Coyote Attack In Glennwood Estates?
Decatur Metro | February 2, 2010From the Glennwood Estates message board via Dave’s Decatur Heights Neighborhood blog…
One of our neighbors on the south end of Mt. Vernon stopped me to say that he has a coyote in his back yard. At about 6:30 this morning, the coyote killed another neighbor’s dog that, I gather, might have been running loose. The coyote is most apt to be active at dawn and dusk and is protected by law.
So that’s what? A second-hand account being provided to you in a fourth-hand account? Would be great if we could get some confirmation on this reported dog-killing.
Of course, coyotes aren’t unheard of ’round these parts. Who can forget my overly snarky coverage of the coyote caught in Oakhurst back in November 2007? Not me, that’s for sure!
I have a new slogan:
Decatur: Where Neighborhood Blogs Outnumber Neighborhoods
Or…”Decatur! Where neighborhood blogs outnumber the total number of neighbors!”
Decatur Metro: “And one blog to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them.”
Too conceited and overlordish?
DM has the ring, are we safe?
DM:
“…and you will know [this blog] by the trail of dead.”
Nothing to…Gollum!…worry about Chad.
Totally your new slogan, DM. Scroll it across in a banner
From http://urbanwildlifecontrol.com/animals/coyote.htm comes this pearl of wisdom…
“Homeowners should eliminate any food sources, such as rats,”
So Decaturites, please keep your rats indoors, and the scary coyote will go away.
I keep my in the attic.
Its amazing where animals will go…this week i saw a ferel dog (no coller or tags at least) on the state capital grounds! I kept my distance.
This comment from Dave was a beauty:
“Must lawyers and bankers are fat cats, aren’t they.
But, maybe they’ll cut down on the stray cat population.
But then, that will increase the rat and mice population, and some chinese places might go out of business unless they learn how to flavor coyote so that it’s tasty.”
That post came out Monday, and in the subsequent discussion a couple of others reported sightings. Someone reported having notified Animal Control. My daughter is pleased to have been temporarily relieved of her early morning duty of walking our fluffy snack of a dog.
There used to be a flock (?) of turkeys that lived just outside Decatur in an area roughly bound by Ponce, Coventry, North Decatur Rd. and Clairmont Rd. there was even an AJC article about them several years ago. Does anyone know if they have survived given the migration of coyotes ITP? Once discovered, it seems the turkeys wouldn’t be long for this world.
Also, the extent to which the coyote is protected varies from state to state. Out west, they essentially aren’t protected at all. I don’t know what the law is here in Georgia.
I’m fairly certain that coyotes are not protected in Georgia. I have had a pack of them living behind my house (McKoy park area) in the past. I haven’t heard much from them lately. Maybe they went to Glenlake Park? At any rate, I have been cautioned against trapping or killing part of a pack of coyotes. Apparently, their breeding habits will increase when the size of the pack decreases due to unnatural causes. Who even knew that was possible?
They are pretty slick animals and hard to trap, so I doubt one could “eliminate” the entire pack. In addition, you’d have to use a cross bow or something since you probably can’t use a rifle or shotgun in the City limits. Advantage: coyotes.
One of the important things to remember when dealing with coyotes is to never feed your pets outside. They can climb 6 foot privacy fences to get to an easy food source.
I believe you are correct according to this very helpful list at
http://www.gwf.org/resources/georgiawildlife/protectedindex.html
however, cEubalaena glacialis is protected by state law. According to the list it is commonly named the “North Atlanta Right Whale”. So if you see any whales in North Atlanta, hold your fire.
A group of Turkeys, those most distinquished, dignified, and delicious birds, is called a gang. For real.
I think the ones you’re talking about all migrated to the old fourth ward, judging by the outbreak of graffiti.
The turkey was supposed to be our national bird.
Wild turkeys have been seen in Oakhurst within the past two years, and heard within the past six months.
Having hosted the turkeys on many occasions I can say that they haven’t been around for awhile. There was one lone tom but even he seems to be gone.
When there were 13 of them they used to roost in the trees near our house. Once they even roosted on top of our deck umbrella. Quite a sight.
I saw a (recently) dead coyote along the side of Lawrenceville Hwy a week or two ago.
I recently found a dead possum next to my house that had been ripped open and dragged there. This is at Ponce and North Parkwood. My pest man said it had to be a coyote – he’s seen them along the RR tracks that cross Coventry. A friend who lives in the Durand Falls neighborhood has seen coyotes and black bear.
