Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2012 09:40:31 -0400
From: Aaron Honeycutt
Subject: Coyotes in Chatham
I am not a fan of our coyotes. I do admire the amazing ability of coyotes everywhere to survive and thrive. They are amazing in many ways and much misunderstood. It’s true that our coyote is a changed coyote from it’s western breed. We have pack hunters here and the western “true” coyote is a solitary or pair hunter.
The coyote’s love of cat meat and dog meat too has turned some against the predator -when Fluffy gets snatched off of the porch it gets personal. Chickens, lambs, goats even calves are on the menu though mostly the coyote lives all around us and we don’t see it. I think as time goes on we will become more aware of coyotes as they increase and the demand on wildlife and livestock increases. For now those having problems with coyotes face a real challenge as they are not easily hunted. Trapping is widely practiced in Chatham to control coyote numbers but whatever the method we already know that the coyote is here to stay. A very interesting animal and so good at what he does..