Are Coyotes a threat?

[Jon Holcombe]

My first post so bear with me. I took this photo (hopefully it will upload) below Friendship last week. After walking back from the bog, just as I reached my car I heard a group of kids, or young hunters, yipping like puppies. The yipping turned to geese flying as they landed on water??, and then I realized it was neither geese or kids but actually yelping from a group of what I can only assume are coyotes. I am primarily a graphic designer with a minor in pine barrens photography (for the past 3 years). I was a poor boy scout and tend to be a bit chicken about these things, so I read up on Eastern Coyote, and discovered a NJ hunter killed a rabid one 7 months ago, but there have only been two recorded deaths. Does anyone carry pepper spray, or a big knife or guns here? Since I am off by myself, often on a narrow bog path, I am wondering if I have anything to worry about (other than chiggers and ticks).

 

[SuperChooch]

Hi Jon! Welcome to the forum! You have nothing to worry about. There have been reports of a few attacks, but there have been a lot more reports of shark attacks and lightning strikes. You may hear them at night camping or hiking, but will be unlikely to see them, they tend to be very wary of humans. They are however becoming more common and less fearful of humans. I never heard or saw one before when I was younger, but have heard them or have seen tracks with increased frequency in the last 15 years or so. Still nothing at all to be to be worried about, just an interesting curiosity.

My only recommendation would be to keep small dogs on a leash and in your sight at night, as they would be most at risk.

 

[Teegate]

The chances of even seeing one is remote. I would not worry.

 

[GermanG]

I'd answer your concerns the same way I do those fearing hunters being active in the same woods. Statistically, you have far, far, FAR greater chances of being in harms way while driving our roads to your destination. It just seems we become dulled to the thoughts of the more common dangers while we fret over the less likely ones. Sorta how I feel about flying.

 

[bobpbx]

Jon,

From about April through November I am out 3 days or more a week. This year I surveyed many areas of the Wading, Cedar, and Oswego river watersheds for plants. I bushwhack through really dense woods and then travel through swamps along the river for hours. The only person who knows where I am is Guy and my daughter--I email them when I go out, showing them a map of where I will be. Yes, I definitely carry pepper spray on my hip. Do what you feel most comfortable with, not what other people tell you. This is what I use below. I tend to make a lot of noise on purpose also as I move.

http://www.amazon.com/Frontiersman-...sr=8-1-spell&keywords=fronteirsmen+bear+spray

PS: very nice photo you took. Nice and clear.

 

[Jon Holcombe]

Bob,
I actually tried to order some bear spray from Amazon but they won't deliver to NJ. After the incident last week I ordered some .75 oz pepper spray from Dicks. But now, after reading your post, I may rethink my strategy and order the "pepper bazooka" and have it sent to my brother-in-law in PA. I appreciate the odds may be against an encounter, but the yelping sounds as I reached for my car door still gives me pause.

 

[bobpbx]

Jon, I think I went right to the source for the spray.

 

[46er]

Bob,
I actually tried to order some bear spray from Amazon but they won't deliver to NJ. After the incident last week I ordered some .75 oz pepper spray from Dicks. But now, after reading your post, I may rethink my strategy and order the "pepper bazooka" and have it sent to my brother-in-law in PA. I appreciate the odds may be against an encounter, but the yelping sounds as I reached for my car door still gives me pause.

Just for the record, anything over 3/4 ounce is illegal in NJ. The 3/4 ounce will work just fine, just make sure you know how to use it or you might just disable yourself.

 

[NJChileHead]

Hi Jon,

Welcome to the forum! I also spend a lot of time in the woods, with the bulk of the time being in Northern Mercer and Hunterdon Counties, in areas where there are a lot of coyote. I've never seen one but have heard them and have seen plenty of sign to let me know that they are present, and in one or two cases they were present in large numbers. My direct experience agrees with that of others on here, I've never had a problem. I am not trying to invalidate your concern, however statistically your chances are very small that you will be bothered. Consider, foremost, that there is plenty of prey for the coyotes here (everything from rodents to deer), so the coyotes are well-fed and likely content. I would worry more if the coyote population exploded to the point where they were being pushed outside of their natural habitats because of a decline in food, because I think that human habituation is the major precursor to the problems that could arise with coyote.

