Fall is upon us and with the temperatures in the low 60's at night and the high in the 80's I have the windows open. Chi, my poodle was being fidgety about 4 a.m.. I was awake so I went ahead and took him out for a minute. Upon going back to bed I decided to stay awake for a bit and enjoy the sounds of the night in the forest. The whippoorwill's, crickets and other insect noises. Within minutes I heard the most horrific noise. I jumped up and ran to the back door grabbing my gun thinking my turkey's were being attacked. I could not identify the noise till I got outside. It was a pack of coyotes talking to one another. At first I thought to myself there must be twenty of them by the amount of noise. It was probably more like a dozen. I started shouting at them trying to get them to move on. They circled around my property moving on down the road. I listen for a bit and they were still chattering in that high pitch and I could tell they had turned and were moving back. At that moment I heard one of them howl right at the back of the property and that is when I decided to fire off a shot. Aiming towards the ground ahead of me so I would know exactly where the bullet landed I fired off one round. At that moment all the little babies of the forest that were within hearing distance starting crying out. I waited for a few moments listening closely and then I heard them again. They had moved on a bit as I could barely here them. It is scary to think of the coyotes traveling in packs like that. They could do some serious damage to farm animals. I have seen them up close and some of them are as big as my yellow lab Max. A couple of days ago on my way to town I saw one cross over the highway and then four more following. They have become a real problem here in N. Florida. I have seen flyer's posted at the Farmer's Coop and Feed stores put up by those who have been issued a permit by the State to track and hunt the coyote's. The only natural predator of the coyote around here is the Florida Panther and we just do not have enough left to keep these non- native creatures in balance. Being that we have a wildlife trail here on the property I will be paying close attention to make sure they do not move in on my farm animals. It worries me that the coyotes traveling in packs like that would target one of my goats. I have been attaching chicken wire to the field fence to keep critters from going thru the fence and need to finish getting it on the back of the property. Just below is a link to a youtube video I found that was posted of Coyotes making the same noise I heard. I do think it is why Chi was fidgety. When he heard them he started barking and upon hearing the you tube video he started barking again. After hearing this video I can't help but think that they were fixing to move in on either a Turkey or possibly one of my goats.
SOUND OF COYOTES HOWLING BEFORE ATTACK
13 comments:
They are scary are they not.
wow Barbara - that would have been scary! We have huge problems with foxes, dingos and wild dogs - actually, for farmers the wild dogs are the worst because they are huge, hunt in packs and are fearless.
Very Scary! I hope they stay away from your farm. I know we have them here in Kentucky but thank goodness I havent heard any.
I can't believe how big they look! It would have scared me too.
We hear them around there often around calving time...and that is exactly why we are being so painfully slow in putting up our perimeter fencing, we want to make sure when we do that they will not be able to get in...We will also be using a 10x10 dog kennel to pen up our 2 goats at night, just in case.
It is a horrible scary noise for sure and the size of a pack truly is fightening...For this reason I would stand at the Bus stop with my eldest right up until her senior yr in high school because the bus would come before the sun came up..."hunting time"
If you can secure your goats at night I would recommend you start doing so...and not to alarm you, but I would not leave your small doggy outside by himself either.
Good luck and Blessings Kelsie
They can make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. I'm glad you heard them to scare them off. I hear them around here quite often. I'm always concerned for my goats when they're around. I'm on a ranch now with 3 Great Pyrenees guardian dogs. They do a great job of keeping the coyotes away. I really appreciate their work.
I agree it's a creepy, eerie sound to hear them that close. I'm grateful to have my two Pyr puppies and pack of Coonhounds which usually manage to keep all predators at bay. Good luck!
Coyotes yipping & howling sound nice ... in the distance; up close they can be frightening. Coyotes are not like wolves because coyotes WILL attack whereas a wolf will keep it's distance.
Watch your animals at all times now - make sure they are secure - DO NOT allow your children OR small family pets (toddlers, cats, poodles, ect.)outside without securing their safety first: coyotes will even attack in broad daylight; they are fearless predators.
Though many people confuse coyotes with wolves, coyotes are relatively small on the scale of predatory canines, but they are a menace because they gang up on their prey and are relentless in their pursuit, being bold and terrifying ... also UNLIKE a wolf.
~Val
We hear them in the distance from our property in Ohio. They make a chilling sound!
I've actually hit one with my car before, thought it was a large dog at first but it was definitely a coyote.
We've never had them approach the yard but it is always a possibility. Scary!
That is pretty scary. I am glad to hear that you are issued permits to hunt them. They are terrifying when they hunt in packs and you need to protect your stock. Hugs, LJ
I can hear the coyotes calling out back. They sound pretty far away but still they make me nervous.
Greetings from the Amish community of Lebanon pennsylvainia.I was just passing though and thought id say hello. Richard from Amish Stories.
Just coming to your blog for the first time, via link from a blog of a visitor who came to my blog, ha. I love how this works. Love your info and thanks for this on the Coyotes. We just bought some acreage and are fixing up the house and the family at the other end of the property tells us to be prepared about hearing the coyotes at night. I was kind of excited at first but now it kind of creeps me out. The first time I hear this in person, I might just freak out! Ha. And then I'll blog about it, lol. Keep up the great blog work!
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