# 2 - Never Cry Wolf: Coyotes Maybe...

Overcoming the illusion that Wolves are friendly - human fearing creatures may be hard for us.  Wolves are natural born killers.  True, in times past they were made to fear us - but then many of us carried guns and considered "Aggressive Predators" a worthy hunt.  Today, there are laws which protect wolves and very few people carry self defense guns or weapons sufficient to fend off a pack of hungry wolves.  Movies like this one

 and Dances with Wolves effectively cast a spell over the cultural mind of Americans - blinding them to the problems of releasing wolves back into the wild.  Except for man and starvation wolves really don't have any natural predators to keep their population in check.  So what will happen when the number of White Tailed Deer is sufficiently diminished through predation?  Why its obvious isn't it?  First cats will go missing, then dogs, then homeless people living under bridges and finally children, joggers and other exposed individuals.

When wolves move into an area, they usually set about removing the other preditor species - namely Coyotes.  On two occasions in 2011 as I sat on my back porch late at night I heard the Coyotes rally cries (they know their only chance to hold their turf is in their numbers).  Then the wolf cries, deep and hair raising - then the fighting broke out.  On the first occasion the Coyotes could be heard still yipping and barking after the wolf crys disappeared... But on the second the Wolves were the victors.  Shortly after this event, I myself was chased out of the woods by this mated pair of Red Wolves...  I could hear them triangulating my position between them and I made a quick exit from the deep woods.  Upon entering a farmers pasture land I discovered the skull of a healthy adult deer (Coyotes don't take down adult deer) - the body was no where to be found.  Further up the hill I found the body of a Coyote - its spin punctured by large canine teeth.  Here is a picture of a second deer skull I found in this area with the lower jaw bone of the Coyote (note the canine teeth of the Coyote).

The punctured Coyote spine which went with the Coyote jaw above here follows:

 

As a comparative visual note I also submit the jaw bone of the Coyote next to the jaw bone of a cat - so that we can rule out a foxes jaw bone by size ratio.  I traded a young friend of mine the Coyotes tooth for the cats jaw bone in case you were wondering.

Finally this young deer which was found eaten about two blocks from my house is to be considered.  It is thought that the deer was struck by a car - but the way the skin is pulled down or even totally removed - as in the lower jaw of this deer - cause scavenging Wolves to be suspect - simply by the shear biting power...  Wolves have a 1500 pounds per square inch bite, three times that of a German shepherd.  Again notice the way the ankle skin is stripped back...

Awareness is our best defense... Yes size matters!

 Cat Jawbone 2 1/4"

Coyote Jawbone 4 1/4"

 

Wolf or Dog Jawbone