The Paradox and Absurdities of Carbon-Fretting and Rewilding

Herschel Smith · 28 Jan 2024 · 4 Comments

The Bureau of Land Management is planning a truly boneheaded move, angering some conservationists over the affects to herd populations and migration routes.  From Field & Stream. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released a draft plan outlining potential solar energy development in the West. The proposal is an update of the BLM’s 2012 Western Solar Plan. It adds five new states—Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming—to a list of 11 western states already earmarked…… [read more]

Coyote drags two-year-old away & Dog kills pack of Coyote

BY PGF
1 year, 3 months ago

Coyote drags two-year-old away.

 

Heart-pounding footage shows the moment a quick-thinking Israeli man jumped into action to save his two-year-old daughter before she was dragged away by a coyote outside their Los Angeles home.

 

Georgia sheepdog, Casper, fights off, kills 8 coyotes after pack attacks his sheep

A harrowing story in the video at the link. That’s one tough dog.

A Georgia sheepdog is recovering from injuries after squaring off against a pack of coyotes, killing eight of them, while protecting his flock.

Casper, a sheepdog who works on John Wierwiller’s Georgia farm, fought off the more than half a dozen coyotes in a fight that lasted over half an hour, WAGA-TV reported.

Wierwiller says that Casper disappeared for two days after the brutal fight.

“We knew he was hurt because we found parts of his tail and blood and other things, so we were worried,” Wierwiller said.

That’s a good boy.

H/T Battle Beagle @HarmlessYardDog

Coyote population isn’t growing in Massachusetts

BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 4 months ago

Source.

Wildlife encounters are pretty common in the Greater Boston area, from wild turkeys at crosswalks to coyotes in yards. Well-publicized coyote attacks in recent years and an uptick in sightings this year have some people worried. Wildlife biologist Susan McCarthy from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife joined GBH All Things Considered host Arun Rath to help us understand coyote activity in the area. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Arun Rath: So first, could you start off by giving us maybe a bit of a coyote reality check? Are we seeing significantly more sightings in encounters than in the past? And does that mean there are more coyotes on the ground in Eastern Massachusetts?

Susan McCarthy: Well, what I can say is that it does seem as though there are more reports of coyotes in suburban and urban environments. But whether or not that means there are more coyotes on the landscape is a great question to ask. And so what we’ve determined is that over the past 10 years, the coyote population in Massachusetts has stabilized. Coyotes are existing at very high densities and they’re in all available habitats throughout the commonwealth of Massachusetts. We wouldn’t say that the coyote population is growing. … We know that’s not true. That’s not the case.

Yea, you go ahead and keep telling yourself that.  Mind you, don’t be so confused as to believe that Coyotes are afraid of you when you meet up with them.  With a buddy to help him out, this Coyote might have succeeded against that big cat.  But the point is that a single Coyote had the steel to go up against a big cat alone, even though he ended up calling it off in the end.

So as you walk your dogs in the evening and carry your cell phone to call 911 (but no sidearm), you tell yourself that Coyotes aren’t more numerous and there is no problem when those six eyes are staring at you from the bush.

Animals Tags: ,

Coyotes In Charlotte, NC

BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 5 months ago

Source.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Coyote sightings across the Carolinas are on the rise, including in the Charlotte area. A wildlife consultant says it’s because this is the time of year when the animals are on the move.

Bill Crowder, a consultant also known as Coyote Bill, said the coyote population has increased and they are being spotted just as much in the daytime as they are at night. The increased sightings are raising concerns for some local neighborhoods but there are ways to protect your home and family.

“Everything is moving, they are searching for territory, and as soon as they find those territories they focused on those territories and stay there into the mating season,” said Crowder.

It’s migration season, and Crowder said this is when humans will see the most coyotes roaming around. He adds during this time, the current year’s pups are released and dispersed from their families to make it on their own.

Yorkshire neighborhood resident Jon Lovelace caught one running across his yard.

“I caught it on the cameras on my home, just passing through, heading from the street side of my house towards the creek side in the back,” he said.

Linda Allen also lives in Yorkshire and has her own worries.

“My backyard backs up to an empty farm and wooded area, and my biggest fear is that a coyote gets interested in my dog,” she said.

Working with Crowder, Allen makes sure she has all the deterrents she needs when out on a stroll.

“I have my horn, a whistle around my neck, and I have the stick. We don’t go out at night unless we have to,” said Allen.

“The objective of the air horn is to keep the coyote at a distance. You don’t want the coyote coming close to you,” said Crowder.

