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Around here the coyotes eat mice. I'll see a golf ball size blob of crushed bones and fur on the driveway now and then.

A few years ago, a coyote mom with her 5 pups set up shop on my front lawn. She'd keep a weather eye on me, and me on her, and we got along fine. Over the summer, the number of pups dwindled. I saw a severed head of one a ways away, I think it was done by an eagle. I think only 2 survived the summer.

I sometimes see 6 eagles at a time circling overhead. One flew by so close I could have touched its wingtip. Wow!

A bobcat lives nearby. I see his tracks in the snow, and saw him a couple times.

I live well within the Seattle metropolitan area. Isn't it amazing?

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Over across the sound, we get bald eagles stealing salmon off of people's grills :)
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This inevitably brings us to the story of the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone, and how they eat the deer which brings back a whole new slew of changes.
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Not to be downer, but recent studies have not corroborated those effects.

>One of the most celebrated claims about Yellowstone’s wolves is facing a major challenge. Scientists say the study behind the famous trophic cascade story relied on flawed methods that overstated the ecological impact of wolf recovery. Their reanalysis found no evidence for a dramatic, park-wide surge in willow growth. Instead, the effects appear smaller and vary from place to place.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260613215510.h...

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Is there a word for a popular misconception that nonetheless produces a positive result? The understanding by the public of the effects could be completely wrong, but the reintroduction of wolves and the restoration of Yellowstone are still good things.
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Farmers and pet-owners might prefer the rats.
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Coyote populations are climbing, not shrinking.
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I know, which makes our attempts at killing them even dumber.
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The problem is they've grown accustomed to urban environments, are way more fearless than they used to be.

I live rural (Ontario) and we hear but never see them. But if you go into town, they're a frequent occurrence. Grabbing people's pets and stuff.

If it was just foxes... fine. But coyotes can be a problem.

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Once an owl sat on the porch railing, looking into the window. It was huge! What a magnificent sight.
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fox eat rats too
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