BajaNomad - Feeding the coyotes

Feeding the coyotes

N2Baja - 5-8-2004 at 11:25 AM

Hello Everyone,

I am a long time lurker but this is my first post. I couldn't think of a better place to ask for advise on dealing with an interesting situation.

We have a house in the campos south of San Felipe. Over the past year or so I've noticed a large number of coyotes hanging around the camp. I mentioned this to a neighbor and was told that another neighbor is putting dog food out for them. He even has a couple that will come up to him and eat from his hand. But here is the scary part: Now we've heard that someone saw a cougar hanging around.

We have two teenagers and a puppy and I'm very concerned about their safety! Before I approach my neighbor I was hoping to get some advise from the board. Has any one else had a similar situation? How did you deal with it?

Thanks!

Skeet/Loreto - 5-8-2004 at 11:40 AM

You must deal with "Commom Sense" in your approach to you Problem!
Here where I live Coyotes come into the Cow Pens and will drag a 50 lb New Born calf out of the Pen into the Tall corn and consume it in a couple of Hours.
they are often covered with 'Ticks" and other forms of Crawleys.
In years past they were shot and Hung on a barbwire fences as warning to others their Fate, but now days they are on the E List and are protected.
I have rasied babies till about 6 months and then had to get rid of them as they developed in to mean puppies.

I would watch my children around any animal of the Wild, remember the story of the Character who lived with the Bears!!

they ATE Him!!
Be Careful!!

Skeet/Loreto
"In God I Trust"

In theory...

Mike Humfreville - 5-8-2004 at 12:36 PM

it isn't a good idea to change the natural environment of any wild animal, especially with any that could be potentially dangerous to you and your family. When we lived in huts at the north and south end of Bahia de Los Angeles we were troubled with coyotes and did everything we could to discourage them.

Regardless, we still lost a chicken occasionally. Within weeks after we had built our little places the coyotes would be coming into camp every night. Surprisingly, they didn't care so much for the foodstuffs; they wanted the fresh water. They are so crafty that they learned to unscrew the tops of water bottles and tip them over for a drink.

But, living so far from other people, we found ourselves identifying with our natural surroundings more and more. While we never fed of tried to make friends with the coyotes, we did learn to enjoy watching them from a distance.

So I guess it depends on your environment and how many neighbors you have and how you all feel about the situation. One thing against feeding wild animals is that it fosters more rapid breeding and overpopulates a species until the food source moves away and then you will have perhaps created a famine and death.

Good luck with your situation.

N2Baja - 5-8-2004 at 01:58 PM

Thanks Skeet/Loreto and Mike. You bring up very good points. I didn't think about ticks (eeeewww)!

What's so frustrating is a love coyotes! I love to hear them sing to each other at night; I just don't want them thinking of our camp as a fast-food joint. I was thinking about using a pellet rifle and stinging them in the rump a few times. (the rifle I have is so weak you could probably throw a bb harder) I don't want to kill them unless they get so aggressive that I have to. Is it illegal for me to have a pellet rifle in baja?

The other neighbors on the beach are peeed and want to put out poison or start shooting them. I'd rather find a way to discourage them from coming around, especially if they are on the endangered list.

coyotes (4 legged ones)

thebajarunner - 5-8-2004 at 02:06 PM

In addition to ticks they also are quite likely to have rabies.
And, their favorite diet is household cats and dogs.
We get them here in Oakdale and I run for the .22.
There is a dead one up the street today which I saw while I was walking my lab.
I don't think that one could take on Mali, the lab, but in a tussle the rabies deal is real likely...
Shoot 'em quick. They have no redeeming qualities.

Baja Arriba!!

Beware of disease

academicanarchist - 5-8-2004 at 03:50 PM

As has been pointed out, they care carry rabies. Many coyotes each carrion, which of course has a high bacteria contact that can become concentrated in the saliva. They are very adaptable, and survive even in urban environments. If people are hand feeding them, they are incredibly stupid. One bite, and they can get a serious injection of bacteria. To encourage wild animals to come to human habitations is also incredibly stupid.

N2Baja - 5-8-2004 at 04:21 PM

yes, AA, I agree. It is stupid. Unfortunately, in the long run, the coyotes will be paying for his stupidity. From the info I've received here so far, I see that I've underestimated the severity of the threat to my family and my dog. I don't want to kill the coyotes, I just want to discourage them from coming around. But, I'll do whatever is necessary to protect my kids. So, does anybody know if it's illegal to have a bb gun/pellet rifle in baja? :no:

Dave - 5-8-2004 at 04:45 PM

" So, does anybody know if it's illegal to have a bb gun/pellet rifle in baja?"

Both are legal however the army may argue the point with you and as we all know, they is the law. :biggrin:

Markitos - 5-8-2004 at 06:25 PM

I hope it's not illegal to have a BB gun!!
I keep one on the boat just incase I have to scare someone by poking it out the gangway.

Sure would hate to get in trouble over a toy!!

DonC - 5-8-2004 at 07:06 PM

Anyone who kills a wild animal just because it is in the neighborhood and leaves it lay is a JERK.

JESSE - 5-8-2004 at 08:03 PM

Food = Coyotes, Feeding them = more Coyotes, enough said.

Skeet/Loreto - 5-8-2004 at 08:53 PM

Don C. It is apparant that you have had no contact with the coyote. I have a suggestion, Come up to my place and listen to the Coyotes coming up from the river on a Hunting spree, looking for a new Born Brown Swiss Calf Worth about $200. brought to that point by an effort of a Hard working Dairy Farmer , milking twice a Day, up at all times during the Night,having to Pull calves from the womb to save the Mother and the Calf and then having a Coyote sneek in right before Daybreak and drag it into the Field.

All the time carrying Rabies, Ticks etc.

You are very unlearned as can be seen from your Juvenile Posting, so go back to School, or come on up and learn before you start your calling people "Jerks"
Skeet/Loreto

"In God I Trust"

Sallysouth - 5-8-2004 at 08:55 PM

Jesse,So candid and so right on! (Duh!)

Wild animal lovers

thebajarunner - 5-8-2004 at 09:39 PM

This falls right in the category of the "protected mountain lions" in California. By State Constitutional law (Voters' proposition) no less.
What do you want to bet that at least one of those hikers in SoCal who were recently eaten by mountain lions, in fact voted in favor of the proposition to protect them?! Amazing, but you get what you deserve.
***footnote, legislation by proposition is killing this state***

Baja Arriba!!

Nikon - 5-8-2004 at 09:59 PM

It only took one page of posts before taking a political twist! Now we're off to the races!

sin nombre - 5-8-2004 at 10:22 PM

...Time out here.....

Ok, so we that love remote places have to accept the conditions that exist there. The Coyotes were there before us; we are the ones encroaching on their territory. Mountain Lions? Same thing. Let's just say I sympathize with those pushed out of their homes because others found it desirable for one reason or another.

They carry rabies? What do we carry? What do we bring to their neighborhood? Smog, pollution, etc...all for the sake of our "comfortable" lifestyles.

That's the way the world is, though.

I believe you get back what you put out in life. The common courtesy and kindness you show even a lowly coyote, will come back to you one day. Perhaps it's in the scorpion that you find before it stings you, or every safe step you take at night here in the desert without a flashlight....

Still wanna reach for that BB Gun?

sin nombre - 5-8-2004 at 10:37 PM

P.S.

If you don't want coyotes around your place, don't feed them. They can survive without your help, as they have since they came into existence.

One day at Las Cuevitas...

Mike Humfreville - 5-8-2004 at 11:02 PM

we watched a coyote come down a hill to the waters edge. He was thirsty enough to drink sea water. This was in August. If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't believe it.

elgatoloco - 5-8-2004 at 11:10 PM

One morning at Scammons...

We woke up and looked out of the tent to see two coyotes in the shallows digging for clams?

I will try and find the photos I took.

OK Mateo,

Mike Humfreville - 5-9-2004 at 01:56 AM

and I hope you find it before you try and convince us that the coyote flew into the blue and let the clam drop on a rock to open it. I've seen some of the stuff that washes up on the beaches around Scammons!!

