Good heavens! How frightening!

We've had reports this past month of a coyote stalking joggers. In late October a 9 year old reported a coyote chasing him on his way to school, then police were called to that same area for a lone coyote stalking joggers on 2-3 occasions. The police caught him on their dash cams but couldn't capture him/her. Then, a man was attacked last week and hospitalized with neck wounds (probably rabies treatment too). I'm usually on the wild animals side, but this coyote needs to be caught.

we have them where I live. less since the massive developments around us.

people are building on what has been their home land. I used to hear them most every night, but not very often anymore. When I'm out at night with the dog and I hear the kits calling out, we head into the house before mama coyote comes looking for them.

I have not heard this. We have coyotes here and I know they have killed dogs, but those were dogs that were unattended.

So sad.

Areas have become so urban and less natural habitat around they are hungry and looking for food in any place and type they can find. We have them here too. Seeing them out during the day in neighborhoods. Animals left out are disappearing.

That must have been a terrible ordeal. Unfortunately, when wild animals lose their fear of humans the results are often tragic, both for the human and the wild animal. Coyotes are particularly bold and opportunistic hunters and won't hesitate to grab a cat or small dog given the chance.

Hungry is hungry, as raven said. Animals, even humans, will stretch their behavior from normal when hungry and food seems accessible.

Sad stories.

We have them here in Orange County. They are very bold and wander our streets in our very developed area. I've seen them outside my house. They can climb 6 ft fences and have nabbed many dogs let into their backyard for only a minute or two.

Stray cats and dogs don't last very long. I've seen so many heartbreaking posts from local groups from people who have lost their pets. Yet still some people let their cats outside, saying a shorter life of freedom is better than a life stuck inside. Drives me crazy.

LIke raccoons, coyotes are now urban dwellers and there are substantial populations in many large cities. Urban coyotes

I live in SW PA and can shoot the eastern coyote any time. We are considered rural. My husband only seen one in the field about 2 years ago. Our friends who have chickens on their farms have problems with them.

They are quite widespread in our So. California suburbia, and small children have been bitten and attacked. On a very recent attack, the police were called and killed the coyote. Daytime, nighttime....they are out. I recently saw one following a woman pushing a stroller with a small dog on a leash.

When I was growing up in KS (1951-62), my father used to go out to the country and shoot coyotes nearly every weekend. Game and Wildlife had a bounty on their heads - $3 for a pair of ears presented to them. That's nearly $30 in today's money and my father often got 2-3 of them. The farmers wanted them gone.

We moved to LA in 1981, I was surprised by all the posters on lamp poles for "lost" dogs and cats. I thought people must be rather careless about their pets out here! Then I learned that these poor pets were most likely not "lost", but carried away by the coyotes we heard howling the the canyons every night. Between them and the Great Horned Owl that lived in a tree in our courtyard, I feared for the lives of my dogs and cats. Fortunately, in our nearly 3 years there, we never lost one, but I do remember driving carpool in Hancock Park one morning (a very close-in LA suburb) and seeing a coyote cross the street right in front of me!

I've been in KY since 1984 and a couple of years ago, we started having a coyote problem in my close-in 70 year old subdivision. It backs up to a country club golf course and some surrounding woods. Until 3 years ago, there was no building in those woods, but the CC sold off some of the land and now there are 3 homes in there. Now, the coyotes come out and have gotten a few cats in houses that are nearby. I am a LONG two blocks away, but I installed a big flood light in my back garden and I keep a can of canned air next to the door and watch my small dogs like a hawk when they go outside after dark.

Really? I saw two coyotes the other day while on my daily walk on the golf course. The course is at the very edge of town and borders an old slough with fields on the other side. The coyotes looked at me and watched me walk towards them for 3 or 4 more steps, then turned and trotted away down towards the slough. As I passed by the spot where I had seen them, I could easily smell them. I wonder if they were still there, just out of my sight, watching me. I didn't feel threatened. Maybe I should have. (I was alone and it was a cold day. There were no golfers or anyone else around.)

We have them for sure in our rural area. And have seen and heard them many times. I had one cross the road about 10 feel in front of me while jogging one morning. Not a care in the world about me. A house was being built at the time, so I imagine it was fleeing the scene.

We have caught several on the game cam and hear them howling in the distance. Recently something, most likely a coyote, attacked a neighbor’s dog while they were at work. Their dogs are older and usually just hang out on their porch. Poor dog was in bad shape, but she took her to the vet to be sewn up. She died a couple of days later.

