Editing Coyote (section)

===Livestock and pet predation===
[[File:Coyote vs Dog.jpg|thumb|A coyote confronting a dog]]
{{asof|2007}}, coyotes were the most abundant livestock predators in western North America, causing the majority of sheep, goat, and cattle losses.<ref name="CP">{{cite web|title=Coyote Predation – Description |url= http://texnat.tamu.edu/ranchref/predator/coyote/t-coyote.htm |access-date=August 19, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806144513/http://texnat.tamu.edu/ranchref/predator/coyote/t-coyote.htm |archive-date=August 6, 2007}}</ref> For example, according to the [[National Agricultural Statistics Service]], coyotes were responsible for 60.5% of the 224,000 sheep deaths attributed to predation in 2004.<ref>{{cite report| date=May 6, 2005|title =Sheep and Goats Death Loss |publisher=[[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] |url=https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/hh63sv88v/xk81jp327/9g54xm03j/sgdl-05-06-2005.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122144925/https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/hh63sv88v/xk81jp327/9g54xm03j/sgdl-05-06-2005.pdf |archive-date=2019-01-22 |url-status=live |access-date=2020-11-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report| date=May 27, 2010| title=Sheep and Goats Death Loss |publisher=[[National Agricultural Statistics Service]] |url=https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/hh63sv88v/mc87pt05z/jw827f62b/sgdl-05-27-2010.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609151845/https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/hh63sv88v/mc87pt05z/jw827f62b/sgdl-05-27-2010.pdf |archive-date=2019-06-09 |url-status=live |access-date=2020-11-27}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2020}} The total number of sheep deaths in 2004 comprised 2.22% of the total sheep and lamb population in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/sheep/downloads/sheepdeath/SheepDeathLoss2015.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403065109/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/sheep/downloads/sheepdeath/SheepDeathLoss2015.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-03 |url-status=live |year=2015|title=Sheep and Lamb Predator and Nonpredator Death Loss in the United States, 2015 |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=July 1, 2016}}</ref> which, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA report, totaled 4.66&nbsp;million and 7.80&nbsp;million heads respectively as of July 1, 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/7s75dc38h/sj139487n/f7623g296/Shee-07-22-2005.txt |title=Sheep and lamb inventory |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=February 1, 2010 }}</ref> 

Because coyote populations are typically many times greater and more widely distributed than those of wolves, coyotes cause more overall predation losses. United States government agents routinely shoot, poison, trap, and kill about 90,000 coyotes each year to protect livestock.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna31880990 |title=Controlling wily coyotes? Still no easy answers |work=NBC News|date=December 7, 2009 |access-date=September 14, 2013}}</ref> An Idaho census taken in 2005 showed that individual coyotes were 5% as likely to attack livestock as individual wolves.<ref name="relative">{{cite journal |last1=Collinge |first1=Mark |year=2008 |url=http://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=27917 |title=Relative risks of predation on livestock posed by individual wolves, black bears, mountain lions and coyotes in Idaho |journal=Proceedings of the Vertebrate Pest Conference |first2=R. M. |last2=Timm |first3=M. B. |last3=Madon |pages=129–133 |access-date=December 29, 2018 |archive-date=April 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427201415/https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=27917 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Utah, more than 11,000 coyotes were killed for bounties totaling over $500,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017.<ref name=utah/>

[[Livestock guardian dog]]s are commonly used to aggressively repel predators and have worked well in both fenced pasture and range operations.<ref name=AIB588>{{cite web|title=Livestock Protection Dogs|date=October 2010|url=https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/wildlife_damage/content/printable_version/fs_livestock_protection.pdf|publisher=Wildlife Services|access-date=July 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909143007/https://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/wildlife_damage/content/printable_version/fs_livestock_protection.pdf|archive-date=September 9, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> A 1986 survey of sheep producers in the USA found that 82% reported the use of dogs represented an economic asset.<ref name=LGDfact>{{cite web|title=Livestock guarding dogs fact sheet|url=http://www.lgd.org/usdafacts.html|publisher=Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture|access-date=April 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324172301/http://www.lgd.org/usdafacts.html|archive-date=March 24, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Re-wilding cattle, which involves increasing the natural protective tendencies of cattle, is a method for controlling coyotes discussed by [[Temple Grandin]] of Colorado State University.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://beefmagazine.com/pasture-range/experts-say-ranching-done-right-improves-environment-and-wildlife-habitat|title=Experts say ranching done right improves the environment and wildlife habitat |last=Grandin |first=Temple |date=2015-02-26|work=Beef Magazine|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref> This method is gaining popularity among producers who allow their herds to calve on the range and whose cattle graze open pastures throughout the year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://kansas-grass-fed.com/bred-cows-bred-heifers-feeder-calves-products-in-the-pipeline/|title=Bred Cows, Bred Heifers, Feeder Calves|date=2016-10-04|work=Rhino's Beef & Farm Raised Aussies|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref>

