eBirdseed.com Wild Bird Feeding Blog

It's an interesting photo isn't it? What's not to love about a little fox in the backyard? But it also underscores a rather dangerous problem... Here's a quick story, a bit of insight, and hopefully a word to the wise.

A couple of days ago a woman was walking her dog here in Harwich on Cape Cod, and was warned by a neighbor that she was being followed by a coyote. Sure enough, both she and her black lab were being actively pursued. With that, she ran to a nearby friend's house and took shelter there. The coyote literally came to the door looking for her and her dog. Eventually, the coyote moved on and the neighbor drove the pair home.

The insight gained? Times have changed, and not just on Cape Cod (though Cape Cod and the above story serve as fine examples). Because of the conservation efforts over the last 30 years, in many places wildlife is on the rebound, and it is indeed very wild. To make matters worse, here on Cape Cod, the coyotes are part wolf.

So a word to the wise... In the tale above, maybe the "coyote" was just curious about the woman and her dog. Maybe the coyote thought there was some chance to mate. But as the piece cited above states,

Coyotes eat cats and have been known to kill small dogs and maim medium-size canines. Although attacks on humans are extremely rare, two of three reported cases in Massachusetts occurred on Cape Cod. This summer, a woman visiting South Yarmouth got nervous when a coyote followed her and her 2-year-old son as they walked their small dog.

The absolute bottom line is that you need to be on your guard around wild animals like coyotes. You have to give them wide berth. If that means walking the dog with a neighbor, so be it. And if one or more coyotes (or whatever for that matter) should attack a pet or backyard favorite (I worry about our wild turkeys), do not try to intervene. Seek shelter and be safe. Pets and birds aren't worth stitches and rabies shots. Sorry, but that's just common sense.

See you by the feeders,

CapeCodAlan

eBirdseed and misc. references

Other birding references

eBirdseed.com bird cam