February, the month of Presidents and Valentines. It’s skunk and coyotes ‘looking for love’ season as well. I began this column by talking about skunks and February. They come out of ‘hibernation’ to look for a mate in February. Knowing this may keep your pup from being sprayed by a chance encounter with our little striped friends. As much as we may hate the smell of the skunk, I did find out an interesting fact that makes me appreciate, and tolerate, them more. Skunks are immune to rattlesnake poison and will actually kill rattlesnakes. For that alone, I’ll deal with having the little guys around my property.
Another creature who is looking for love this month is the coyote. Coyotes used to be a rarity in our area, they have returned in full force, especially in rural areas like Fulks Run and Runions Creek. During spring and summer months they can be heard nightly calling to one another for various reasons. Most often it is individuals within the same pack communicating. An alpha male and female often yip, howl and bark together to let the rest of the “family” know what they are finding or doing within their territory. In February and March, you will hear the male as he searches for females. During this time, males are more assertive.
So why am I writing about coyotes? Coyotes are opportunistic hunters. Their main food is small prey animals such as rabbits and mice. But given the opportunity they will eat small dogs and cats. In researching this topic, I found game camera and door camera photos that were very disturbing. Small dogs, Jack Russell and Maltese, and cats being carried away from their homes by coyotes. In this research I found a story of two hunters that stumbled onto a coyote den where they found over 60 collar of cats and dogs. Those of you who live in town may not have to fear them as much as rural dwellers do. I wish I could unsee some of the photos. To me they are heartbreaking.
Someone told me, “Aw, now Cammie, that doesn’t happen much.”
My response, “It doesn’t matter. If it’s your best friend, once is devastating!”
So how do you protect your best friend.
Here are a few steps to take…
Don’t feed coyotes. If you have a compost pile (junk pile) don’t use any meat or meat by products in your pile as they will attract all sorts of wildlife that you may not want. If you have fruit trees, clean up fallen fruit as coyotes will eat fruit and vegetables if given the opportunity.
Avoid walking your dog off-leash if you are in an area where coyotes roam. A number of dogs are lost to coyotes because they chase the coyote. Coyotes are afraid of humans for the most part, so if your dog is on a leash and near you, he won’t run after the fleeing coyote and encounter his whole pack. Using a 40-foot leash, or at least one longer than 6 feet may be an option for you.
Believe it or not, the scent of your dog’s poop can attract coyotes. Keep your yard poop free if possible.
If you are like us and live in a high-risk area, don’t leave your dog outside unattended, especially at night. Keep to lighted areas if possible and carry a light source. If you encounter a coyote, don’t run. Make lots of noise! Shine the light! Yell! But don’t run! That can trigger the prey instinct…to chase you.
I’m sure there are other deterrents you could employ…an extremely tall fence, maybe-coyotes are expert climbers. In Virginia, coyotes are legally classified as a nuisance species and may be killed at any time, except coyotes may not be killed with a gun, firearm, or other weapon on Sunday(Virginia.com).
I’m not saying go out and kill every coyote you can. I’m simply saying as pet owners we need to take care of our best friends.
Until Next Time…
Stay Paws-ative and enjoy your best friend!
Happy Tails to You!
Cammie
