Coyotes are fast-learners. They share information with each other and can overcome fears quickly when they realize that something that looks or sounds dangerous actually isn't. They're also fiercely individualistic, so a technique that works on one coyote might not work on another.
For generations, coyotes were viewed as vermin — four-legged thieves that showed up in the night to steal livestock and howl eerily in the darkness. Coyotes remain the top culprit in predator-caused deaths — though far from the overall leading cause of death — among sheep and cattle.
More than 135,000 sheep valued at more than $10 million were killed by coyotes in the U.S. in 2004, the latest figures available from the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Coyotes killed about 97,000 in 2005, a loss estimated at $44 million, according to the "Coyotes just aren't that predictable," Shivik said. "That's what makes this so hard."
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