Skeet/Loreto - 5-9-2004 at 04:45 AM

O. K Mike!
The following is the Truth!! Anyone of the "Unlearned Species" is Invited to observe this Happening in Los Banos Calif.!
The Crows of Los Banos are many, nightlt moving from the numerous Trees of the Town to their Nightlt roosts in the nearby Countryside. On returning the following Morning during "Walnut Harvest" Season they bring with them a Large Walnut.These same Walnuts are dropped from Said Crows to the Concrete Taxi Pad at the Los Banos Airport,to be Cracked and then consumed by the Crow!!

"Survival of the Fitist

Skeet/Loreto

"In God I Trust" "

Mountain Lions

M - 5-9-2004 at 07:27 AM

Recently here in So Cal, a man riding his bike in a natural area near civilization was draged off and eaten. He was partially covered by the lion for a later meal, who went hunting again, this time atacking 2 women, draging one off into the bushes by the head while her friend held onto her legs in a tug of war. Her screams brought others who fought the lion off with sticks and stones. The woman had half her face peeled off and was in the hospital for a week. My point is, we have infringed on Mountain lion territory here in So Cal. They have lost fear of humans, and the result is them having to be shot, sadly, another lion will move into that same territory and will eventually have to be shot also. TO INVITE WILD ANIMALS INTO YOUR LITTLE SPACE IN BAJA IS STUPID!. As long as they have a fear of humans and no reason to 'visit' there simply are no problems. Store your food and water, keep the mutts close, and if there is a lion near, for Gods sake, keep the kids near also. My 2 cents. M

PS, Bajarunner, you had a couple good points but your "shoot em, the have no redeeming qualities" comment was very offensive and it was rude to poke those of us that feel ALL creatures have a role in lifes chain.

BajaNomad - 5-9-2004 at 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Humfreville
Surprisingly, they didn't care so much for the foodstuffs; they wanted the fresh water. They are so crafty that they learned to unscrew the tops of water bottles and tip them over for a drink.

I typically push the cooler and containers with other foodstuffs under the vehicle(s) at night, as the lids can't be opened, and I haven't had a cooler/container dragged out from under by any animals.... well, as of yet anyway. I know not to put it past them.

But the coyotes North of La Gringa are so crafty, they will come in and pop open the drains on my coolers to enjoy a middle-of-the-night cold-water treat. They, of course, will return each ensuing evening for further attempts at each day's melted ice.

Haven't had that happen anywhere else.

--
Doug

[Edited on 5-9-2004 by BajaNomad]

elgatoloco - 5-9-2004 at 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Humfreville
and I hope you find it....

Se?or Miguel, do I read a hint of skepticism in your tone :biggrin:

There surely was some liquid sensimilla :lol:

involved in the previous nights stargazing but the activity we witnessed at dawn was ?coyote clamming?.

I will find the said photographic evidence and post it on the www for all the world to see, or at least the several dozen folks who look at my posts.

I also will welcome all weary southbound travelers to stop by 'Casa Pebley' and view said evidence personally, whilst being plied with copius amounts of 100% agave azul, so as to further verify that no surreptitious alterations were in fact made to said photographic evidence.

I just have to find which box the photos were packed into as we are preparing to move. Until that time you will just have to trust me! :saint:

Have I ever given you pause to due otherwise?

Hope to see you soon! :smug:

Question for academic anarchist....

Ken Bondy - 5-9-2004 at 10:22 AM

Do you have any basis (such as published articles or research) that supports your statements about coyotes having a high bacteria count in their saliva? I am not trying to be argumentative, I would just like to know if this is an established fact or merely anecdotal. Thanks,
++Ken++

PS all mammals can contract/carry rabies.

[Edited on 5-9-2004 by Ken Bondy]

Nikon - 5-9-2004 at 10:38 AM

This gull is in the employ of Wily Coyote and tasked with finding and delivering him clams as Wiley sits below his palapa sipping margaritas (no salt, because the mixer is sea water)

"Survival of the Fisters"

[Edited on 5-9-2004 by Nikon]

answer

academicanarchist - 5-9-2004 at 10:59 AM

anecdotal.

Thanks..

Ken Bondy - 5-9-2004 at 11:17 AM

Me No - 5-9-2004 at 11:52 AM

I saw a video of bears clamming in Alaska. It seems their noses are so good they can smell the clams under 12 inches of mud. Then they just hold it with one claw and pop it open with the other.

