A Haverhill woman says she had a harrowing brush with the wild, when she was surrounded by coyotes while walking her dogs in a wooded area. [More]That's what happens when we forget our place in the food chain.
Hey, at least they weren't turkeys...
[Via Ed M]
And of course, all the commenters are saying that she shouldn't have been out there, we should leave the coyotes alone etc.
ReplyDeleteI'll just carry my 9mm or .22 magnum while I'm out hiking.
Well, the Chief suggested making a lot of noise. BANG! Yep, scared away three coyotes. One stayed, guess it needed to lie down and rest.
ReplyDeleteCoyotes are pretty smart critters, the ones here run Fast when they see a firearm.
Hey, once a few coyotes actually TRY "stupid urban statist" a few times, I doubt it will be any more to their taste than it is ours. Amusing an image as ravening packs of coyotes devouring the problem is, sadly I think they're just too smart to eat something that toxic more than once.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though, any game biologist will (quietly) tell you that this is known process. We've seen the same thing with cougars out west. Do a bit of poking around, and see how many of them have been attacking people over the past few years or so as the earthy-crunchy crowd has moved out into the countryside.
It's a short step from "those strange two legged animals are always around lots of food" to "I wonder if they ARE food?" With none of us nasty "right wing extremists" around to reinforce the animal's fear of humans... well, the process is well known, and pretty much inevitable.
Near as I can tell the biologists I've heard talk about it keep quiet about the problem 'cuz most of them are one way or another on the public payroll. Guess they figure letting folks know the cute furry animals may turn on them due to the stupidity of animal lovers might not be a great move career-wise or something.
What the hell kind of "woods" was she in, that a police dispatcher could talk her out of them over a telephone?
ReplyDeleteWonder if any of her four dogs were female and in a "receptive" condition. To a coyote, "all 'cats' are grey in the dark".
ReplyDeleteCoyotes are every bit as numerous as rabbits in my part of Texas. I've never heard of a human being attacked by a coyote.
When I was stationed in Tucson, a MP had to shoot a coyote in base housing that had a little girl cornered IN BASE HOUSING. I also witnessed a pack of coyotes use a female coyote in heat to lure dogs into the wash (dry stream bed) where the pack attacked and had a fine meal. We referred to the numerous postings on mail boxes of lost cats at "coyote bait". That definition was permanently confirmed when one morning I put the kids on the school bus, and after it left I observed a coyote trotting through the neighborhood toward the wash with a cat in it's mouth.
ReplyDeleteGary W. Anthony
MSgt, USAF, Ret.
{nod} -- The Damned-ass Turkey Menace. I'm tellin' ya, these birds are becoming quite haughty. Something has to be done, goddammit.
ReplyDeleteCoyotes: when I was flying the Citabria out of KLZU (Gwinnett County, Ga.), all smart night landings included a low pass down the runway and then go-around for the full-stop touchdown. This, in order to frighten the buggers off and avoid crashing-ass into them.