Coyote in my backyard ate the neighborhood cat (warning graphic images)

When my son got on the schoolbus this morning, he immediately called us on his cell phone to tell us that he saw two coyotes in our neighborhood.

Within a minute of that call, my wife looked out the back window and saw one of them in our backyard next to our firepit. So I'm scrambling to get my camera when I hear my daughter shriek that the coyote is eating the neighborhood cat that she routinely cares for. So my scrambling intensified.

It was dark when I started shooting but fortunately the sun was coming up fast and the coyote ate the cat at her leisure. I started out with the 300mm at ISO 3200 and ended up with the 500mm at ISO 400. These images are not in order but all of them were taken and processed in a manner so as not to show how dark it really was. The last image here is of the male coyote who took a guard position. From here the male slowly got up and walked across the cul-de-sac just as one of our neighbors came out with her shih-tzu. Their dog wasn't on a leash and saw the coyote and tried to go after it but the neighbor was able to call it back.

I've been trying to track and photograph coyotes for a couple years now (having only seen two at great distances). Odd because we live in a densely urban area but there are thin ribbons of trees that spiderweb out to nearby farmlands, streams, railways, and parks.

I'm glad I didn't finish raking leaves in that far corner of the yard yesterday :)

Coyotes are not an easy animal to sneak up on so having them in your back yard must have been a treat. Coyotes have been in the news lately in my area because they are starting to come into the burbs and take peoples pets. I'm not a huge cat fan so it doesn't bother me one bit to see these images. I'm sure it wasn't easy for your daughter to see, but there is a lesson to be learned from it.

You have some great colors in these and I love the leaves on the ground.

Poor kitty.

That's really a nice and healthy looking Coyote though. I've seen them running down my street on a few occasions (we're in the city but there's a lot of preserves and one rail line and one defunct rail line, both of which are basically narrow strands of brush and forest that go right through some forest preserves at various points). The ones here look pretty scrawny and mangy.

Awesome!!! Hate to see anything die but it is the circle of life.Great job on all of these!!!

Great shots there mate! Poor kitty tho...and yeah! those leaves makes them better... aiding in the distance blur, and the color composition.

Thanks for looking and commenting, everyone.

Yeah, with ever-growing human encroachment, encounters between wild and domestic animals will become more common. I just hope that people won't go on witch hunts due to a few random attacks.

The city I live in in Western Canada has an estimated 400 to 500 coyotes living within and around the boundaries of the city :eek: . They can be found mostly in the larger parks and river valleys and around power reservoirs. We even have them run through our back courtyard on occassion. They are relatively bold and have little fear of man. Last week a young teenage girl was attacked and killed by two coyotes while walking along a running path in one of our Eastern Provinces. So, my motto is "Walk softly and carry a big walking stick". In fact, the local fish and wildlife people are even recommending that people carry bear spray with them as apparently this is a deterrent to coyotes as well :blush2: . HTH.

Cheers, (well not really for the poor cat)

WesternGuy

Great images. Right place - right time - right gear - right technique - what more do you need. But, are you sure that's a cat and not a skunk. :) It's a good thing the neighbor got her pooch called back or it could have been dessert. :eek:

I read about that unfortunate incident in Canada. That is really shocking.

just tell them that cats are one of the worst ecological disaster in recent memory. theres instances of a SINGLE, individual cat eliminating an entire species.... when i see dead cats, i also see innumerable birds, rodents, snakes, etc left alive. also to note (at least in PA) that cats are technically wild animals hence the reason you don't need to get a license for them like dogs and can be legally shot (following other hunting rules).

Brilliant!! Great job!! :thumbsup:

Great shots! The one of the coyote staring straight into the camera is beautiful.

Wow..I love wildlife, I suppose this is why I live in the middle of it. I have seen alot of spectacular wildlife, and I have watched many wild animals feed on there prey, but this one tops the chart. I have cats, dogs and other critters that I would do anything in my power to protect and I hope this would never happen to them, but this is reality on how the wild survive. Spectacular shots!! Bummer your daughter had to see it first hand. A lesson about life I'm sure she will never forget. Thanks for the post. One I know I will never forget.

Thanks for looking, everyone.

