Was it a Coyote, Coydog or Feral Dog?
I spoke with two professional trappers last week. One was from our local community here in central SC. The other was from Ohio. Both agreed that the tracks from the first kill (a goose) were NOT left by a coyote. Based on the size of the prints and nature of the kill, they felt the predator was probably a coydog or feral dog. Our local trapper, Chip Sharpe, explained that a coydog is a cross between a coyote and a feral dog, most commonly the offspring of a male coyote and female dog. Depending on the size of the mother, these hybrids can grow much larger than a regular coyote. Sharpe informed me that we have plenty of coydogs in our area, plus a population of feral dogs. I didn’t realize that feral dogs are not simply domestic/stray dogs gone wild. Feral dogs are born in the wild with no human contact whatsoever. They, along with coyotes and coydogs, are wily predators seldom seen by the general public except, perhaps, as road kill. How about an Otter? Both trappers believe the second
