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Ken Graham
Ken Graham
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Here are some statistics on coyote attacks versus dog attacks in the US, on a per-year basis. (See notes at the end on how I got the numbers.)

  • dog bites: 4.6 million
  • fatal attacks by dogs on humans: 25
  • coyote bites: 8
  • fatal attacks by coyotes on humans: 0.06

These figures show that your chances of getting bitten by a dog are about 500,000 times greater than you chances of getting bitten by a coyote. The chances of death from a dog are about 400 times greater than for a coyote.

In the United States, a lot of the interactions of coyotes with humans happen in the Los Angeles area, due to the large human population and a large interface between suburban housing tracts and nearby open-space areas such as the Angeles National Forest. Many Angelenos believe that their missing cats and small (<20 lb) dogs were killed and eaten by coyotes, but there is no way to verify this except in the rare case where people see a coyote kill their housepet and carry it off. It's likely that many of these pets actually died because they were hit by cars, or wandered away and died of thirst.

Coyotes tend to be most active in the times around dawn or dusk. They have puppies in the spring, and spring and summer are their denning season. During this time, they tend to be very defensive of their dens, and they may be active more during the day. A very common den-defense behavior is for the adult coyote to persistently follow an intruding human, dog, or horse. People may incorrectly interpret this behavior as evidence that the coyote is stalking them as if they were prey.

Common-sense precautions against coyote problems are the same as the ones you would take to avoid hassles with other wild animals such as raccoons. Don't leave lids off of garbage cans. Don't leave dishes full of dog food outside. If you have pets, make sure your yard is well fenced.

Notes on how I got the numbers:

Sources of statistics:

When estimates were given as ranges, I took the middle of the range. All of the numbers are fairly rough. I got the third figure by taking the total for the 6-year period 1998-2003 and dividing by 6, and the fourth figure by taking the total since 1981 and dividing by 34 years.

Sources of information on den-defense behavior:

Here are some statistics on coyote attacks versus dog attacks in the US, on a per-year basis. (See notes at the end on how I got the numbers.)

  • dog bites: 4.6 million
  • fatal attacks by dogs on humans: 25
  • coyote bites: 8
  • fatal attacks by coyotes on humans: 0.06

These figures show that your chances of getting bitten by a dog are about 500,000 times greater than you chances of getting bitten by a coyote. The chances of death from a dog are about 400 times greater than for a coyote.

In the United States, a lot of the interactions of coyotes with humans happen in the Los Angeles area, due to the large human population and a large interface between suburban housing tracts and nearby open-space areas such as the Angeles National Forest. Many Angelenos believe that their missing cats and small (<20 lb) dogs were killed and eaten by coyotes, but there is no way to verify this except in the rare case where people see a coyote kill their housepet and carry it off. It's likely that many of these pets actually died because they were hit by cars, or wandered away and died of thirst.

Coyotes tend to be most active in the times around dawn or dusk. They have puppies in the spring, and spring and summer are their denning season. During this time, they tend to be very defensive of their dens, and they may be active more during the day. A very common den-defense behavior is for the adult coyote to persistently follow an intruding human, dog, or horse. People may incorrectly interpret this behavior as evidence that the coyote is stalking them as if they were prey.

Common-sense precautions against coyote problems are the same as the ones you would take to avoid hassles with other wild animals such as raccoons. Don't leave lids off of garbage cans. Don't leave dishes full of dog food outside. If you have pets, make sure your yard is well fenced.

Notes on how I got the numbers:

Sources of statistics:

When estimates were given as ranges, I took the middle of the range. All of the numbers are fairly rough. I got the third figure by taking the total for the 6-year period 1998-2003 and dividing by 6, and the fourth figure by taking the total since 1981 and dividing by 34 years.

Sources of information on den-defense behavior:

Here are some statistics on coyote attacks versus dog attacks in the US, on a per-year basis. (See notes at the end on how I got the numbers.)

  • dog bites: 4.6 million
  • fatal attacks by dogs on humans: 25
  • coyote bites: 8
  • fatal attacks by coyotes on humans: 0.06

These figures show that your chances of getting bitten by a dog are about 500,000 times greater than you chances of getting bitten by a coyote. The chances of death from a dog are about 400 times greater than for a coyote.

In the United States, a lot of the interactions of coyotes with humans happen in the Los Angeles area, due to the large human population and a large interface between suburban housing tracts and nearby open-space areas such as the Angeles National Forest. Many Angelenos believe that their missing cats and small (<20 lb) dogs were killed and eaten by coyotes, but there is no way to verify this except in the rare case where people see a coyote kill their housepet and carry it off. It's likely that many of these pets actually died because they were hit by cars, or wandered away and died of thirst.

Coyotes tend to be most active in the times around dawn or dusk. They have puppies in the spring, and spring and summer are their denning season. During this time, they tend to be very defensive of their dens, and they may be active more during the day. A very common den-defense behavior is for the adult coyote to persistently follow an intruding human, dog, or horse. People may incorrectly interpret this behavior as evidence that the coyote is stalking them as if they were prey.

Common-sense precautions against coyote problems are the same as the ones you would take to avoid hassles with other wild animals such as raccoons. Don't leave lids off of garbage cans. Don't leave dishes full of dog food outside. If you have pets, make sure your yard is well fenced.

Notes on how I got the numbers:

Sources of statistics:

When estimates were given as ranges, I took the middle of the range. All of the numbers are fairly rough. I got the third figure by taking the total for the 6-year period 1998-2003 and dividing by 6, and the fourth figure by taking the total since 1981 and dividing by 34 years.

Sources of information on den-defense behavior:

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Here are some statistics on coyote attacks versus dog attacks in the US, on a per-year basis. (See notes at the end on how I got the numbers.)

  • dog bites: 4.6 million
  • fatal attacks by dogs on humans: 25
  • coyote bites: 8
  • fatal attacks by coyotes on humans: 0.06

These figures show that your chances of getting bitten by a dog are about 500,000 times greater than you chances of getting bitten by a coyote. The chances of death from a dog are about 400 times greater than for a coyote.

In the United States, a lot of the interactions of coyotes with humans happen in the Los Angeles area, due to the large human population and a large interface between suburban housing tracts and nearby open-space areas such as the Angeles National Forest. Many Angelenos believe that their missing cats and small (<20 lb) dogs were killed and eaten by coyotes, but there is no way to verify this except in the rare case where people see a coyote kill their housepet and carry it off. It's likely that many of these pets actually died because they were hit by cars, or wandered away and died of thirst.

Coyotes tend to be most active in the times around dawn or dusk. They have puppies in the spring, and spring and summer are their denning season. During this time, they tend to be very defensive of their dens, and they may be active more during the day. A very common den-defense behavior is for the adult coyote to persistently follow an intruding human, dog, or horse. People may incorrectly interpret this behavior as evidence that the coyote is stalking them as if they were prey.

Common-sense precautions against coyote problems are the same as the ones you would take to avoid hassles with other wild animals such as raccoons. Don't leave lids off of garbage cans. Don't leave dishes full of dog food outside. If you have pets, make sure your yard is well fenced.

Notes on how I got the numbers:

Sources of statistics:

When estimates were given as ranges, I took the middle of the range. All of the numbers are fairly rough. I got the third figure by taking the total for the 6-year period 1998-2003 and dividing by 6, and the fourth figure by taking the total since 1981 and dividing by 34 years.

Sources of information on den-defense behavior: