Coyotes

Since moving to Colorado I have related to many of you our encounters with the local wildlife - particularly coyotes. They are extremely common where we live and I imagine living next to a wildlife conservation area probably does even more to attract them to our area. The conservation area is to help protect Preble's Jumping Mouse (or some such critter - never heard of it before) but we also have plenty of rabbits, skunks, something that looks like a chipmunk but isn't (and it's not a prairie dog), geese, ducks, deer, and who knows what else is living out there!

We had been hearing news reports over the past few months that attacks on pets in our community of Parker have been on the rise. Ten pets have been attacked in an area just a couple of miles from where we live. Those of us that own dogs in our condo complex and walk them on a regular basis on the Cherry Creek trail system which is just a couple hundred feet from our front door see coyotes almost on a weekly basis. My last sighting, about a week ago, was about 7 am, our normal walking time before I start my telecommuting day. We were leaving the parking area and just about to step out on to the trail when I noticed movement on the other side of the wooden fence that separates the wildlife conservation area. I started to take another step when I realized it was a coyote on the other side of the fence staring at me and my dog Chilli. I froze in my tracks, nothing to do with the fact that the temperature was 27 degrees! The coyote dropped down the side of the hill where I could not see him/her but I knew he was there - and I also know he has a running buddy too! There is a pair that share this territory and always travel together...eventually I saw the two of them take off together into the brush. Finally my feet started moving again and we turned and decided we would walk through the green spaces of the complex that morning instead! We have also seen them late at night running through the conservation area while we have been out walking Chilli. I have come across them at other times of the morning when I walked Chilli in a different direction along the creek - we were going to cross the pedestrian bridge to the 1/2 mile marker and then turn around and come back. But as we approached the bridge I saw the two coyotes come running from out of the brush on the other side of the creek and cross the trail. They stopped...ran back across the trail and then stopped and stared at us - challenging us to come on there side? Hah! Not a chance. We turned around and went back home. Now if I am out by myself (and Chilli) I have started taking a very large hiking stick with me, just in case I have to start swing it to fend one off! Am I exaggerating...not so much...check out this article from the Denver Post:

We see coyote tracks all the time along the trail, etc. Another friend who lives in the complex and has to take her dog out for pre-dawn walks has even seen coyotes over near the corner of our condo. So, when ever I exit our door (versus the garage door) I am always very careful to take a look around before I actually step all the way out!

One of my neighbors who has a Rottweiler has been tracked by these coyotes and has called our town police and animal control about them. The answer is unless they attack a person or they actually come into our complex (our neighbor says "estate", he's originally from England) then they can shoot them. Well I don't necessarily want them to shoot them, more like trap them and relocate them somewhere far from people. Just a normal day in Parker, Colorado.....