” Walter said.

Walter received scratches on his neck while shoving the bobcat out, necessitating a round of rabies shots, but was otherwise unhurt.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

[dogtown tom]

I'm an Adapted PE teacher in Plano, TX. I cover 18 campuses from K-12, so I drive quite a bit. Last year about this time I was driving to one of my schools and noticed a coyote WALKING across the street about 50 yds ahead of me. As I got closer she didn't hurry up at all, took her sweet time. That coyote turned her head and stared me down as I drove past. All this at 2pm.

Two weeks later one of my other campuses had two coyotes come up to the edge of their playground during afternoon recess. Animal Control came in and set traps and caught two within three days. That school used extra teachers for "playground duty" the rest of the school year.

In Plano, Allen, McKinney and Frisco the boom in homebuilding has erased much of their habitat so these coyotes have nowhere else to go but in peoples backyards. Cats seem to be the favored snack food.

 

[frostbiker]

Memorial Park in Houston actually has a couple living in the woods. Coming home late one night from a job (3am approx.) I nearly clipped one in my truck. I swerved into a lane while trying to confirm it was a coyote and was promptly pulled over. I was westbound on Memorial right before the railroad underpass. The cop was sitting up under the bushes running radar. Told him why I swerved and he believed me. He said he watched the coyote for a few minutes trying to chase down rabbits in the field next to him.

 

[rangerruck]

most peeps woudn't believe it , but the Houston area is loaded with coyotes. almost all the parks have them, all the area around the beltway has them. They are down near all the bayous, even if you drive out to the Hillcroft far west shotgun range, I once was pulling in there, and 3 of these guys come rolling down the road, right up into the side of the woods. This at a shotgun range!!!

 

[ilcylic]

I see coyotes in town all the time here in Albuquerque.

----

Roadrunners too, actually. No joke. Never have seen one chasing t'other, though. *beep beep*

 

[LaEscopeta]

OK here is a THR pop quiz: What unique visible features on a coyote allow you to tell it from a dog?

(p.s. Husker1911, thanks for the-cougar-on-the-patio link.)

 

[Scoupe]

Round, bushy tail held slightly low of horizontal, big ears, yellow eyes, spindly apprearing legs, and a "thin" muzzle. About the size of an emaciated German Shepherd.

 

[hagar]

Tail held low, super erect forward swept ears, and yellow eyes. Nothing like staring a coyote in the eyes at 5 yards dressed in full camo and facemask with a shotgun or rifle in your hand and watch the "OWWW shucks" expression as he makes you just before you pull the trigger!

 

[mbt2001]

I am in Houston (N/W side) and at night (not every night but plenty of nights) you can hear coyotes yapping away... Same in the morning... That is of course when you don't hear cars.