A close encounter of the Coyote kind!
Jen and I just took a walk with Hilo, Ahi, and Kaia (we left Maui home to keep the pup company). It's a muggy, rainy, night here and the dogs where acting kinda spooked on the walk. I figured it was the wind or something, but then there we were walking down a very busy street when we heard some dog barking from behind a fence... then we saw two "dogs" running full speed at us... they ran right by us and down into a neighborhood, when they got close to us we realized it was two beautiful Coyote! They were really fast! So fast the dogs didn't even know how to act - I mean they ran within 10 feet of us. It was really crazy! Hilo, Ahi and Kaia just stood there shocked, like us, staring. I could see Ahi thinking "wait for me!". lol
That type of thing might happen out west, but it's not a very common thing here in Georgia! They looked like Ronan and Tenji! :c)
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It's funny, they kinda do look like Shikoku at a glance. We had a pack of Coyotes in our backyard (when I lived at my dad's). The pack would even visit Lynx at night while she was in her kennel run <--- It became a problem so I eventually had to bring her in before it got dark.
I can just hear my cats hissing at the thought of a Coyote. Mia, my youngest she-cat, almost got into a fight with a curious youngster one time, just outside my window!
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At least they kept running and didn't stop for a "visit"! Wow, that must have been cool then, since you don't get to see them much. And where was your video camera?! lol. Ahi's not bummed that she didn't get to follow them, is she?
I'm guessing that two coyotes would not have stopped to chat with Hilo and Ahi, those boys are to big and scary. My aunt and uncles shibas used to chase coyotes out of the yard, and when they had their Akita, they never saw them at all.
I dog sat for them a couple of times and would see the coyotes when out walking the dog, they never seemed interested in coming anywhere near us.
LOL! People think Ronan is a Coyote hybrid ALL the time. So much that I think as crazy as GA laws are, I'm going to have to make a copy of Ronan's papers and keep them in my purse for proof. I tell them Coyotes DO NOT have curly tails, and they don't bark like a dog! But there are some people who choose to stay ignorant.
There are LOTS of Coyote in GA. Especially around Lake Lanier, I hear. I have friends in Acworth and Canton that say they see them all the time. Even in Lawrenceville they are quite abundant. They adapt very well. Do keep in mind that the Shibas resemble food for a Coyote, as does Loa at the moment. I wouldn't leave your dogs outside at night unattended - I've heard of stories where cats and small dogs have been killed and eaten. Chain link fences are easy for Coyotes to get around (I think they must climb them).
As built up as we are here (now) in Suwannee, two years ago a bear was hit and killed on a busy road. Yep. A bear. I don't think we have bears anymore since the developers around here are determined to bulldoze every tree in sight. Sigh.
I have heard that Coyotes are in Georgia too, but in my 15+ years of living here I have only seen 4 (that includes the 2 we saw last night). The dogs in the neighborhood that stay out all night will start barking randomly in the middle of the night, so I guess they may be barking at the Coyotes. We don't leave our dogs in the yard unattended, even in the day. So no worries about a Coyote getting one of ours, but I have heard that cats are disappearing around here. In Taos a lady told us that the Coyotes in that area will lure domestic dogs into their pack and they will run off, only to be killed later - kinda sad (if it's even true).
These Coyotes where about the size of Ahi, but thinner. They mos def didn't want to have anything to do with us - they ran right by and never looked back, then they just disappeared.
I've seen a few. One of them about 100 yards from the road in Duluth. Saw another in Cumming. Most of the others have been in a tad more rural areas, though.
Oh, that would be sad. Coyotes are terribly cunning though, so who knows? They're opportunists, that's for sure. I don't trust them. Wolves? Yes, because they're much more predictable and not scavengers. Not coyotes.