A discussion on the Mordecai email list about our urban deer got me wondering about their natural predators. It just so happens that the rumors about coyotes in our area appear to be real.
I found this interesting report from an exotic animal veterinarian of a coyote brought in last December. It’s cool that so many critters are finding room to live here in downtown Raleigh.
Well, the guy comes back in carrying a canine of some sort by the armpits, rear end dangling, with a large bunch of towels wrapped around the head to keep him from being bitten (Good idea!). The animal was in bad shape: skinny, wet, matted fur, lice crawling all over, and a strong odor of filth. I had him lay his bundle on the exam table, donned a pair of leather falconer’s gloves, and began to unwrap the front half of this dog to see what we were dealing with. To my surprise, staring back at me was a genuine, bonafide, roadrunner-eating COYOTE!
via It’s a Coyote, for Real! | Avian and Exotic Animal Care, Raleigh, NC.
coyotes running in heavily-populated areas is not cool! They’re about the only NA wild animals I know of that don’t care if you’re a human 😐