I think the coyote infiltration is a real problem. I lost my cat this past September. He was an indoor/outdoor kitty. In at night, out in the day. He went missing, vanished. Then a few months later my next door neighbor’s cat went missing, not a trace. Dekalb Animal Control suggested both incidences were the act of a coyote. Saw nothing,heard nothing. In all seriousness, I’d like to know if something can be done? I live in the Midway Woods neighborhood, near the creek. I’ve lived in the neighborhood for 16 yrs and never before had this kind of problem.
Cats are a menace to the song bird population. When you put your cat outdoors, all kinds of thing happen that are not fair. Not that I always follow the letter of the law, but most cat owners do not realize they are breaking ordinance when their cat travels off their property.
From Decatur Municipal Code:
It shall be the duty of every owner of any animal, or anyone having possession or custody of any animal, to ensure that the animal is kept under restraint and that reasonable care and precautions are taken to prevent the animal from leaving, while unattended, the real property limits of its owner, possessor or custodian.
All I am saying is that I think coyotes are a real problem in our neighborhoods, not going to get into a tit for tat on the cat thing.
Denial is the first stage of recovery. Good luck.
My tone here is curious and concilitory not provoking. Where is the problem? They hunt rodents, squirrels, and the occassional rabbit. I read that for every one attack on humans a coyote makes, there are 400,000 dog attacks on humans. I personally also get the benefit to know that wildlife still exists in my backyard to teach my children that other mammals co-exist with us. By the way, I also spotted an otter in Glenn Creek back in September during the last floods. I can perceive a problem if the coyotes got out of balance but judgeing by the number of rats, rabbits, and squirrels they are actually addressing a problem. Now cats, that is another issue that I will take your lead on, and not go tit for cat. I can say, I am not a cat hater, actually quite the opposite having been a cat owner on numerous occassions including through my childhood.
No tit for cat here, but are you comparing domesticated (albeit “outside”) cats with wild coyotes?
From the Georgia Dept of Nat. Resources website: http://www.gpb.org
regarding coyotes.
Please note they are not considered native to georgia and may be hunted & trapped.
But, they really are not a threat- except to bird eating “outdoor “cats and smaller dogs.
Coyote Fact Sheet
“…Prevention is the best defese against nuisance coyotes. Small house pets (especially cats), young or small livestock and poultry are vulnerable and susceptible to predation by a coyote. If a coyote is suspected in an area where domestic animals are roaming free, several precautions can be made to ensure their safety:
• Take pets indoors during the night, as this is the coyote’s primary hunting time.
• If the pet must be kept outside, put up fencing to discourage coyotes.
• Small livestock or poultry should be kept in an enclosed or sheltered area. Coyotes rarely bother larger livestock although they often are blamed for such nuisance instances. It should be noted that dogs, rather than coyotes, are notorious for harassing and attacking livestock.
Trapping and/or hunting are additional solutions against nuisance coyotes. Because coyotes are a non-native species in Georgia, there is no closed season for their harvest. Foot hold or live traps can be used to capture animals. However, coyotes may prove difficult to deceive with traps and hunting may be a better solution. When hunting, predator or animal-in-distress calls are effective methods of luring in a coyote.
Coyotes are valued for their thick, attractive fur and are harvested seasonally for commercial use of their pelts.
DISEASE
A coyote displaying abnormal behavior and appearing fearless of humans is uncharacteristic and may mean the animal is injured or has fallen victim to a disease, such as rabies, parvovirus or distemper. In this case, it is in the coyote’s and human’s best interest to euthanize the animal to prevent any further spread of the disease and relieve the suffering of the infected animal.
BENEFITS
Overall, the coyote is a largely misunderstood creature and despite its nuisance reputation, serves to maintain a balance in Georgia’s rodent population while posing little threat to humans.
In New Mexico, homeowners used to sprinkle cayenne pepper around the yard to keep out the coyotes. Also the jackalopes.
Here’s an article I just saw on the scientific American website:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coyotes-suburban-attacks
Last night around 11:30pm saw a couple of canine running across the dam between Griffin Circle and Garland Avenue. They were greyish, rangy looking, and my dog went bonkers, so I am wondering were they coyotes? and if anyone else has seen or heard any lately?