Catavina coyotes

Barry A. - 5-9-2004 at 11:57 AM

A few years ago we were camped for the night in the boulder garden of Catavina, maybe 1/3 mile off the highway. Two of us were sleeping in the camper shell with the rear door and tailgate wide open. Two others were asleep just outside the rear of the camper on the ground. Senor Coyote visited us about 2 AM. He got into a tug of war with one of the ground guys, trying to haul off his dry bag with his freeze dried food in it. Lots of yelling and cursing!! Everybody woke up and started yelling and throwing things at Senor Coyote. Senior Coyote was not fazed, and continued in the serious tug of war. By this time we were all thoroughly in shock, and frankly alarmed, to say the least. Finally I hit Senior Coyote on the head with a full coke can. This time he let go of the dry bag, but still would not run away. With all of us now challenging him, he slowwwwwwly backed away into the night, never once looking like he was afraid. Thank God for a full moon or we would not know what was going on, and would have really been spooked.

That is the third encounter I have had with Senior Coyote aggressivly entering camp and attempting to steal things, but this was certainly the worst one. The other two were on the beaches of La Gringa at BOLA, and the beaches of Bahia Las Animas , over some 50 years. We have often seen them lurking on the fringe, but they seldom actually come into camp. I gotta admit that I personally enjoy their presence, but the guy with the dry bag does not agree with me.

If you think that the Coyotes and the big kitties are intimidating, you ought to spend some time in Montana with the Grizzlies-----now THAT is frightening!!!! I was the Bear Management Officer in Glacier Natl. Park for a year. Grizzlies are a bad scene, believe me. The odds of being attacked by either a big kittie, or a coyote, are mightly slim, but you, of course, should take precautions, and don't act stupid. As said elsewhere, they were there first, and we are the intruders. When in wild country act accordingly, I always say, and use common sense, and remember that you are much more likely to get in a serious car accident than get attacked by a man eating critter. By the way, coyotes are not even near being "endangered". They are EVERYWHERE!!!! and they are very smart!!!!! and they are always thirsty and hungry. Under no circumstances should you even think about them being pets, in my opinion. I sure wouldn't worry about it, tho, and let it spoil your good times. Barry

Coyote clarification

thebajarunner - 5-9-2004 at 01:03 PM

M, sorry, but I stand by my "shoot 'em all" comment. I will, in deference to the rest of the world, retrict my shooting range to my own 3 acres, but I will definitely shoot any that come on the property.
Mr. Coyote Cadaver up the street was no doubt the reason for our neighbor missing his old cat last week.
As to saliva issues, I have always heard that the dog's mouth is the very essence of bacteria heaven, guess the coyote fits in this category.
Finally, as to "all the animals being here first" ..... a few years back I was having lunch in a cafe in Jaipur, in Western India. A spider trekked across my plate, I swiped it to the floor and stepped on it.
Our waiter spun around and refused to serve us further.
To each his own, where do we encroaching humans draw the line on our quality of life?
(oh yeah, all non-Mexicans need to vacate California as it was and is rightfully the possession of the Mexicans--- glad my wife is Mexican, maybe I can stay)

Baja Arriba!!

N2Baja - 5-9-2004 at 01:24 PM

Wow, there is alot of good info, etc. here. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Barry A.'s story about the coyote coming into their camp and showing no fear of him and his friends was a real eye opener! The coyotes in our camp have been pretty brazen lately.

Sin Nombre, while I do agree with some of your thinking, sometimes the benefits are out-weighed by the risks. I won't let my neighbor's actions put my kids in jeopardy.

Mike H. your points about how feeding the coyotes can make them overbreed and overtax the available resources was right on. It's also a point that I think my neighbor might respond to. From what I've heard from my other neighbors, he's been asked to stop before and refuses to do so.

On a very sad note, I also heard from a neighbor that the land owners dog (a big pit bull) was attacked by four coyotes. The dog killed one, but then the other three killed the dog. This makes me sick and angry.

This attack changes the whole ball game; it's time to take aggressive action. I've decided that on my next trip down, I'm telling the coyote feeder that as long as he's feeding the coyotes and encouraging them to come to the camp, it's open season. It's unfortunate, call me a jerk if you want to (I promise not to leave the carcass), but I realize from the info I've gotten here that this situation is much more serious that I thought. Thanks everyone for helping me out!

