A Walk Down Mystic's Way...

[Mystic Wanderer]

From my above post...

As for the coyotes, we have them here... all around us. I suspect them to be the murderers of some of my kittens in the past that belonged to the stray cat outside that adopted me. 

Their howls will send shivers through to one's very soul.  They run in packs, so when they all start howling at the same time to let other packs know they are nearby, it sounds very eerie indeed!

Here is an article about how bad the coyote problem is.  They even have them running around the Knoxville Mall parking lot!  YIKES!

Coyote breaks into coop, kills 23 chickens and two turkeys
Posted: Mon 6:33 PM, Mar 13, 2017

[email=?subject=Coyote%20breaks%20into%20coop,%20kills%2023%20chickens%20and%20two%20turkeys&body=http://www.local8now.com/content/news/Coyote-breaks-into-coop-416068593.html][/email]
SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- A Sevier County family woke up shocked and devastated when their entire chicken flock was killed by a coyote Saturday.

Misty and Billy Baker have raised their chickens with their young son for about a year.
The family felt their coop was strong, but a determined and large coyote pushed through a small door only the chickens use. Misty Baker said only one coyote was caught on camera, but there could have been more.

"They left nothing behind, all that we had left was feathers," Baker said. "There was no meat left whatsoever."
Zoo Knoxville said coyotes are thriving in areas where there are people.

"They are one of those animals that seem to thrive in human impacted areas," Zoo Knoxville's Director of Animal Care Phil Colclough said. "They do really well in an urban setting, we've got them in downtown Knoxville, we've got them in West Town Mall parking lot."
Keith McAlum with Smokey Mountain Chicken Tractor builds coops for a living and said people that keep chickens need to make sure that have strong wood, wire and roof.

"Any kind of point of weakness they're gonna go for," said McAlum.

"It's disturbing for people when they lose their flock because they've got so much invested in it," he said. "Your chickens become more like your pets than farm animals, you know."

The Bakers said they plan to start a new flock and will be keeping a closer eye out for the coyote, which is still roaming the area.
"It really scares me for my son, especially because he loves to let the chickens out in the morning and he loves helping me lock them up at night. That makes me very nervous knowing that it could be right there behind me," said Baker.

Zoo Knoxville experts stress that coyotes are not a danger to humans, and that they will usually run away if they hear humans.
"Make a lot of noise," Colclough advised. "I wouldn't walk up to the animal for sure, that's how most bites are occurring. They can take small dogs and small cats. They're nocturnal and spend most of their time at night hunting."

The TWRA said that coyotes are highly adaptable and can survive in any area where there is food available.

Source