I'd be lying if I said that I am not concerned at times too. I'm not sure that everyone shakes the natural skittishness that they may have about the possibility of running into bear or coyote. It's a natural, visceral fear, and that's why it resonates the way it does. Sometimes when hiking alone I still look twice behind me, and random noises such as deer scampering through the brush can still bring my heart rate up. That being said, my best recommendation is to not make yourself so anxious as to not enjoy your time in the woods. If carrying bear spray helps, do so. I've heard that an air horn can be good, others recommend awareness, ability to bluff, and a good-sized stick. I do carry spray, for the record.

I recommend getting a book or two on mammal signs and behavior. I strongly believe that when someone fears an animal, fascination is not far behind. The Stokes guide to Animal Tracking and Behavior is a very good book, a bit light on the tracking but a home run on the behavior end, and Len McDougall has a great tracking book that is a terrific balance of tracking, behavior and natural history. I realize that not everyone has the time to plop down with a book about animal behavior, but I think that understanding a predator's natural history and behavior deepens our experiences with them, and lends a facet other than anxiety to hearing them or seeing signs of them in our presence.

Enjoy your time in the pines!

Chilehead

 

[Jon Holcombe]

Chilehead, your advice is excellent. The walking stick and air horn are good ideas. I have a knife on my belt, a tripod with a heavy ball head, and I think pepper spray might round things off and be all I need. The possibility of encountering coyotes adds a bit of allure and heightened awareness to being in the middle of the forest miles from assistance. Having said that, if I actually saw one walking towards me I would probably hit the button and spray myself in the face.

 

[NJChileHead]

Never allow a wild animal with the potential for predation to approach you. Bluff, yell, throw rocks, whatever it takes. Drive them off and maintain their natural fear of humans. When they lose it, it spells trouble for both human and animal.

 

[smoke_jumper]

Welcome, Jon
While you're more likely to need that pepper spray on a strange person you might encounter out there. If it makes you feel more secure by all means carry it. I've layed in bed and heard them they're probably just as likely to be roaming our yards at night but we feel safe there.

 

[SuperChooch]

Jon, for the record, I also always carry a knife and a hiking stick (and a first aid kit) when I am alone out there for emergency preparedness purposes. But I agree with Smoke, my fear is a little more of animals of the human variety than those of the canine variety. . Do whatever makes you feel comfortable, but don't be too anxious about it.

 

[Spung-Man]

JH,

I am the last place on the edge of a big wood patch bordering the Village footprint. As such coyote like to pack at a big sand hickory, called the Resting Tree, that marks my property boundary from Thomas’ old charcoal camp and livery.

During daylight hours and on quite nights I have no fear of them at all. However, in pack coyote make such a commotion as to raise the hair on the back of the neck. I’m sure they smell our ducks, cats, and rabbit so worry for my critters’ safety.

When I loudly return their yelps and howls, walking towards them, the action silences the coyotes for but a few seconds – then they report back even louder and meaner than before. At that point they show no fear of humans. Whether their rebuttal is bluff or real, the point has not been pushed. It is scary.

Coyotes most likely living near you in South Jersey

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/...310-9a4d-11e2-9350-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=jqm​

S-M

 

[Jon Holcombe]

Good article Spung-Man. I admit that hearing what I thought was a pack last week also raised the hairs on the back of my neck. I do not plan to cancel my order of pepper-spray.

 

[NJChileHead]

Jon, there is something that both you and Spung-Man brought up that I think merits further discussion; the topic of coyote packs in NJ and in the Northeast. If you read about the natural history of coyote, they are almost always referred to as solitary creatures, however they can, do and will run in packs in the East.

The Eastern coyote is larger than those out west, and this is a result of the coyote having bred with wolves and having that wolf DNA. I believe that this is what gives them the propensity to run in packs. As pack animals, they can target larger prey, and I think that this does raise the concern about their interaction with humans. As pack animals, they would tend to be bolder. I think that if concern about coyotes lies anywhere, it should be there. The balance to that is our ample deer population.

