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Some North Brookline residents howling mad about coyotes
By adamg on Mon, 12/05/2011 - 5:21pm
Brookline selectmen tomorrow hear a request by residents of Corey Hill to let them do something to get rid of the coyotes they say have invaded their hillside, which crests along Summit Avenue.
The coyote presentation is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
Via.
Neighborhoods:
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Comments
Crunch all you want
They'll make more. They will go where the food is, and new ones will just move in if old ones are removed.
Just about any means of killing coyotes, other than trained snipers with a good eye for the differences between them and dogs, may end up killing dogs as well.
What do urban coyotes eat?
Do they get enough foot off trash? Or do they get enough stray cats and racoons to feed them through the winter?
Ive seen 3 coyotes walking down the street in the middle of the night with housecats (I could hear and see the collars) in their mouths. Real creepy.
They'll eat Trash
But moreover trash attracts rats, mice, racoons, possums, ect. All very easy pickings for Coyotes.
Then there's the people that let their "pets" roam.
Unless you get rid of those other animals by putting trash away, you can forget about getting rid of coyotes.
Coyote Buffet
Also known as trash day ... but they aren't nearly as good as racoons at tipping bins and undoing bungee cords.
They will also eat pet food if it is left outside.
Rats, squirrels, etc. are on the menu as well.
We keep our cats in at night and haven't had problems. We make sure they are in the house before we leave as well. (we have fisher cats, too!!!)
When my neighborhood got together and started securing trash and not leaving pet food out and bringing small animals in for the night, Wiley et al retreated to the Fells and stayed there. I know they are out there because I see them occasionally and my son hears them howl at night (and sees them when he cuts through the woods to school sometimes). They appear to make it fine on wild critter food these days.
They eat whatever is easily
They eat whatever is easily accessible. Failing that, they'll eat whatever they can get their paws on, with a strong priority for the easiest calories to obtain and ingest.
Trash? Yes. Pets left roaming
Trash? Yes. Pets left roaming or in the yard? Yes. Pigeons, squirrels, rats? Yes.
I saw one dragging a dead Canada goose off in the Fens once, very late at night, and anybody who lets their pets roam unattended has pretty much written them off for dead already, so I say we keep 'em around to kill off the even-more-annoying rats and geese.
Just saw one...maybe
Pedaled up Summit ave on my way home this evening both to get a workout and to see if anything would be out...something dog-like was definitely lurking in the shadows about 3/4 of the way up. Kinda sent a chill down my spine, for one...but on the other hand, animals will be animals.
Do coyotes chase bicycles?
like dogs often do?
Wild
Coyotes, as a rule, are much warier of humans than dogs. They may look like dogs but they are truly wild animals. Unless rabid they're not going to go near you. And rabid racoons are a far greater danger in the area than rabid coyotes.
A different kind of wild
With urban coyotes, the old "if it's not afraid of humans, it's probably rabid" rule of thumb doesn't necessarily apply. In the competition for food, coyotes that are able to overcome their natural fear of humans and cruise the neighborhood during the daytime looking for snacks have a distinct advantage over those who lurk in the shadows at night, and are likely to be more successful reproductively.
Some evolutionary biologists say that's how we got dogs in the first place: it wasn't the hunters whom we tamed; it was the scavengers that adapted to our lives.