The stick is to make yourself look larger. The idea is to wave it around aggressively and make yourself appear more threatening.

Crowder said his calls have quadrupled.

“Yesterday was very distressing for me. We got a call from one of our neighbors who we’ve been helping and she had seven of her turkeys attacked and killed,” he said.

Crowder notes it’s important to determine the coyotes’ motivation for being in your yard. Once you know why they are roaming around it, makes it easier to get rid of them.

Dear Lord.

Somebody named “Coyote Bill” is doing Coyote psychology, and has women blowing horns and waving sticks around.

I have a better idea before her pet gets attacked and eaten.

Buy a pistol or wheel gun, preferably a large bore gun, go to the range and learn to shoot it, always carry it, even to the grocery store, and kill the Coyotes if she sees them.

I’m not a prophet, but I’m 100% certain that killing it will keep it from coming back.

Animals Tags:

Swampscott Resident Surrounded by 9 Coyotes, Rescued by Police

BY PGF
1 year, 5 months ago

Swarmed by a pack of nine Coywolves!

A Swampscott [suburb north of Boston], Massachusetts, resident was surrounded by a pack of nine coyotes on Friday night and was only able to escape after police responded and scared the animals off.

Swampscott police said they got a call around 9:30 p.m. from a resident who said they were walking their dog on Rockyledge Road when a large group of coyotes surrounded them and wouldn’t back down.

When police arrived, they said they saw at least nine coyotes. The coyotes were scared off by the arrival of the police cruisers and the stroble lights. Officers escorted the resident and their dog back to their home without further incident, but police are now warning residents to be aware of their surroundings when walking at night when coyotes are most active.

[P]olice suggest yelling and waving your arms as you approach the animals. They said the simplest method of scaring off a coyote involves “being loud and large.” They suggest standing tall, waving your arms and yelling at the coyote. Police suggest bringing homemade noisemakers, a small air horn, squirt guns or pepper spray while walking your dog. They also stressed that it is important not to run away from a coyote.

And what happens when the highly intelligent beasts begin to determine that guns only have water in them? Isn’t using a water pistol the same thing as running away, proverbially speaking?

This isn’t the first report of aggressive coyotes in Swampscott. Back in July, coyotes attacked people in at least two separate incidents. Aggressive coyotes were also reported in other parts of Massachusetts over the summer.

Via WoG

Animals Tags:

Seven Coyotes At A Time

BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 6 months ago

Source.

Police in a Massachusetts town said a dog had to euthanized after seven coyotes attacked it, just hours before a man was also attacked and bitten while walking his dogs.

Massachusetts is home to the Eastern Coyote, a medium-sized predator and opportunistic feeder, according to MassWildlife.

Reportedly, officials estimate there are around 11,500 coyotes in the state, as per 2021.

Cohasset, a town in Massachusetts, saw two different attacks in just one day on August 27, police told local media in a release. In just a few hours, two dogs were attacked outside a home by a group of seven coyotes while a man was also bitten during an attack on his two dogs.

In the first attack, police said the dogs were off leash when approached and attacked by the group of coyotes. The owner described it as “coordinated” when speaking to WCVB.

“It was almost a coordinated effort. It was absolutely incredible,” Jeff Pratt said. “Three came out one way, four came around the back way and attacked the second dog. I had seven coyotes in my driveway.”

Dog Bella sadly did not survive the attack as she was later euthanized due to the extensive injuries she suffered. Fellow pup Sadie was also left with serious injuries.

You better get yourself a gun and carry it boy.

Oh yea.  This is Massachusetts.  Never mind.  Talk to your “leaders” about the local cops who exist to “protect and serve.”  I guess they did that when they put your dog down.

Animals Tags:

A coyote attacked a 2-year-old girl in Orange County, California

BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 9 months ago

Source.

coyote attacked a 2-year-old girl in Orange County, California, according to police.

The coyote attacked the toddler on Tuesday in Mile Square Park in Fountain Valley, according to a news release from the Fountain Valley Police Department. The girl is recovering from her injuries, police said in another news release.
Wildlife officers on Thursday trapped and euthanized the coyote in the park, Patrick Foy, a captain at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, told CNN. DNA from the child’s clothing was matched to the coyote’s DNA, Foy said.

Gosh.  It’s almost as if people should buy guns and carry them for purposes of defense of their family.  I know I heard that somewhere.

Animals Tags:

‘Dawn of a new creature’: after a vicious attack, a city ponders living with coyotes

BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 10 months ago

Report from Dallas, Texas.

