coyote near house in NJ

I'm deeply attached to the coyote on a spiritual level.  I think they are the most adaptive and intelligent of the wild North American Canids, though the red fox comes in a close second.  Both species can live within a stone's throw of man and man would never know it, if it weren't for the tell-tale signs of missing cats, the odd track, and the occasional sighting.  When I was on Camp Pendleton I used to see them every night, and though their cries/howls are eerie-somehow they are reassuring to me. 

We used to think there were none in the Northern Virginia area I live in (just outside of DC) but in the late 80's a few were hit by cars and that told everyone in the area that they were firmly established. 

I haven't seen one in a while, but would dearly love to see one again.

ORIGINAL: jeano

I'd see coyotes pretty regularly when I lived in the Hollywood Hills. I came home one night, drove into the driveway and there was a coyote standing there, looking at me like, "HEY, what are you doing at MY HOUSE?"

Of course in New Mexico I'd see them every now and again. But never in such an urban setting as when I lived briefly in LA.

Ha! That's funny, because I spent 2 months in Northern Mexico, and yet, it wasn't until I got back to LA that I got to see a rattlesnake. He was angry! We were staying across the road from the WB studios at Burbank, with all that hillside reserve at our backs. That's where I saw the rattlesnake, and I saw lion poo right by the back carpark. My bf got to see a coyote when he went horseriding in Griffith Park, too. It amazed me that there was such a healthy pocket of wildlife in the middle of such an enormous city.

Coyotes are everywhere.  I suspect that if you look hard enough, you can find them in the Bronx and Harlem![] Seriously, they will scavenge and kill anything small they can find.  They will make great inroads onthe vermin population as well as your chickens, ducks, calves, lambs and, oh yeah, dogs and cats!

I am always intrigued to meet animals that are as adaptable as humans.

ORIGINAL: my2saints

He sounds beautiful! We see often coyote and slightly less frequently fox in our neighborhood. Three weeks ago our neighbor had a mt. lion cross the street in front of his truck. It was less then half a block from our house!

We had that happen once.  We were driving down the highway in northern texas and a mountain lion ran across the road in front of us.  O.o Where I live we have a pack of coyotes that howl all the time.  We also have the neighborhood bobcat that was first discovered eating roadkill deer.  It is known also that at least one mountain lion lives between our house (north of town) and the town north of us.  I've also been camping and heard coyotes howling in the night.  It was eerily beautiful.  (okay, so they're not wolves, but still awesome)

My senior year of highschool was crazy  for many reasons (won't get into that, but we made the national news- twice! The pinnacle of which was CNN's bizarre news)  The least interesting incident was when two coyotes were running through the playground at the nearby Elementary school.  animal control chased them into our parking lot and they ended up hiding under a van and they couldn't get them out.  There were three helicopters covering it (must've been a slow news day) and we weren't let out of school until they were gone.  I don't think they were ever caught, but they just ran off into a nearby field and were never seen again. 

Unfortunly living in the middle of the desert I see them dead on the side of the highway every week when I make my 60 mile drive. They are everywere but are very sneaky and althought there are signs everywere that they were there I usaly don't see them unless they are dead.[&:]

I'm in a Massachusetts suburban area, and we see them all the time.  They live near the creek in back of my property.  I have two acres, my neighbor has 7, and the neighbor in back of me has 5, so it's a neat little triangle with a natural corridor for them to traverse.  I like to track them in the winter.  I have found coyote scat in my front yard, twenty feet from my door, and found tracks right in front of my barn.  They sing at night, and we hear the pups yodeling.  I never leave my dogs alone outdoors. Even though they could probably fend of a coyote, there are no guarantees what would happen if there were 2 or 3, as there are in fall, when the adults are teaching the young to hunt.
Farmers here have good luck with Great Pyrenees, llamas, or donkeys protecting the livestock.

I don't get to see coyotes or hear them that often, but there's a red fox that lives in my neighborhood.  My dogs go absolutely wild when they smell his track.  We've tracked him on a fresh trail for about 1/2 mile. (I know the trail was fresh because I saw the fox, but luckily the dogs didn't...I wasn't going to make a big deal out of it but my hunters went crazy when we walked the path where he crossed about 20-30 seconds prior.) 

I wouldn't let my dogs actually catch the fox, nor close to within 50 feet or so, but to see them on a trail is an awesome thing.

We see 'yotes...living and roadkill both a lot on our drives to Oklahoma. They're lovely...great camoflauge nature gave them. They like to trot alongside the side of the roads, presumably looking for easy pre killed food lol. Can see them really close that way.
 
We get good wildlife viewing on that drive...deer, hawks, vultures, skunks, 'dillos, raccoons, turkeys, jackrabbits.
 
COOLEST ones are the Turkeys and Jackrabbits...I had not idea how BIG both of these critters were until I saw them up close. From our car...
 
The jackrabbit was keeping pace with us alongside on this dirt road...we were going 20-25mph. He wouldn't turn off ...just kept trying to stay ahead lol. I told DH to slow down and he then darted in front and took of into the brush.

I was so bummed I didn't get to see a raccoon when I was in the States. [] I've never seen one! Everyone kept laughing at me for getting excited about squirrels, too. I was at the zoo and trying to take pictures of the wild squirrels. I did get to see skunks and plenty of deer and turkeys. And grey foxes, but most of them were rabid. I was bummed I didn't get to see wild cats, either. I saw lots of fresh lion tracks, but never saw a lion. There was a lynx wandering around in Telluride when I was there, but I didn't get to see it. Didn't get to see any armadillos either. I guess I'll just have to go back!

We do have some neat wildlife around here, though. Loads of kangaroos of course, some swamp wallabies, possums and gliders. I saw a wild dog not far from here, but I think it only had a smidgeon of dingo in it.

There are lots of mt lions and bobcats where I live, but it's rare to see one in town. The usually stick to the open range, as we have plenty of wildlife for them to eat. Almost 2 years ago I was out running several miles north of town, and a young lion stepped onto the road ahead of me. It was quite a shock to see one that close, but I managed to stay calm. I stomped my foot, put my arms in the air (to look bigger) and made some noise. He went back in the ditch, and I walked backwards until I was closer to town.