Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Circle of Life Closes In on Backyard Coyotes

Animal-rights groups again clash with pet owners over predators

By Katherine Thompson, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 28, 2009 3:34 PM CST

(Newser) – Across Southern California, an old battle is raging: tireless hunter vs. wily coyote. It's tough to tell who's winning, but it's easy to hear who's unhappy: both animal-rights groups and homeowners. "We had a cat, and he became coyote sushi," one resident tells the LA Times. Suburbia, with its fenced-in pets and hiding spots, lures the wild prowlers—and that brings out the professional trappers.

A 25-pound coyote can easily kill a dog over twice its size. A cat is like a furry Hot Pocket, and even human children provide temptation. Animal-rights activists argue that there are ways to deter coyotes without killing them; a Humane Society rep calls killing the creatures "a knee-jerk reaction to a non-problem." But a trapper warns: "If you don't have coyotes in your neighborhood now, you will."

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Only a couple coyotes can live on a square mile of wilderness, but the backyards of housing tracts offer a lot more food and shelter. (©lostinfog)

Coyote trackers sometimes literally do follow pawprints, but more often their prey's favorite haunts are marked by frantic dog and cat owners, rather than physical traces. (©qmnonic)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Why are they going to go chase rabbits when you got Fifi locked up with a bowl of water to drink right next to her? - Coyote catcher Jimmie Rizzo, who has seen it all

The coyote has been the most persecuted animal in North America. Every predator control method known to man—aerial gunning, poisoning, trapping, shooting—they've survived them all. - Kevin Brennan, senior wildlife biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

Another Sign Rihanna and Chris Brown Might Get Back Together? (Celebuzz)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Which Entertainer Pulled Out of 'Inappropriate' Whitney Tribute? (NewsOne)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 6 comments

Guest

Oct 29, 2009 5:38 AM CDT

I have kids in my neighborhood. If that would happen here the whole neighborhood would go hunting. Most of my neighbors have big dogs.We also have large ferrel cat colonies.

Guest

Oct 29, 2009 5:31 AM CDT

Do tazers work on these animals?

mmax

Oct 29, 2009 12:53 AM CDT

Here's the scene. Suburban Washington, not more than two miles from Microsoft campus. I'm outside a major shopping center at 2am, when I watch a pack of NINE coyotes run across the lot of the store across the street. All of them are about the size of a small German Shepherd. Think about it. The wolves get killed off--something is going to take up the job of hunting all those suburban deer.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

Valentine's Day Role-Playing Goes Very Wrong

Los Angeles Times (Source Grid »)

It's not just California...

In Colorado, coyotes attack adult
Coloradoan

One Colorado city feels under seige
CBS 4 Denver

Lucky dog survives attack
Lake Arrowhead Mountain-News

Coyotes causing more trouble in Tenn.
NWTN Today

US • Money

Southern California • animal rights • animal attack • Humane Society • coyote • suburbs

More Newser Stories

Activists Win Battle in War on Factory Farms

New farms in Ohio won't use extreme caging

(NEWSER) - Ohio’s biggest farms have agreed to a series of new restrictions on how they confine their animals, hoping to prevent a potentially losing ballot standoff with the Humane Society and other animal rights groups. Under the deal, no new egg farms will be built using extreme caging methods, and all farms will agree to slowly phase out the tight caging of pregnant sows and veal calves, the New York Times reports. More»

Shocking Egg-Farm Film Reignites Animal Debate

Humane Society video sparks new battle with farmers

(NEWSER) - A video showing chickens being slammed into metal crates has reignited a battle between the Humane Society and farmers. The footage, shot by an undercover Humane Society volunteer, shows chickens held in battery cages over enormous manure pits and chickens being violently shoved into a euthanizing chamber. "We're asking they not be crammed into cages and crates barely larger than their bodies," says a society rep. More»

Singer Wouldn't Have Wanted Coyotes Killed: Mom

Taylor Mitchell was huge nature lover

(NEWSER) - Taylor Mitchell, the 19-year-old Canadian singer killed by coyotes on a hike Tuesday, was such a nature lover that she would have wanted to spare the coyotes, her mom says. “When the decision had been made to kill the pack of coyotes, I clearly heard Taylor's voice say, 'Please don't, this is their space,’” Emily Mitchell told CNN. “She wouldn't have wanted their demise, especially as a result of her own. She was passionate about animals.” More»

Coyotes Kill Canadian Singer

Teen folk musician attacked in national park

(NEWSER) - A rising star of the Canadian folk music scene was killed in a savage coyote attack while hiking alone in Nova Scotia. Singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell, 19, suffered multiple bite wounds and massive blood loss after a pair of coyotes pounced on her. She died a day later in a local hospital. Park rangers shot one of the coyotes but both managed to flee. Authorities told the BBC that coyote attacks on humans are incredibly rare. More»

Vick Plans TV Documentary Series on His Life

Show will take a somber, serious look at QB's life: BET producers

(NEWSER) - Michael Vick will star in an eight-part documentary-style TV series about his life for BET. The Michael Vick Project, due in 2010, will look at Vick’s comeback with the Philadelphia Eagles along with his troubled childhood and—of course—the time he spent running a dogfighting ring. "I just want people to get to know me as an individual," Vick tells the Los Angeles Times. “I've made mistakes. But it's not about how you fall, but about how you pick yourself up." More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Circle of Life Closes In on Backyard Coyotes