Coyotes ????? WTH..... Questions....

[Gerritt]

Hey guys I have some questions about Coyotes, seems I have a bunch of them out back. But I have questions regarding their behaviour and their randomness!

 

First off if anyone has a good resource on coyote behaviour and what their various calls mean I would appreciate it, it would help me understand these animals.

 

They seem to just start freaking out for no reason... Everything is dead calm and still all of a sudden the pack breaks out yelping, sounds like dozens of them. This will last for 30 seconds. Then everything is right back to dead calm, not a peep.

 

Other times I hear them howling (didn't know they did this) you will soon hear several others begin to howl, then the yelping starts again.... And dies quickly.

 

Then they will Yelp for several long minutes (I'm assuming after a kill?) almost sounds like they are fighting. As I have what heard what sounds to be injured dogs afterwords whining and crying as if in pain...

 

I enjoy hearing the haunting echos in the late evening and nighttime... And I hope they stick around.... Sometimes it sounds like they are 10 feet away! Pretty sure we have a couple of packs out back...

 

I'm just wondering if there is a resource to try and understand what is going on out in the bush.

 

Thanks folks.

 

G

[NAW]

I don't have any good resources for you. But I am going to follow this post to find out, because I have the same questions.

 

What I can tell you is... What sounds like a dozen coyotes is often just 2 or 3. I have had them come very close to my old house when I lived in the bush. And to test that theory, I've gone and tracked them in the winter, only to find tracks from max 3 coyotes. But I swore there was 10 based on the noise they where making....

[crappieperchhunter]

Can't help you Gerritt...but I enjoy them as well. Hear them all the time at our place in Bobcaygeon. In the evening sitting around the campfire.

 

I hope someone chimes in with some coyote knowledge.

[ketchenany]

Seen a few a few in Woodbridge, never heard the sounds. This morning at Yonge and Centre street in Thornhill we all stopped to make sure a fox made it across Yonge street safely at 8 am.

[FloatnFly]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote#Social_and_reproductive_behaviors

[Paudash]

I saw the coolest thing this morning on Davis just east of the 400. It looked like a mom and a dad and 3-4 pups running across the field together.

[Gerritt]

Thanks FnF... But was wanting more info on their calls etc. Wikipedia is a good resource however for the basics

 

G

[Beavertail]

NAW nailed it, 2-3 coyotes often sound like a dozen animals. Just try googling "coyote vocalizations"(not sure how to post a link here) but there are many good resources available. From my experience while hunting them I use a howl (to locate animals) challenging barks, and pup-in-distress calls. Their repertoire is pretty impressive.

[FloatnFly]

Thanks FnF... But was wanting more info on their calls etc. Wikipedia is a good resource however for the basics

 

G

 

 

Guess I should have put this link instead http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote#Vocalizations if you scroll down a bit from the first link, its the the next section after Ecology

 

 

Vocalizations[edit]

The coyote has been described as "the most vocal of North American wild mammals...", whose vocal proclivity lead to its being given the binomial name Canis latrans, meaning "barking dog". At least 11 different vocalizations are known in adult coyotes. These sounds are divided into three categories: 1) Agonistic and alarm, 2) Greeting, and 3) Contact. Vocalizations of the first category include woofs, growls, huffs, barks, bark howls, yelps and high frequency whines. Woofs are used as low intensity threats or alarms, and are usually heard near den sites, prompting the pups to immediately retreat into their burrows. Growls are used as threats in short distances, but have also been heard among pups playing and copulating males. Huffs are high intensity threat vocalizations produced via rapid expiration of air. Barks can be classed as both long distance threat vocalizations and as alarm calls. Bark howls may serve similar functions. Yelps are emitted as a sign of submission, while high frequency whines are produced by dominant animals acknowledging the submission of subordinates. Greeting vocalizations include low frequency whines, wow-oo-wows and group yip howls. Low frequency whines are emitted by submissive animals, and are usually accompanied by tail wagging and muzzle nibbling. The sound known as wow-oo-wow has been described as a "greeting song". The group yip howl is emitted when two or more pack members reunite, and may be the final act of a complex greeting ceremony. Contact calls include lone howls and group howls, as well as the previously mention group yip howls. The lone howl is the most iconic sound of the coyote, and may serve the purpose of announcing the presence of a lone individual separated from its pack. Group howls are used as both substitute group yip howls and as responses to either lone howls, group howls or group yip howls.^[8]

Edited April 16, 2015 by FloatnFly

[Freshtrax]

Just coyotes being coyotes , nothing to fret about.

