Canis Latrans

“Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone? Oh where, oh where can he be? With his ears cut short and his tail cut long. Oh where, oh where can he be?”

One summer night a few years ago I was jolted out of a sound sleep by loud screaming in the back yard. It took several moments for my brain to engage, but when it did I recognized the sound as that of a rabbit that had become fatally trapped in the jaws of a coyote. The sound was identical to the sound made by the predator calls that I use for hunting coyotes.

Since I moved to Rochester Hills, a northerly Detroit suburb 16 years ago, I have seen just about every kind of wild animal that used to live in the wild. Now it seems they live in my neighborhood.

It’s quite normal to see as many as 10 deer in our yard at one time, day or night. We’ve pretty much given up planting flowers. We haven’t found any yet the deer won’t eat. We’ve seen bucks fighting over does and does giving birth. One fawn was born right next to our patio. They are so common that Jake (our dog) completely ignores them. And they ignore us when we try to shoo them away.

Part of the animal problem is the “green belts” that exist in place of fences between the houses. These “mini-forests” make great places for the animals to live. They are virtually infested with deer, squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks, raccoons, opossums, skunks, chipmunks, hawks, owls, and who knows what else. So far, the only critters I haven’t seen in our yard are black bear, bobcat, wolf, and coyote. But, I may have to scratch coyote off that list before long.

A big part of the problem is the misguided neighbor that feeds wild animals “cause they look hungry”. Why should an animal scrounge around in the woods looking for food like they’ve been doing for millions of years when they can just go to someone’s back porch and get all they want. Before long, instead of one squirrel outside your window you’ll have twenty of them demanding a meal. Most of these will have been born within 200 feet of this neighborhood restaurant. Folks like this should be publicly flogged, or at least educated.

There is one animal that benefits greatly from this nouveau hodge-podge of critteria in the neighborhood. Mr. Coyote has come to town and brought his family with him. Why should he work hard in the wild to catch the occasional animal to eat when he has a smorgasbord to choose from in our backyards?

The coyote (Canis Latrans) is a fascinating creature. It’s highly intelligent, clever, resourceful, and adaptable. Nose to end of tail, the average size is about 3 ½ to 4 feet in length for an adult and will weigh 25-45 lbs. They are supreme opportunists and will eat anything from mice to deer to carrion. Coyotes can be found almost anywhere in North America. Because they are nocturnal and so elusive, you may never actually see one in your neighborhood, but if you know what to look for you’ll know they’ve been around.

Occasionally after a fresh snow I’ll see coyote tracks where they’ve wandered through my yard on their nightly forays. While raking out the greenbelts around my yard I’ve found the remains of small animals and the telltale coyote scat (feces).

One day last fall my next-door neighbor told me he saw a wolf trotting across the back of his yard with a rabbit or something in it’s mouth. Knowing his idea of spending an afternoon in the great outdoors was going to a baseball game, I knew he had no idea what he was talking about. The nearest wolf was probably 200 miles north of us. I asked him if perhaps it could have been a fox. He said no, he had seen a fox at the zoo and this was much larger. Besides the fox he saw was reddish colored and this was kind of a gray/tan color with a long bushy tail. What he described to me was a large healthy coyote.

In most suburban areas hunting is not allowed within the city limits. Because of that there is nothing to keep the coyotes in check. With the abundance of small animals around they prosper in this type of environment. They also provide a service by keeping the small animals from overpopulating. But, they’ve also developed a taste for domestic animals as well.

Not long ago there was a story on the local evening news about a woman whose small dog was snatched by a coyote. As usual each evening she let her dog out to do his business while she stood at the door and watched him. The dog became agitated and began to bark at something in the bushes. When the dog darted in to investigate the lady heard one loud yelp and then silence. She got her flashlight and went looking for him. There was no trace of her little dog to be found.

In the spring when the coyotes have lots of little mouths to feed they become especially active in their hunting. One of their favorite prey is the deer fawn. It is easy to catch and provides a substantial meal for their family.

The coyote is here to stay and caution should be observed when letting pets out at night. Even a large dog can easily be taken down by a pack of coyotes and smaller pets are just a quick snack.

We’ve all seen those signs tacked to utility poles offering a $25.00 reward for finding their Fluffy the dog or Boots the cat. As sad as it may be, if they’ve been missing for more than a day a car has probably hit them or they are now just a hairball in some coyotes scat pile out in the woods.