Mike Humfreville - 5-9-2004 at 01:54 PM

In the early '70's Mary Ann and I were off on our search for a place to build our first hut. We knew the west coast would be cooler during the heat of summer and we camped a couple of days in the dunes just south of Santa Rosalillita. It was quite deserted back then and we were absolutely alone with our two dogs Rocinante and Dulcenea. We slept in a tent and brought the dogs in because an entire large pack of coyotes surrounded our camp and from close range were working for what seemed like an attack. I threw a cherry bomb or two at them and they backed off. That was the most threatened I've ever felt by coyotes. We left the next day and found our summer beach just south of Bahia de Los Angeles.

sin nombre - 5-9-2004 at 04:07 PM

If the coyotes down here were all such a salivary, bacterial-infested threat, we would have all been doomed long ago.

I have also heard the .."who-was-here first-argument" countless times.

Well when you come down to it, perhaps it's more of where one BELONGS, as opposed to the chronological argument of who occupied what area on a map first. And who made up those rules? Us humans, of course. The coyotes and other animals follow nature's rules, not ours.

So if you live in an area heavily occupied by such creatures, you have to deal with it. My personal way of dealing with it, is to respect what was here before I came along, and not to eradiacte all possible threats to my comfort. I would have done better to stay in the big city if that was the case.

There are dangerous things out here in the desert. That's a given. But I would worry more for my children checking their clothing and shoes for Scorpions, Mata Venados, and Black Widows before they put them on, instead of the coyotes. Even a bee that finds it's way into your open can of soda or bottle of beer poses much more of a physical threat than a coyote.

I have never heard of any occasion in over 15 years in this desert of anyone ever being harmed in any way, shape or form by a coyote......Ever

I have 4 cats, who are free to roam as they please. They have roamed this desert freely for over 6 years. If a common housecat can handle a few coyotes, you would think the rest of us could too.

Skeet/Loreto - 5-9-2004 at 08:52 PM

Sin nombre:
I have had the occasion to visit my sister-in Law in Sandia heights near the Tramway in Albuquque New Mexico.
she had two Cats, one that roamed sometimes at Night. On cool clear Night I was out checking for the Cat and observed two Large coyote take the Cat, leaving only the entrails!
Talking to the neighbors the next day, I was told that the Coyotes in that Area are know to tear the Cat in Half, dragging it away leaving only the insides.
In our location ,very near the San Joaquin River, we have many coming from the river to the Populated Dairy Ranches which have been there for at least a 100 years and partaking of a Calf,{usually the Weaker ones}

While living in Montana there where 2 Women eaten by Grisslys, women were warned not to Hike in Bear country during their Periods!,.

When you are in the Natl. Parks you are in their Territory, when you are in the Central Calif. area they are in My territory.
Use Common Sense,Protect your Family,at all times, there are plenty more coyotes , children are Not Plentiful!!

Skeet/Loreto

"In God I Trust"

N2Baja - 5-9-2004 at 09:23 PM

Actually, Sin Nombre, coyotes have harmed people in the south campos. When I first started coming down to Baja, about 25 years ago, a friend was sleeping in front of his mom's house in Bahia Santa Maria. During the night a coyote came sniffing around him and, thinking it was just a camp dog, he swatted at it and pushed it away. It bit him and he had to go through the painful series of rabies shots to his stomach. Also, my kids are very savvie about the dangerous creatures and plants in the desert. Heck, for that matter, we have just as many black widows, bees and scorpions around our house in San Diego.

There was no problem until my neighbor started putting out food and encouraging the coyotes to come into our camp. As I stated in my second post, I love coyotes; I love listening to them sing at night. However, because of the actions of my neighbor, feeding them and trying to befriend them, word has spread among the coyote community that there is a free meal available to all at our campo. Now we have a large number of coyotes hanging around our campo and they have started to lose their fear of humans. And then I find out they killed the camp owners dog. It's time to tell my neighbor, emphatically, to stop putting food out NOW and to discourage them coming around. Hopefully he'll see the stupidity of his actions, especially when I show him all that's been written here. If not, well, then I'll do what I have to.

