I saw on the news that Coyotes have been attacking people. To be specific, there have been three recent attacks. This story makes the news because it involves wild animals attacking children-a sure attention grabber.
While the media seems to be trying to create the impression there is some sort of onslaught on mankind by coyotes, it is important to keep the matter in perspective.
From a statistical standpoint, your odds of being hurt by a coyote are extremely low. If you want to worry about being attacked by animals, you should worry most about other humans and dogs. In the case of dogs, there are about 4.7 million people bitten by dogs each year in the US. About 800,000 bites per year require medical attention.
Lest anyone think that I don’t like dogs, this is not the case. My family has always had dogs and Isis, my Siberian husky, is my best running buddy. I’m very fond of dogs. The purpose of comparing the coyote attacks to dog attacks is to put matters in perspective in regards to the dangers presented by coyotes. In short, there is little reason to be terrified about a coyote onslaught.
This is not to say that people should simply ignore the dangers presented by coyotes. If you live in an area where there are coyotes, then you should take the appropriate precautions for yourself, others and any pets you might have (coyotes will kill cats and dogs).
The main cause for the alleged “coyote problem” is, of course, us. We have expanded into the natural habitats of many creatures. In the case of coyotes, they are very good at adapting and have learned to fit into a new ecosystem-namely ours’. As the number of coyotes in urban areas continues to increase, we can expect more problems. Like us, they are just trying to survive. And, like many humans, they have found that the cities and towns offer a great deal.
In the past, people have tended to react with violence against intruding animals. Hopefully we can find a better solution for the coyote situation.
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