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A coyote spots a possible lunch near the El Dorado County campground in this Tahoe Daily Tribune file photo.
As she does nearly every day, Incline Village resident E. Rhodes was walking her dogs, a pair of whippets, last Friday in an area behind Speckled Avenue in Kings Beach.
Only this time she wasn’t able to return with both of them, as her male dog, Pierce, was killed in an attack by a pack of wild coyotes.
Meanwhile, later that night across the basin in Incline Village, resident Lora Rogers lost her 2-year old Jack Russell terrier, Zena, to a pack of coyotes just outside of her Peepsight Court home.
Both attacks aren’t out of the ordinary, said California Department of Fish and Game Biologist Doug Updike.
“This happens everywhere from the Mexican border to Oregon and is now happening a lot in Southern California, it’s not out of the ordinary at all,” Updike said. “A smaller dog can be an attractive food item for them.”
Rhodes, who allowed her two dogs to run in front of her on the busy trails in Kings Beach, uses a GPS tracking system to keep tabs on them. She was doing the same around 10:30 a.m. last Friday, when Pierce was about 50 yards in front of her on the trail when she called him back to her.
“He was just far enough ahead of me where I couldn’t see him — all I heard was one bark, then my GPS told me he was down,” Rhodes said.
When she came up on Pierce, Rhodes said about eight coyotes were swarming around her dog, who lay motionless on the ground.
Pierce weighed about 35 pounds, Rhodes said.
“That’s a little larger than usual prey for them,” Updike said. “But, it’s not totally unusual, and in a big pack like that they would be more likely to attack than an individual would.”
Rhodes said she quickly leashed her female dog and was attempting to scare the coyotes away with a storm whistle she carries.
“I was making a lot of noise and they weren’t backing off,” Rhodes said. “They didn’t want to give up their kill.”
Rhodes said she never will walk her dogs in the woods around Lake Tahoe again.
Rhodes’ recollection of the attack is typical of pack coyote behavior, Updike said.
“The size of the pack isn’t huge, either, actually that is pretty normal. They’ll travel in families with aunts, uncles and parents all hunting together,” Updike said.
He said that while coyotes generally restrict their attacks to dawn and dusk, an attack in mid-morning isn’t uncommon.
Rogers’ story is a bit different, as she was spending time in her Peepsight home near the Mountain Golf Course when a pack of about six coyotes started antagonizing her dogs in what she said is a fairly regular occurrence.
“What they usually do is send one (coyote) up to get one of my dogs to chase it,” Rogers said. She owned Zena, her brother George and a rottweiler. “So my rottweiler went out through a gate to chase it and before I could grab Zena she followed right out the gate.”
Rogers said at that point the dogs disappeared from sight into an area where she thinks the coyotes have a den. Rogers said she heard some squabbling, and then her rottweiler came back, but Zena didn’t.
“I just loved that little dog, I had her since she was born,” Rogers said. While she assumes Zena fell victim to the pack, Rogers said she is still putting up signs in hopes the terrier is lost and someone took her in as a stray.
Updike said the best way to ward off coyotes who get a little too close to a pet is to throw things and make loud noises.
“If a coyote gets hurt or has a hard time getting a meal, it won’t try that again. It’s the type of animal that’s an opportunist, and if something is too hard to catch, it’ll just go back to eating berries,” Updike said.
He said humans sometimes unknowingly support coyote populations by leaving out food, leading them to a feeling of comfort in areas where they interact with people.
Rhodes blogged about her experience at tahoebonanza.com, where blogs are found under the Opinion heading.
In response to Rhodes’ blog, Becky Goodman, director of the Pet Network, posted some helpful tips for ways to avoid coyotes in her Pets and Wildlife blog. Rhodes encouraged other people who have suffered wildlife attacks to post blog entries to alert people in the area to trouble spots.
Only this time she wasn’t able to return with both of them, as her male dog, Pierce, was killed in an attack by a pack of wild coyotes.
Meanwhile, later that night across the basin in Incline Village, resident Lora Rogers lost her 2-year old Jack Russell terrier, Zena, to a pack of coyotes just outside of her Peepsight Court home.
Both attacks aren’t out of the ordinary, said California Department of Fish and Game Biologist Doug Updike.
“This happens everywhere from the Mexican border to Oregon and is now happening a lot in Southern California, it’s not out of the ordinary at all,” Updike said. “A smaller dog can be an attractive food item for them.”
Rhodes, who allowed her two dogs to run in front of her on the busy trails in Kings Beach, uses a GPS tracking system to keep tabs on them. She was doing the same around 10:30 a.m. last Friday, when Pierce was about 50 yards in front of her on the trail when she called him back to her.
“He was just far enough ahead of me where I couldn’t see him — all I heard was one bark, then my GPS told me he was down,” Rhodes said.
When she came up on Pierce, Rhodes said about eight coyotes were swarming around her dog, who lay motionless on the ground.
Pierce weighed about 35 pounds, Rhodes said.
“That’s a little larger than usual prey for them,” Updike said. “But, it’s not totally unusual, and in a big pack like that they would be more likely to attack than an individual would.”
Rhodes said she quickly leashed her female dog and was attempting to scare the coyotes away with a storm whistle she carries.
“I was making a lot of noise and they weren’t backing off,” Rhodes said. “They didn’t want to give up their kill.”
Rhodes said she never will walk her dogs in the woods around Lake Tahoe again.
Rhodes’ recollection of the attack is typical of pack coyote behavior, Updike said.
“The size of the pack isn’t huge, either, actually that is pretty normal. They’ll travel in families with aunts, uncles and parents all hunting together,” Updike said.
He said that while coyotes generally restrict their attacks to dawn and dusk, an attack in mid-morning isn’t uncommon.
Rogers’ story is a bit different, as she was spending time in her Peepsight home near the Mountain Golf Course when a pack of about six coyotes started antagonizing her dogs in what she said is a fairly regular occurrence.
“What they usually do is send one (coyote) up to get one of my dogs to chase it,” Rogers said. She owned Zena, her brother George and a rottweiler. “So my rottweiler went out through a gate to chase it and before I could grab Zena she followed right out the gate.”
Rogers said at that point the dogs disappeared from sight into an area where she thinks the coyotes have a den. Rogers said she heard some squabbling, and then her rottweiler came back, but Zena didn’t.
“I just loved that little dog, I had her since she was born,” Rogers said. While she assumes Zena fell victim to the pack, Rogers said she is still putting up signs in hopes the terrier is lost and someone took her in as a stray.
Updike said the best way to ward off coyotes who get a little too close to a pet is to throw things and make loud noises.
“If a coyote gets hurt or has a hard time getting a meal, it won’t try that again. It’s the type of animal that’s an opportunist, and if something is too hard to catch, it’ll just go back to eating berries,” Updike said.
He said humans sometimes unknowingly support coyote populations by leaving out food, leading them to a feeling of comfort in areas where they interact with people.
Rhodes blogged about her experience at tahoebonanza.com, where blogs are found under the Opinion heading.
In response to Rhodes’ blog, Becky Goodman, director of the Pet Network, posted some helpful tips for ways to avoid coyotes in her Pets and Wildlife blog. Rhodes encouraged other people who have suffered wildlife attacks to post blog entries to alert people in the area to trouble spots.