[chris.brock]

This is a book about Ontario wolves, but I would guess the behaviors and calls are similar..

 

Wolf Country, by John B Theberge

 

He said howls let the others identify each other and the distance away they are. The excited yips and high pitched howls are frisky excitement and playfulness.

 

Fascinating book, I really enjoyed it.

[outllaw]

amherstburg police bulletin. another small dog taken from its owners. while coyotes can entertain. they also like to eat. whateer they can.

[FloatnFly]

amherstburg police bulletin. another small dog taken from its owners. while coyotes can entertain. they also like to eat. whateer they can.

 

 

there is a bounty on them, you can get around $80 per pelt

[PUMP KNOWS]

Has anyone had a bad encounter with coyotes?

 

I never saw one before.

[Beavertail]

Has anyone had a bad encounter with coyotes?

 

 

My Beagle had a bad encounter with one...she is lucky to be alive but got torn up pretty good in the process. The incident happened in the spring when Coyotes can be very territorial because of their litters.

[porkpie]

Has anyone had a bad encounter with coyotes?

 

I never saw one before.

Quite a few coyotes have had bad encounters with me. I hunt a few beef cattle farms, and there is a shoot on site policy. One of the farms had a cavalier King Charles killed in the backyard of the farmhouse. Others have had calves killed. It is what it is. They are naturally predators, and we will naturally try to prevent them from preying on stock, or domestic animals. Coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare.

[jimmer]

I as out bow hunting and sitting very still at ground level. I heard something behind me and slowly turned only to see a coyote standing about 10 feet from me. I just stared at it and then it stared howling, I started to laugh and it took off. That's my closest encounter with one.

[NAW]

Yup.. There's coyotes everywhere.

 

Back to the OP..

 

http://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2014/03/coyotes-decoding-yips-barks-howls.html

Edited April 16, 2015 by N.A.W

[outllaw]

yotes are bad in Windsor ont. I have had many encounters. I resorted to carry firecrackers. they challenge me I have been within 5ft of snarling yotes.

[bare foot wader]

I am not a coyote fan at all.....from my experiences, wild coyotes/hunted coyotes tend to be timid and quick to run off...coyotes near city limits/industrial areas/work sites (aka not hunted with easy food sources) tend to be much more aggressive and show little fear of humans

 

If you have house pets, monitor when they are outside, coyote swiped my ex gf's cats in our yard, watched them challenge my dog 20' away with me standing right there....get a few coyotes together and they have no problem tackling large breed domestic dogs

 

they often try to lure my dogs off the ice into woods while fishing in the winter, the female will act playful as the bait, and the rest of her pack is waiting in the woods.....had a close call when my dog was 6 months old...but now my dog is coyote smart and I have a few tails on the wall in my basement lol

[Musky or Specks]

Go buy yourself a predator call. (It sounds like a wounded small animal) When I lived out Bright way I use to call em in and shoot them with my bow in my front yard You should be able to call them in to visual rasnge and actually observe their behaviour.

[OhioFisherman]

They are all over, they have been seen in the vacant industrial areas of Cleveland and even Chicago. I hear them once in a while in my area too, it's rural and plenty of places for them to roam, feed, and breed, more or less undisturbed. My son says he saw what looked like a coyote wander thru our yard one day, it might have been one.

 

A number of my neighbors have had their small dogs and cats go missing, chickens and turkeys disappear, but without seeing the cause it is hard to fix blame? I watched a hawk one day keep diving on my neighbor's Italian Greyhound, I told her to get it inside before it disappears, although it is hard for me to picture a hawk flying off with a 6-8 pound dog.

[Gerritt]

A lot of good info here that's guys! NAW that's a good read! I hope to find some good documentaries that explain the various calls as well... YouTube here I come! (I'm a documentary freak)

 

G

[doubleheader]

Try this website. This guy is recognized as a leading authority on coyotes.

 

http://www.coyotevideos.net/

[manitoubass2]

We have them everywhere around here. Wolves too.

 

They dont bother us much and stay a distance from the property(my dog loves taking them down)

 

So with that they generally stay away, until a new pack arrives.

 

Lotsa deer and rabbits out back. Im assuming thats what they are here for.

 

The sounds at night are eary, especially when your in the bush. And I have a hard time telling them apart from the wolves. Sometimes I think they are calling at the same time but Im not sure?