Jul 25 2008
Coyotes in Georgia
We have coyotes in all 159 Georgia counties now. I did not know that we had them until I moved to a different part of my county in 1996. I went out onto the porch with a cold glass of tea to enjoy a warm summer night and was surprised to hear yelps and yaps coming from the woods near our home. I thought they were wild dogs until a friend informed me they were coyotes. As I have always been crazy about anything canine I decided to find out more about the coyotes. I was saddened to learn that the farmers alone with their friends would go out and kill as many of the coyotes as they could. When I asked why they would do this I was informed that the coyotes kill calves. I found out that this is not true. Coyotes kill and eat deer, mice, rabbits, squirrels, etc… Wild dogs on the other hand will kill anything and like an easy kill.
The reason we have so many wild dogs is due to people dumping them out in rural areas instead of having their pets fixed or taking the puppies to the local Animal Rescue. Too many lazy people give their problems to others. I volunteer at the humane society and know this is a huge problem in our county.
One farmer told me that coyotes are a danger to humans but I think it is the other way around. With more and more subdivisions being built every day coyotes are losing their habitat at an alarming rate. They are just trying to survive anyway they can.