How awful! We have them here, traveling in packs, I'm told, but I've never seen one. Knock wood! I hear them howling in the woods some summer evenings. When my dog Turpie was killed about 10 years ago I thought it must have been a coyote. But the Game Commission guy said it was a bear.

We have heard and seen them many times in this rural area for the last 32 years. I been told by neighbors of attacks on their dogs and cats. One even attacked 3 medium/large dogs and left them with lots of bite marks. Cats go missing all the time. Next door lost 4 cats, but kept getting more and did not keep them inside in spite of what happened previously. I feel so sorry for the pets when I seen the missing posters, but you can't make people become responsible pet owners.

Our neighbor has a tiny yorkie, and is not that much bigger herself. Today she said she was awakened by coyotes making a commotion. She went outside and saw four of them right next to our pond. Now she is concerned about them possibly attacking her yorkie.

I'm sad for people losing their pets, but also sad for the loss of habitat for wild animals because of the encroachment of humans. Maybe people should carry deterrent sprays, just in case, and, of course, keep their pets close by.

Coyotes fill an important role in the ecosystem. They are hunting rodents, rabbits and other pesky critters for suburban/rural dwelling humans. Eliminating them will tip the balance of predator/prey in a way that would be even worse for us.

I’m sorry about them losing territory, too. But my subdivision has been here for over 70 yrs - it was started in the late 30’s and then finished in 1948. They still have a large wooded area and the entire cc golf course to roam. I think it’s that they have lost their fear of humans.

My cat was attacked by a coyote last year. In all fairness, he had been a indoor/outdoor cat all his life, coming and going as he wished and had fully developed 'street smarts' that had served him well for almost 15 years. But I think age affected his agility and made him more vulnerable than if he were in his youth. Thankfully the dog was there as well and raised the alarm and I intervened before any damage....other than shaken nerves........was done. He recovered fine and remained an indoor cat until he passed just this week from old age.

I will eventually get a new kitten but this one will be raised to be an indoor cat from the start. I live alongside a greenbelt and the risk of coyotes is just too great. I even have concerns about my dog out after dark but he is never allowed to run loose and is only out for a couple of minutes to do his business and immediately returns to the door. And I keep watch while he is out :-)

Earlier this summer there was a report of a young boy walking his dog at a local park that was being shadowed by a coyote. He saw it, picked up his dog and high tailed for home but the coyote continued to follow and actually nipped at his pant legs. Not sure what the resolution was but I know wildlife/animal control was looking to catch it.

Bob, your neighbor is right to be concerned about her Yorkie.....that would be nothing more than a mouthful for a coyote!! My old tom cat was twice the size at least of any Yorkie. And a fighter too. He managed to give the coyote a run for his money!

I hate to be like a spreader of doom, but this is just to warn you ... I've heard that coyote packs will have one member lure the dog away to chase it and then the rest of the pack will all close in for the kill once the dog is away from the house.

Yikes, I wouldn't want them coming up so close to me! Sounds like AnnArbor, Michigan and their deer problem. I read where sharpshooters were hired to get rid of some of them. It makes sense that they couldn't let anyone hunt them being in a populated area.

Coyote population is believed to be increasing, despite effort to reduce it. I knew bounty hunters in Texas who would shoot many of them and sell their hides, although I'm not sure what was done with those hides. People who lived up the road from my parents had a pet that was half dog-half coyote (coydog), and I got chased by it on my bicycle. It's one of the reasons I avoid dogs. We frequently see coyotes in the deserts here, and they are not shy. I've found coyote scat in my yard once, and my neighbors say that they have seen coyotes in their back yard, but ours is a bit more difficult for them to get into. Our neighbors have a Great Dane, but I'm not sure that it chases coyotes away. It has not been effective at keeping squirrels away. I am hoping that the coyotes in my neighborhood are eating some of the squirrels. We have hawks they prey on squirrels, but not enough.

Wondering if some of the reports of coyotes attacking are pure coyotes. I used to see articles about behavior changes that occur when coyotes and dogs mate, Coydogs. They are more likely to run in packs vs. coyotes. Coyotes tend to form packs during the fall and winter the separate to raise families spring and summer. A pack seen in the summer would be family packs.

Coyotes do not like other members of the canine family in their territory. They will attack dogs to kill or chase them away, not necessarily to eat one.