Recently at night the coyotes have begun howling, hunting, sneaking around. Coming in close to house, hovering in the orchard making their wild, terrifying cries that sound like a group of old women screaming out in fury and pain. It's been a while since I lived somewhere coyotes visit regularly- 3 years ago also in Big Sandy Mush, they came 5 nights a week howling right outside my house till I would feel like I might pee on myself. Not from fear, but because the deafening coyote call naturally induced that bodily reaction. They killed one of my cats and chased down another till it was so traumatized it was never normal again. At the time I had an outhouse for a bathroom and was too scared to go out at night because this particular pack was quite large, sounding like about 20 coyotes together. I moved away shortly after they started coming close to the house during the day also looking for prey. The strange part was they are so cunning, I never once saw one and still have not. About 2 weeks ago a friend walking up the road saw one in broad daylight and it was the first time he ever saw one in his 21 years of living here.
Yesterday I went up into the orchard to look for coyote tracks, although their sounds had been a little more distant - I found not a trace of the gang which sounds to be about 8-10 coyotes. I have to wonder if they are smart enough not to run through the mud, unlike the deer which seem to not mind trampling through at all.
Last night though only a few hours ago I heard them kill an animal in the orchard - their howls were shrill and intense, and I could clearly hear something crying out in horror as it got killed or injured in the middle of the coyotes' battle yells & barks. It sounded like a puppy, a deer, something kind of innocent to the way of a coyote and ended it's call for help abruptly.
Here's a lil' coyote info (read more HERE at enature.com) :::
Predators once included Grizzly Bears, Black Bears, Mountain Lions, and wolves, but with declining populations of these animals, they are no longer a threat. Humans are the major enemy, purportedly killing Coyotes to protect livestock, as Coyotes are accused, often unjustly, of killing lambs, pigs, and poultry. In the 1970s and 1980s, Coyote pelts became quite valuable, but since the collapse of the fur industry, there has been little demand for them. Despite years of being trapped, shot, and poisoned, Coyotes have maintained their numbers and continue to increase in the East.
XoXo
