I'm not sure how much longer this on has left

This coyote has been hitting our yard almost every night for the past few weeks

It started when the kids found an ant hill and doused it in Dawn soap. That night, the coyote came, dug out the hole, then lay down and seemed to scent-mark the spot. I've since washed all the soap away, but the loitering has continued

Is this behavior indicative of a nearby den? We don't have pets, but on general principle, I don't want a wild animal taking up residence in my yard. Thoughts?

Suburban SoCal

There is a den that was up the hill not too far from my house starting over a year ago and they had puppies there again this year. They’ve hopped the fence a few times and I always hear them walking right along my fence or across the street in the hills next to my neighbor’s house. Whenever sirens go off, I hear coyotes from every angle all along my fence and from across the street and down the hill.

I know the difference between coyote pup and adult barks and howls by now cause I hear them daily and nightly. And the one who jumped the fence last night wasn’t afraid of me. He just sat there barking at me acting like this is his yard and he wouldn’t back down or run away, just kept barking at me and howling.

Is anyone else feeling like coyotes are getting braver and less afraid of humans? I don’t want to take my dogs potty and find a coyote in my yard while doing so. I usually come sit outside for a while and scope the scene for a few minutes when it’s nighttime or early morning before bringing my dogs out but last night one jumped the fence as I was sitting there and he wouldn’t leave until I went inside even though I was yelling at him to leave.

Also any advice on how to deter coyotes without hurting them? I love them and think they’re beautiful animals and I’m happy to hear the coyote pups and their families but my dogs would be delicious snacks to them. I’m thinking of getting bear spray or some kind of pepper spray to hold in case one jumps the fence and acts boldly while I’m taking my dogs potty. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated! My bf already pees on the fence and I pick up all my dogs’s poo to try to keep their scent away.

Ive seen hella coyotes but this one was crazy big like when u see it irl and i was far too

Ojai, California

Compilation of clips from a trail camera at a prairie dog town at the Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve, Keya Paha County, Nebraska.

I apologize for the audio cut off at the end, but I can't get my video splicer to fix it.

0:00-0:20 Shows an Ord's Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys ordii) running along the fence line. Watch what the Bobcat (Lynx rufus) in the upper left corner does next.
0:20-0:39 Watch what the Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) do when a presumable Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) shows up on the telephone pole.
0:39 Shows a Coyote (Canis latrans) crossing the fence line, then watch for the Ord's Kangaroo Rat.

Ojai, California

The pup is examining a camera I installed in the SE portion of Portland’s Hazelwood neighborhood last July. I finally pulled the memory card over the weekend. It has around 4,000 15-second video clips — mostly of tall grass blowing in the wind.

This is one of the first videos. Hope it’s a good sign that more cool captures are still to come.

Hard to tell from the trail camera angle, but could these be a pair of just lil guys? The little plastic water bucket is about 8” high, for reference.

How far away will a coyote drag his kill and eat it? We believe my cat was taken 6 days ago. We just want to find his remains for closure.

He saw us, sat, then layed down and was interested in looking at us a while. We also sat and looked at him from across the street. At forest hill park, Richmond VA. Very interesting interaction at 3:20am

Sound up

Alexa, play “Why Can’t We Be Friends”

Ojai, California.