Lots and lots of Coyote attacks, lots of pets killed, lots of stalking.  This quote nearly floored me.

At the meeting, many of the residents wanted to know why the city didn’t already have a plan for managing coyote behavior. They have been a part of the ecosystem for decades, and are often spotted in residential areas throughout the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“Where the city is on its response is in the exact same place where every other community that has a wildlife problem starts out,” Henry said. “That’s how government works, any government. We’re always behind the curve.”

“So White Rock Valley is the first community in Dallas to ever have this problem?” asked Kristy Feil, who has lived in the neighborhood for 19 years. “I mean, we’re the first?”

The truth is, yes. The city officials couldn’t say definitively that in all of Dallas’s history there hasn’t been an attack, but violent coyote interactions are so incredibly rare that it’s not surprising it took so long for them to form a plan. Urban coyotes are, the vast majority of the time, out of sight and out of mind.

“I’m starting to understand why we’re having more of an issue recently,” Feil said after the meeting. “There’s no one to blame. We’ve just got to figure out how to handle it.”

Sure there’s someone to blame.  Society is to blame.

You don’t manage Coyote behavior.  They will do what they do.  They are pests.  They are a nuisance.  There isn’t a school of rehabilitation to send them to.  What a silly and childish notion.  Manage Coyote behavior.

Ridiculous.

You shoot them.  If discharging firearms within the city limits is illegal, then they need to look at changing the law, or begin to carry crossbows, hunt them down, and kill them all.

Animals Tags:

Coyote Attack In Dallas Leaves Child In Critical Condition

BY Herschel Smith
1 year, 10 months ago

Dean Weingarten.

On May 3rd, in the Lake Highlands neighborhood of the Dallas metroplex, a coyote attacked a two year old toddler on the front porch. It was about 8:30 a.m., according to AP. From Fox4kdfw:

A 2-year-old child is in critical condition at the hospital after being attacked by a coyote in Dallas. 

Police said it happened around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning in the Lake Highlands area while the child was sitting on the front porch of a home on Royalpine Drive, which is not far from White Rock Creek.

Another coyote attack on a toddler had happened a week earlier in Huntington Beach, California.

[ … ]

As coyotes have increased in population and adapted to urban areas, coyote attacks have increased. In one research paper 142 incidents were recorded from 1960 to 2006. In overlapping research, 367 incidents were recorded from 1977 to 2015.

When most people were armed, and considered coyotes a pest, coyotes learned to be wary of humans. In urban areas, many people consider coyotes to be closer to Disney characters. Some people value coyotes highly.

Coyotes are not sweet.  They are not nice.  They are not friendly.  They are not your friend.  They don’t want to be your buddy. They attack children and pets.

Don’t be an enviro-whacko.  Kill them if you or your family or beasts are in danger.  Make a rug out of their fur.

Make a discipline of carrying a firearm.  Have no mercy on them.  They won’t with you.

Animals Tags:

Coyotes Are Predators

BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 6 months ago

Remember boys and girls, Coyotes are predators.

Two toddlers were taken to the hospital after being attacked by a coyote in separate incidents in the Massachusetts town of Arlington, officials said Monday.

In the first incident, around 5:40 p.m. Sunday, the animal approached a 2-year-old girl, bit her on the back and dragged her across the yard, according to police. About 10 minutes later, police received a report of a coyote scratching another 2-year-old girl at a different yard, authorities said.

Both children sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to a hospital for evaluation. Officials believe the same coyote was involved in both attacks, but they were still searching for the animal Monday.

The two incidents come just three weeks after another child had a violent encounter with a coyote in the same town. The 5-year-old victim in that attack was playing in a sandbox when a coyote approached him and bit him in the leg, police said.

They won’t just take your pets, they’ll take your children if you’re not aware of the threat.  And they’ve learned to hunt in packs, and are no longer afraid of humans.

Animals Tags:

House Cat Fends Off Three Coyotes In L.A.

BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 2 months ago

Via reader Fred.  News from L.A.

You learn two things from this video.  First of all, Coyotes have lost their fear of other Coyotes and now work in packs.  This is learned behavior, along with an admixture of Wolf DNA.  Don’t go out unarmed.

Second, cats.  Even when I walked my 90 pound Doberman Heidi (before she passed away), when she tried to screw with local cats I always pulled her back.

I’d say to her, “That cat will claw your eyes out girl and I’ll be walking a blind dog.  Learn what you can mess with and what you can’t.”

I would have turned her loose on Yotes, other dogs, or two-legged assailants.  Not cats.

Good Lord, I miss my girl.  So much.

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