Is a coyote a danger to pets or farm animals?

Coyotes are basically carnivores and they have got the habit of hunting. The capture their prey and then feed on it. There were some important observations made about the coyotes regarding their feeding and hunting behavior. First of all the coyotes have got an extraordinary sense of smell. Moreover their visual and auditory senses are also very well developed. All these senses are very important for good hunting behavior. That is why the coyotes are considered parallel to red foxes in their hunting behavior. Usually when the coyotes are hunting a large animal, they do so in the form of groups or pairs.

Coyotes’ response to pet and farm animals
Having a highly developed sense of smell and vision, the coyotes can detect their prey even from long distances. Therefore if they even sense a small fraction of the pet animals or farm animals, they go for hunting them. Usually the coyotes attack the cattle and hoofed pets from the front unlike the wolves which attack from the back and in the form of pack. The younger or smaller coyotes do not participate in hunting the larger animals. Their way of capturing different sized prey is different in every case. For example if they prey on the pet cats or small dogs, they usually attack by pouncing and then directly lacerate on the head and neck. They usually catch small preys alone. Similarly ground squirrels are caught by chasing after them. Coyotes are even observed o kill porcupines as well in the form of pairs. Sometimes the coyotes may also do partnership with other animals so as to get assistance in hunting.

Danger to pets form coyotes
Normally it is very rare that coyotes reach and hunt in the human dwelled areas. However if they somehow approach the place where farm animals or pets are kept, then this is really an alarming situation. They can easily prey on the farm animals or pets either in pairs or packs. Usually the coyotes also prefer hunting in the domestic installations because there is no competition over here. This is the main reason for which the coyotes visiting human dwelled areas are likely to visit again and hunt preferably on the pet animals and farm animals kept there. Usually they use their claws and teeth for hunting and capturing their prey. They just fix their teeth into the neck of the prey and then hold it there until the animal is dead. Their way of hunting resembles too much to that of foxes and wolves.