Again, thanks to everyone who's responded. I've read every one and taken them all into consideration. (well, except the one about the seagull since it didn't really apply, but that was a picture!

pangamadness - 5-9-2004 at 11:54 PM

I live in San Diego accross the freeway from Mission Bay. Lost are cat of 13 years to coyotes 4 months after we moved in adross from Mission Bay. The area is filled with posters for missing cats. Coyotes wake us up in the night. You never se them just a nother missing cat or dog. If you walk Tecolote Canyon in the AM you will see them. They feed off are pets and no one knows. IN THE HART OF SAN DIEGO!

Skeet/Loreto - 5-10-2004 at 03:26 AM

The Moral of this Thread seems to me to be the treatment of our neighbors!

As our society has progressed, we have lost touch with our Neighbors.

Talk to your Neighbor of your concerns,give him time to correct the problem,then if he does not respond take the necessary action to protect your Family.

It is sometimes Very difficult to "Love thy Neighbor as Thy Self"

Skeet/Loreto

"In God I Trust"

N2Baja - 5-10-2004 at 07:58 AM

Skeet/Loreto - You're absolutely right. Thank you.

consequences of less coyotes and pumas, etc.

Barry A. - 5-10-2004 at 08:24 AM

Are any of us taking into consideration what would happen to the rabbit, ground squirrel, mice and other rodent population if there were not predators like coyote and puma? It can be frightening, which has been proved several times. Rodents carry rabies, etc. too, and they proliferate at incredible rates if not controlled by natural predators. There are many more kids killed by rodent bites than coyote bites. Predators in the city must be controlled, I agree. That is "our" habitat, (now)! But having pets in the fringe areas, or in the wild areas, is risky at best. Pets are not even allowed in National Parks unless under total restraint, and never in the back country, for very good reasons----they do not mix well with wild animals. It seems to me to be unwise to take mostly defenseless pets into the wilds. The only pet we EVER took into Baja, or the backcountry of the USA, is our huge German Shepard which can fend for itself, quite successfully, which she has proved on several occasions. (She also keeps the human predators away, and the inspectors out of my truck.) Otherwise, you take the very real risk of losing them. It is a rough world out there. Would you let your child run the streets of LA (etc.) after dark?? The neighbor feeding the coyotes is very foolish, and they need to be talked to aggressively, or maybe drawn and quartered if that doesn't work. Just my two cents worth. Barry

Leanna - 5-10-2004 at 10:11 AM

Bottom line --

I don't think the majority of us here are saying to hurt or kill coyotes! But feeding them is just plain dumb, and is not at all helpful to these animals!

We live in the hills of southern Cali and coyotes are part of our lives..we respect them - but adhere to common sense -- if they are seen around your house, don't invite them over, i.e. don't leave pet food out! Don't keep water in your birdbaths! Don't allow your cats and dogs to roam freely at night! Heck our cat was attacked in daylight right outside our front door (luckily she escaped but not without injury!) It didn't make us want to go out and shoot them! It's not their fault! Just made us get smarter!

<>

Until the day comes when they can't. I only hope that you never have to see or hear one of your cats being ripped to shreds by a coyote..it is gruesome and extremely upsetting...

I like coyote's...

dbrooks - 5-10-2004 at 10:40 AM

DEAD ONES!

We had a coyote problem a few years back. After we shot a few and left their carcasses on the fence - the rest of them wised up.

Of course, if there is food to be had, they won't stop coming.

Listen folks, coyote's aren't exactly endangered...plug a few of them...

Skeet/Loreto - 5-10-2004 at 11:26 AM

Posters on this Thread!!

Is this not so much better than going to the Off-Topic!!

to me this is "What it is all About, People helping and sharing their Great and Bad Times while in Baja!

The sharing of this type information may someday save a Childs Life.

Keep up the Good Posts and helpful information.

SKeet/Loreto

"In God I Trust"

JESSE - 5-10-2004 at 12:44 PM

Coyotes eat rats and pest's like that, if it wasnt for them the whole food chain would go crazy, they perform an invaluable service for us and for our lands, shooting them is like shooting ourselves in the foot.