I realize that deer are not the only prey for coyote, but I think that if they are running in packs, that white-tail would be a major prey item. I can't predict what will happen if the coyote population continues to grow and the white-tail population begins to drop from predation, however it's something that I've thought about from time to time. I would guess that it would 1) naturally reduce the number of coyote offspring because of nutrition, 2) break up packs if they are again chasing smaller prey, and 3) push coyote to move further into residential areas looking for prey like feral cats. I can't commit to this because I'm not a wildlife biologist, and don't know enough about the coyote to make the prediction, but I know that white-tailed deer and coyote are both r-strategists, which means that they tend to reach sexual maturity early and produce large numbers of offspring as an adaptation for survival. The idea is that a number of the offspring will not reach maturity because of die-off or predation. This gives ample number of deer for predation, but if the coyote population booms, there may be a period of adjustment before equilibrium is reached where the coyote become more aggressive in search of prey. I would think that this would increase coyote-human conflicts, especially in residential areas. This may not ever happen, or not within our lifetimes, but I thought that it may be of interest nonetheless.

 

[Jon Holcombe]

Chilehead, there was something primal in my realization that I was hearing a pack of predators nearby, heightened by the thought the 10 minutes earlier I was 1/2 mile from my car. While I recognize that I am not on the menu for coyotes, it was definitely the numbers that I found a bit alarming. Since there are more coyotes than there were 10 years ago, and although I am not concerned in my backyard in Medford, by myself in the middle of Wharton, I definitely feel somewhat vulnerable.

 

[smoke_jumper]

Jon, there is something that both you and Spung-Man brought up that I think merits further discussion; the topic of coyote packs in NJ and in the Northeast. If you read about the natural history of coyote, they are almost always referred to as solitary creatures, however they can, do and will run in packs in the East.

The Eastern coyote is larger than those out west, and this is a result of the coyote having bred with wolves and having that wolf DNA. I believe that this is what gives them the propensity to run in packs. As pack animals, they can target larger prey, and I think that this does raise the concern about their interaction with humans. As pack animals, they would tend to be bolder. I think that if concern about coyotes lies anywhere, it should be there. The balance to that is our ample deer population.

I realize that deer are not the only prey for coyote, but I think that if they are running in packs, that white-tail would be a major prey item. I can't predict what will happen if the coyote population continues to grow and the white-tail population begins to drop from predation, however it's something that I've thought about from time to time. I would guess that it would 1) naturally reduce the number of coyote offspring because of nutrition, 2) break up packs if they are again chasing smaller prey, and 3) push coyote to move further into residential areas looking for prey like feral cats. I can't commit to this because I'm not a wildlife biologist, and don't know enough about the coyote to make the prediction, but I know that white-tailed deer and coyote are both r-strategists, which means that they tend to reach sexual maturity early and produce large numbers of offspring as an adaptation for survival. The idea is that a number of the offspring will not reach maturity because of die-off or predation. This gives ample number of deer for predation, but if the coyote population booms, there may be a period of adjustment before equilibrium is reached where the coyote become more aggressive in search of prey. I would think that this would increase coyote-human conflicts, especially in residential areas. This may not ever happen, or not within our lifetimes, but I thought that it may be of interest nonetheless.

I've thought about this as well. Nature does a good job at balancing everything even with human intervention. I see larger more mature deer in places like Morrestown and Cherry Hill then I do in some of the pines. They simply can't be hunted there. If Coyotes start losing their fear of humans I wouldn't be surprised to see them there as well.

 

[Gibby]

If Coyotes start losing their fear of humans I wouldn't be surprised to see them there as well.

The coyotes are already there. You just haven't seen them Smoke_jumper.

I have spent many hours alone in some of the wildest of areas of the barrens and can count on one hand the number of 'yotes I have physically seen. An interesting reaction that 'yotes have when they know they are spotted is to put a tree between you and them. They will also bounce from left to right viewing you from each side of the tree before disappearing quickly. Jon, use common sense and good judgement. Get bear spray if it will make your time in the barrens better and that slight fear that you have will disappear after you spend more time out and about.

I don't have any fear of any animals in the pine barrens, but I do carry bear spray just in case. I only purchased mace after I had to climb a tree to get away from a pair of hounds that were off their owner's property. I didn't want to hang out in a pine tree for twenty minutes again.

This is a large light phase male that was spooked by thunder that crossed paths with me.

 

[NJChileHead]

Cool picture, Gibby!