I had no idea we had coyotes in Florida. Caution: pet dog gets taken by coyote.

[Baitball Blogger]

Coyote kills Chihuahua as owner walks dog
Every morning before the sun rose, Cecilia Lincoln took her male Chihuahua, Zuki, for a stroll around their yard in WillowWood, a neighborhood in southwest Orange County.

The little dog rarely strayed beyond reach, so Lincoln didn't use a leash. That was never a problem until Sunday morning, when a coyote bolted from the shadows, snatched Zuki in its jaws and took off like lightning.

"It really hurt. It's like losing a child," Lincoln said Tuesday night, still shaken by the fatal attack.

It was the latest in a series of coyote attacks in southwest Orange, where the usually reticent animals have become increasingly brazen. Long considered a nuisance in Central Florida because they rummage through trash cans, stalk cats and yip and howl after dark, coyotes are more troublesome in neighborhoods with woodlands and green space, according to wildlife experts

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-coyote-kills-chihuahua-20130430,0,2178838.story

[derby378]

1. We've had a few coyotes moving into the Dallas area recently

Once in a while, I'll see a coyote dead on the side of the road where it apparently got hit by a car at night. One of them was just half a mile from my neighborhood. By all means, watch your pets and small children.

[RebelOne]

2. There have been a lot of them in the Atlanta area.

Many have been trapped in Buckhead, a very populous section of Atlanta. I live in Woodstock, just northwest of Atlanta. So far, no coyotes have been sighted here. I have a Chihuahua and if a coyote grabbed my dog, you can bet I would chase the SOB. I am an animal lover and would never kill any animal, but you can bet I would track that coyote down and kill it.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Looking at the picture of the dog I can understand how a coyote would get confused.

Still, it's crazy that it would have been so bold when there was a human around.

[hunter]

4. Coyotes have figured out how to coexist with humans and their range is expanding...

... their population used to be held back by competition with wolves and mountain lions.

Most of my life I've lived places where coyotes take small pets, or make it dangerous to leave even larger dogs outside alone.

I think humans killed off all the coyotes that weren't good at becoming invisible to humans. Those mostly "invisible" coyotes that remained increased in numbers and started to make their living eating rats, mice, pigeons, and other urban pests, garbage, cats, small dogs, and pet food left outside.

[In_The_Wind]

5. Nice kitty ...

Florida Puma
The Florida subspecies of the puma is usually lighter than the other mountain lions that live in North America, with a heavy male weighing about 150 lb. These big cats are the only known population of mountain lions found in the eastern section of the United States. The SeaWorld website reports that as few as 30 of these animals are in Florida. No documented attacks on people by pumas are on file in Florida. However, a Florida puma is more than capable of killing a grown man, using its strong jaws and sharp claws to dispatch a person as it does the various types of prey it consumes. Most pumas in Florida live in very remote parts of the state, which keeps any interaction with them at a minimum.



Read more: Dangerous Animals in Florida | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/list_6768094_dangerous-animals-florida.html#ixzz2S38qKjgC

[Myrina]

6. I find that hard to believe.

Coyotes tend to be skittish. I have several that live in the woods less than a mile from my house. When I've been out with my dogs & momma (or poppa, I can't tell) is out searching for dinner, it will stop & look at us, then skedaddle off into the woods. It certainly has never tried to get near enough to steal one of my furrkids. 40 yards at closest.

In fact, a couple springs ago, my Chowbrador caught and killed a coyote pup that got separated from the family & was dicking around in the stream (probably looking for crawdads). Bear grabbed it by the scruff, plunged it underwater & shook the hell out of it til it stopped moving. Then he carried it home.

[Jeff R]

7. Coyotes:

I used to think that coyotes were not every where also. However a hunter I knew many years ago said they were in every state in the US.
As with any wild animal, they will become more incorporated with human kind, as their food supply and living habitat decreases.
I have been all across the country many times over and have seen coyotes everywhere.

[kcass1954]

8. I visited a friend in Leesburg last month. Her subdivision backs up to some

nature preserve. Before we turned in one night, I mentioned that I was going to get up and walk the next morning. She asked me not to leave the house until it was light out - "critter problems" was the phrase she used.

[gejohnston]

9. they expaned their range over the past 100 years

and are now in every state.

[dimbear]

11. Except Hawaii. n/t

[gejohnston]

16. on the mainland, my bad

of course, Wiley could be ordering the latest boat or plane from Acme to get a pack to the islands.

[dimbear]

17. You're probably right....it's just a matter of time before it's all fifty. n/t

[texanwitch]

10. There has been coyotes by my house for years.

They lived in woods nearby and the bayou.

At night you can still hear them.

The cat I have is a rescue cat, I found alone in a old house.

I think her mother was hunting in the railyard behind the house and became dinner herself.

I have seen one when I was walking my dog.

[zonkers]

12. A sad reminder. Our pets count on us to protect them.

[Recursion]

13. How to distinguish between dogs, coyotes, and foxes from a distance

Dogs run with their tails up, coyotes with their tails down, and foxes with their tails straight back.

Most cities in the US have more coyotes than dogs. They are an unbelievably resilient and adaptable species. They are also twice as fast as roadrunners, whatever the cartoons say.

[JCMach1]

14. They are almost everywhere in the SE United States...

the are just rarely seen... they are extremely shy.

[blueknight]

18. I LIVE IN KENTUCKY

and see them pretty often. one ran out in front of my car, on my street, with my neighbors cat in its mouth. they will kill and eat about anything they can. i have a 90 pound german sheperd dog that has chased them on several occasions

[Baitball Blogger]

19. They're not around here.

Lots of loose cats, but no signs of any predator taking them.