[[File:coyote with typical hold on lamb.jpg|thumb|right|A coyote with a typical throat hold on a domestic sheep]]
Coyotes typically [[Throat clamp|bite the throat]] just behind the jaw and below the ear when attacking adult sheep or goats, with death commonly resulting from suffocation. Blood loss is usually a secondary cause of death. Calves and heavily fleeced sheep are killed by attacking the flanks or hindquarters, causing shock and blood loss. When attacking smaller prey, such as young lambs, the kill is made by biting the skull and spinal regions, causing massive tissue and bone damage. Small or young prey may be completely carried off, leaving only blood as evidence of a kill. Coyotes usually leave the hide and most of the skeleton of larger animals relatively intact, unless food is scarce, in which case they may leave only the largest bones. Scattered bits of wool, skin, and other parts are characteristic where coyotes feed extensively on larger carcasses.<ref name="CP" />

Tracks are an important factor in distinguishing coyote from dog predation. Coyote tracks tend to be more oval-shaped and compact than those of domestic dogs, and their claw marks are less prominent and the tracks tend to follow a straight line more closely than those of dogs. With the exception of [[sighthound]]s, most dogs of similar weight to coyotes have a slightly shorter stride.<ref name="CP" /> Coyote kills can be distinguished from wolf kills by less damage to the underlying tissues in the former. Also, coyote scat tends to be smaller than wolf scat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://animalrangeextension.montana.edu/wildlife/documents/wolf_depredation.pdf |year=2006 |title=Ranchers' Guide to Wolf Depredation |publisher=Montana State University |access-date=July 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409223159/http://animalrangeextension.montana.edu/articles/wildlife/wolf_depredation.htm |archive-date=April 9, 2013 |url-status=unfit}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Coping With Coyotes: Management Alternatives for Minimizing Livestock Losses|url=http://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/87812/pdf_91.pdf?sequence=1 |first=Dale|last=Rollins|publisher=Texas Agricultural Extension Service|pages=4–7|access-date=November 5, 2016}}</ref>

Coyotes are often attracted to [[dog food]] and animals that are small enough to appear as prey. Items such as garbage, pet food, and sometimes feeding stations for birds and squirrels attract coyotes into backyards. About three to five pets attacked by coyotes are brought into the Animal Urgent Care hospital of [[South Orange County]] (California) each week, the majority of which are dogs, since cats typically do not survive the attacks.<ref name="AOP">{{cite web|title=For coyotes, pets are prey |work=Greg Hardesty |publisher=Orange County Register |url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/news/focus_in_depth/article_508026.php |date=May 5, 2005 |author=Hardesty, Greg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715134302/http://www.ocregister.com/ocr/sections/news/focus_in_depth/article_508026.php |archive-date=July 15, 2007 }}</ref> Scat analysis collected near [[Claremont, California]], revealed that coyotes relied heavily on pets as a food source in winter and spring.<ref name="AOH"/> 

At one location in Southern California, coyotes began relying on a colony of [[feral cat]]s as a food source. Over time, the coyotes killed most of the cats and then continued to eat the cat food placed daily at the colony site by people who were maintaining the cat colony.<ref name="AOH" />
Coyotes usually attack smaller-sized dogs, but they have been known to attack even large, powerful breeds such as the [[Rottweiler]] in exceptional cases.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130526200405/http://www4.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO52127/ "A coyote attacks in Weymouth and kills a dog"]. WHDH-TV – New England News. May 14, 2007</ref> Dogs larger than coyotes, such as [[greyhound]]s, are generally able to drive them off and have been known to kill coyotes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/sports/26greyhounds.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/sports/26greyhounds.html |archive-date=2022-01-01 |url-access=limited|title=Coyote vs. Greyhound: The Battle Lines Are Drawn |first=Juliet|last=Macur|year=2010|access-date=July 3, 2016|newspaper=New York Times}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Smaller breeds are more likely to suffer injury or death.<ref name=attacks/>