WesternGuy - I have heard of many encounters with people. I've also discovered that many people I know have had first hand sightings or know of other people who've had encounters with Canis latrans. Seems the coyote is wiley enough to know easy prey opportunities exist around humans yet wiley enough to know how not to get caught.

mn shutterbug - thanks and LOL - it does look like a skunk. See below for confirmation :p

Dylan - thank you for commenting. I think humans are the worst ecological disasters for introducing every other ecological disasters (cats, dogs, birds, hogs, rats, fish, mussels, mosquitos, emerald ash borers, ... the list goes on and on and continues to grow.

Canuck - thanks a lot.

cm_mtb - thank you for the feedback.

Canyon Hiker - thank you very much for the comments. I know how you feel - had it been my puppy out there I would have completely different feelings.


The story and my pictures ended up on the local news. Sprinkles the cat was blurred out.

That's sad to see, and rather similar (but with a different outcome) to one of the WPY winners - there the cat stood her ground and won.
http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-...gory=9&group=1

Great pictures!!

Rather disturbing to learn the coyotes killed a girl :( :( :(

I'll be scared to have coyotes running around my house, specially for my kids and little dog. The most annoying animal we get are skunks, in the summer they will come down of the nearby hill, and the whole neigborhood smells

We also have squirrels, this little things have a taste for plastic and copper, they are good at disabling cars eating all sorts of cables :mad:

I will make the unpopular reply and say..

Why do people let cats run around and eat birds, mice , squirrels and not bat an eye while they disrupt the balance of nature? Let that domesticated cat outside and it enters the food chain whether at the top or the bottom :wink:

Great images Loupey!!!!

Paul, I wasn't quite brave enough to make that comment but I agree whole heartedly. It doesn't help putting bells on their collars either.

The other thing that gets me is that they make a fuss and insist that I pick up my dog's poo but cat owners never clear their pets mess up. Evidence on my drive.

Roger R.

Don't get me wrong. I am an animal lover and feel bad for that cat's owner.

.

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Originally Posted by paulnj

I will make the unpopular reply and say..

Why do people let cats run around and eat birds, mice , squirrels and not bat an eye while they disrupt the balance of nature? Let that domesticated cat outside and it enters the food chain whether at the top or the bottom :wink:

Great images Loupey!!!!

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thats the point i was making. if you have a cat keep it inside and its fine.

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Originally Posted by Dylan8i

thats the point i was making. if you have a cat keep it inside and its fine.

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That's not always an option. Each of my cats were outdoor cats for a large portion of their lives. My dad is asthmatic and severely allergic. Keeler only moved in to the basement when Clyde showed up and was attacking her. Clyde was outdoors until he was diagnosed as FIV positive. Both were strays that showed up and adopted us. They got food, love, and a warm garage to shelter in. And of course brawling tomcat Clyde became an ex-tomcat and Keeler got spayed. It was a lot better for them and frankly the neighborhood that we took them.

Ironically the way they moved in slowly due to circumstances probably helped my dad build enough of a tolerance that they can stay inside, although after two bad bouts of pneumonia, he also started allergy shots that helped immensely as well. But simply put, we shouldn't have animals in the house with my dad's issues, but we love our cats, and he loves the cats to death. Keeler is 21 years old now and ailing, and my dad is the one who doesn't want to talk about... well, you know.

That said, if a coyote ever had gotten an animal of mine, I wouldn't have blamed the coyote. If you have an animal living outdoors, the risks are there and you better accept them.

Great series of shots. In the small town I live in we had an uproar of cat owners raising heck with accusations that someone in town was stealing cats. This was put to an end when the local veteranarian wrote a letter to the editor placing the blame squarely on our local coyote population.

Having heard coyotes take a cat in our back alley and having spent evenings listening to them sing all around town I can believe that any cat straying on the fringes of town will have a short life.

Last year the town was forced to bring in a professional hunter after having pled with residents to stop feeding the coyotes. Several had been feeding them for some time and ignored warnings from the town. The hunter shot a large number of coyotes within town limits in one night. I believe the number was 14. These were shown to the residents guilty of having fed them with the statement that the death of these animals was solely due to their having fed them.

Sadly, people never seem to learn that treating wild animals as pets will only hurt the animal in the long run.

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Originally Posted by scott-devon

Sadly, people never seem to learn that treating wild animals as pets will only hurt the animal in the long run.

