An Oxford couple whose horse died Sunday is at odds with Michigan Department of Natural Resources over whether coyotes were responsible for the animal’s death.
Large coyotes are often seen around the farm on Delano Road near Oakwood Road, and a pack was spotted near the home minutes before the horse’s death, its owners said.
The horse, K.O. Carmen, was feeding by itself Sunday in the front yard when a pack of coyotes attacked it from behind, said owners Bruce and Kallie Meyers.
“They ripped through a heavy-weight blanket she had on,” said Bruce, a doctor who practices in Rochester. “(The horse) was about 70 feet from the house and 20 feet from the barn. There must have been a lot of them.”
No cases of coyote attacks on humans or horses have ever been documented in Michigan, said Tim Payne, the DNR’s southeast regional wildlife supervisor.
“We’re looking to see whether it was a (pack) of coyotes that actually took down a horse, because that is highly unlikely and not documented. We’re also looking to inform people that everything we know about coyote behavior tells us people do not need to fear for their safety if there are coyotes in their neighborhood,” Payne said.
Dr. Meyers and his wife are both volunteer Lapeer County Sheriff’s Office mounted division deputies and train horses at their Oxford farm. Kallie, who owned K.O. Carmen for 22 years, took her to numerous competitions.
DNR officers who came Tuesday to investigate said there’s a coyote problem on the property, Kallie said.
Payne said information given to the DNR indicates no one witnessed coyotes attacking the horse, adding that an examination of the animal’s body would shed light on on what kind of animal may have attacked it – but the family has already buried the horse in their backyard.
Eastern coyotes – the kind that live in Michigan – can grow to be up to 50 pounds, Payne said.
But Kallie said she and other neighbors have seen coyotes that are larger,estimating some weigh as much as 70 pounds.
“They do really pose a threat,” Kallie said. “Our fear is that the size of these are making them dangerous. They’re very able to take down large prey or injure them, and in this case so (badly) that you wouldn’t be able to save the animal, or they could possibly hurt a kid.”
The DNR’s Payne said there been documented cases of coyotes being unafraid of humans in western states, but in those cases, humans were feeding the animals.
“One of the questions we’ve gotten is, when coyotes cross the line, ‘what do you do?'” said Payne. “If a coyote is 30 to 50 feet away and you yell at it, throw things at it and try to scare it, but the coyote just stares at you and circles, then that’s an animal that probably should go.”
Residents should keep coyotes wild by yelling at them and not feeding them or leaving pet food or garbage outside, Payne said. “Let the coyote know that it’s not welcome and it needs to be careful around your home.”
Michigan law states that homeowners are allowed to hunt and kill coyotes if they are causing harm or about to cause harm. If the family is in a rural area, homeowners don’t even need to contact the DNR. If a coyote is causing problems in urban areas, homeowners are asked to call local animal control officers.