Now hold now...

dbrooks - 5-10-2004 at 04:11 PM

I thought y'all were talkin' bout smugglers...we put a few of THEM on the fence...

I don't shoot the cute little four legged critters, less'n were extra hungry.

Me No - 5-10-2004 at 07:35 PM

Jesse, Like most liberals has forgotten that man is in the food chain too. So all you carnevores, stand up and be counted, for every one of the yotes ya plug, ya gotta get 10 times the number of vermin. If you eat em, all the better. Yote pelts used to fetch $25 each. Dang dem ***o's. Now we don't get nuttin. Happy BBQ. :fire:

[Edited on 5-11-2004 by BajaNomad]

A 'Tail' of the lost kitty...

Mexray - 5-10-2004 at 09:18 PM

I thought I saw a puddy-tat,
But it had disappeared in nothing flat.
Hauled away in dead of night,
By a crafty critter out of sight,
Whose shadow lurks to give us fright.

N2Baja - 5-10-2004 at 10:40 PM

You know, Me No, I was wondering if they were good to eat. Considering what they eat, it wasn't something I was going to persue. :barf:

However, I did take a taxidermy class once. I could stuff them and put them around the campo in different poses.

Don Jorge - 5-11-2004 at 06:42 AM

I'm thinking that the recent rains and the greening of Baja contributed to an explosion in the jackrabbit, cottontail and rodent population in that ecosystem. The predator population follows and feasts and booms. It will bust soon as drought conditions return and prey becomes scarce. In the betwixt sightings increase and brazen behavior driven by survival instincts started this thread.
In Baja this ebb and flow is still the norm whereas in surburbia artificial conditions have created an artificail predator population.
Don't feed em, don't poison 'em, shoot 'em if you want. I don't bring guns to Baja so I just throw rocks at 'em and talk to them.

sin nombre - 5-11-2004 at 06:56 AM

You talk to them, Don Jorge? Interesting you would say that,:

"If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them and what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys."
---Chief Dan George

That quote came from another "Jorge"....

David K - 5-11-2004 at 07:04 AM

Hi Don Jorge... missed you at the book signing gig... How's everything going at the farm?

Skeet/Loreto - 5-11-2004 at 01:09 PM

By all means talk to animals,Tame and wild!!
Never tried to Eat a Coyote,but have consumed a lot of Possum,Coon,Rattlesnake,Squirell,Goat,!

For other types of wild Things, be Aware that there are many "Marine Bats" on the Islands and will come to Light as it gets to Dusk.They do look like a Vampire, but are a very good and Necessary{Not to Eat} for getting the Bad Bugs around your Campsite or Home.

there is a remedy to the Coyote if you have the Desire to rid the Buggers for all time sakes and keep them alive at the same time!
Catch them in a Cage,take a WireBrush and apply under his Tail, then apply a generous Portion of Tuppentine to the Brushed Area, open the door to the Cage and Let him Go!

Skeet/Loreto
"In God I Trust'

Mexitron - 5-11-2004 at 04:38 PM

Mohawk Creation Story:

It was all darkness and always had been.
There was nothing there forever.
Creation was a tiny seed awaiting a dream.

The dream came to be because of the cry.

A howling cry which was an echo in the emptiness of nothing.

The cry was very lonely and caused the dream to turn over in its sleep. The dream did not want to waken, but the crying would not stop.

Well, thought the dream, opening its mind, so now I am awake and there is something. The dream floated above itself and looked into its mind. I wanted to see what the cry was.

What it saw was a dream within its own dreaming. And that other dream was Creation.

And Creation was the cry seeking to begin something, but it didn't know what, and that is why it cried.

So the original dream lifted the Creation dream from its mind and set it free. Then it went to the other end of nothing and let itself go back to dreamless sleep.

Creation floated all over the nothing, dreaming of all the things it would do. Its dreaming was often interrupted by crying.

So, it wasn't me crying after all, Creation thought.

Then it thought again, but it is me because I dreamed it....so I have begun creation with a cry.

When I begin to create the universe, I must remember to give the cry a very special place.