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Nicely stated, scott-devon.

Paulnj, don't feel bad for the cat's owner. They moved and abandoned their cats. We tried having someone adopt the cats (my wife is allergic to cats) and even asked the cat shelter to take them in. But the shelters informed us that they would have had to euthanize the cats because of their age and because the owners never neutered them. This particular cat had a difficult life because of irresponsible owners.

"euthanize the cats because of their age"
We deliberately adopted an older cat because of that.
We also don't support shelters with that policy.

EXCELLENT captures Loupey!
I have 4 indoor cats. (no old cat lady jokes please). This series is disturbing to see, but these are things that go on all the time... we just don't see it. I think this is why it's sad to most. That said, it's just part of life. Won't be happening to my cats.
Strange I should see this right after I got back from a nice long walk ALONE, in the DARK, on the terminal property which has coyotes on it. hmmmm.... never thought until now that I would be in danger of being attacked,yikes. I always thought I could scare them away by shouting and acting crazy. Guess I won't be going for walks at night alone again.
And Paul (SmartWombat), I also take offense about the older cat thing. I kind of relate it to my ex tossing me for a much younger woman... out with the old and in with the new. Wonderful way of looking at a living, feeling creature of any kind. This is also just a fact of life apparently.
I hope nobody get the bright idea to euthanize me soon.

Cototes are afraid of humans as a rule. You have the same chance of being chased by a stray poodle as being chased by a coyote. I eat steaks, but don't eat the rancher :D

I used to live in a cat house, with over a dozen of them, and the feline owner, now moved elsewhere, treated the cats as her children. They were free to be inside or outside cats as they chose, thanks to a cat door. There were no coyotes and some cats acted as predators. Others brought live rats into the house as their own pets. We went into a "rat rescue" mode.

Some sympathy for the dead cat is reasonable, but that does not detract from the great photography of a coyote's successful hunt.

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Originally Posted by paulnj

Cototes are afraid of humans as a rule. You have the same chance of being chased by a stray poodle as being chased by a coyote. I eat steaks, but don't eat the rancher :D

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It can still happen:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Musi...led/index.html


I once ran into a coyote without knowing it in my neigbourhood while walking home after work. I wasn't sure what it was and for some reason :) I started jogging towards it. That four leg fellow just turned and started running away. The other one went out from a back alley and it also started running away.. That told me they were not dogs :)

Nice pictures yet disturbing, I have 2 cats both stay indoors, however I do have beagle and if a coyote ever came near him he would definilty defend himself but I always have my 30.30 winchester nearby and ready to be loaded. I am not a hunter I only go target shooting, but I will take a life to defend what I love.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/7733884@N03/4110237145/" title="15gx9if by Billy320, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2513/4110237145_77365323fe.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="15gx9if" /></a>

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Originally Posted by Eric D

Awesome!!! Hate to see anything die but it is the circle of life.Great job on all of these!!!

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agreed. very good job.

I realize this post is old but still I am compelled to reply.

First let me say that the pics are great but they do bring bitter sweet thoughts to my head.

My cat used to be an indoor/outdoor cat. She's now 10 years old and we lived in the city almost all of her life where she was pretty much at the top of the food chain and was savvy about staying clear of dogs and other cats. She's not very social at all. We have her fixed, micro-chipped & all of her shots up to date. She wears a collar that she's worn for almost 10 years with rabies and ID tags.

With that all said...we've since moved to a home that sits on a couple acres in the mountains of Central PA. We let her out up until about 4 months ago when she was presumably attacked by a coyote. She didn't come home for 3 days which was very unusual and when she did come home she had a piece of meat torn from her scruff and puncture wounds on her sides.

I only guess coyote because they do come around this area and she stays away from dogs and other cats. Our property is large enough to accommodate her hunting grounds. Our closest neighbors on one side do not have dogs and the neighbors on the other side don't have dogs that want to kill/eat cats. It was definitely some kind of canine that stalked her with the size of the woulds she had. We tossed other possible ideas around like bear or bobcat, which have been spotted right in our area recently but coyote seems the most likely.

Anyways, we're super glad she made it home and now we keep her inside like it or not. We can guarantee a mouse/small critter proof house anyways. :)