Perhaps I'll call the cry Coyote.

coyote dispersal

bajalera - 5-11-2004 at 06:00 PM

N2--Instead of a gun, you might consider buying a slingshot--one of the sturdy, industrial-strength models. My son has found this weapon very effective at dispersing a little herd of dogs that occasionally gathers to present a late-night concert at our La Paz street corner.

bajalera

[Edited on 5-12-2004 by bajalera]

DonC - 5-16-2004 at 09:29 AM

As to my coyote experience, I grew up in Joshua Tree, California, and now reside in rural Arizona, so I think my level of exposure to coyotes is adequate to make any comment I see fit. That said, I can sum up my feelings on the matter easily. Anyone who feeds coyotes is asking for trouble. Anyone who shoots a coyote merely for the crime of existing in his own habitat, is a jerk and more.

Mexitron - 5-16-2004 at 12:10 PM

Exactly.

Coyotes

academicanarchist - 5-16-2004 at 12:23 PM

Ditto. I was raised in the Santa Cruz Mrs. south of San Jose, and Coyotes were everywhere. As long as they left me alone, I left them alone.

N2Baja - 5-16-2004 at 04:12 PM

Wow, this is definitely an issue that evokes strong emotions. I appreciate everyone taking time to voice their opinion. I'm heading south sometime this week and I'm going to talk to my neighbor. I'll let you all know what happens when I get back.

I would like to respond to a few posts though.

Bajalera - Using a wrist-rocket is a great idea and I'd thought about doing that. However, I am a lousy shot with a wristrocket. If I used the bb gun (I'm actually a really good shot) then I know I'd only hit it in the rump, and not in the head.

Skeet/Loreto - You've made very good points in your posts. Especially "The Moral of this Thread seems to me to be the treatment of our neighbors" Which is very true. I am a bit confused about the wirebrush and turpentine though. You were kidding, right? :?:

Barry A. - I can't tell you how many times I've thought about drawing and quartering the neighbor!

DonC - That's twice you've called me a jerk. Have you actually read the whole thread? I don't think so.

Thanks again to all!

gonetobaja - 5-16-2004 at 08:14 PM

I just like to read all of this stuff...

what I want to know is....uh....whos got the beer...?

Just kidding Im concerned about the coyotes too, I mean I hate those damn coyotes...yea only I think there kinda cool to watch and stuff but, Id kill the first one to prove to the rest that I mean business.

Yea cause I uh, well I dont know...

Who brought the beer?

I had a friend feed a coyote once and then had to chew his arm off when he woke up with her...

He said at around 1:45 her fur was lookin real shiny...

:smug:

GTB

sin nombre - 5-17-2004 at 08:14 AM

A few select comments from this board:

"Shoot 'em quick. They have no redeeming qualities. "

"I like coyote's...
DEAD ONES!
....Listen folks, coyote's aren't exactly endangered...plug a few of them..."

"...I did take a taxidermy class once. I could stuff them and put them around the campo in different poses..."

I feel as this man does:

"To us life, all life, is sacred. The State of South Dakota has pest control officers. They go up in a plane and shoot coyotes from the air. They keep track of their kills, put them all down in their little black books. The stockmen and the sheep-owners pay them. Coyotes eat mostly rodents, field mice and such. Only once in a while will they go after a stray lamb. They are our natural garbage men cleaning up the rotten and stinking things. They make good pets if you give them a chance. But their living could lose some man a few cents, and so the coyotes are killed from the air. They were here before the sheep, but they are in the way; you can't make a profit out of them. More and more animals are dying out.
The animals which the Great Spirit put here, they must go. The man-made animals are allowed to stay - at least until they are shipped out to be butchered. That terrible arrogance of the white man, making himself something more than God, more than nature, saying, "This animal must go; it brings no income, the space it occupies can be used in a better way. The only good coyote is a dead coyote." They are treating the coyotes almost as badly at they used to treat Indians."

John (Fire) Lame Deer
From "Lame Deer-Seeker of Visions"

[Edited on 5-17-2004 by sin nombre]

[Edited on 5-17-2004 by sin nombre]

[Edited on 5-17-2004 by sin nombre]

Lighten up, Francis...

dbrooks - 5-17-2004 at 08:52 AM

it was a joke...

Quote:

Originally posted by sin nombre
A few select comments from this board:

"I like coyote's...
DEAD ONES!
....Listen folks, coyote's aren't exactly endangered...plug a few of them..."