Thanx to Shelly for this:

I posted a related article earlier, mainly to warn owners with small
dogs or outdoor cats of the coyotes in Hines Park. But it looks like
we all should be aware of our surroundings when out in the parks with
our dog/s.

Here's the full article:

Coyote attacks get more brazen

Animals ravage large dog in Canton Twp. park

Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News

Duke's confrontation with three coyotes marks one of the most brazen
yet for the growing number of the animals in the area. They've been
seen mauling pets and strolling through golf courses. See full image

CANTON TOWNSHIP -- Janice Palis has seen coyotes from a distance, but
she never expected to see three of the snarling animals attacking her
95-pound golden retriever as she walked beside him in a nature
preserve. Within seconds, Duke, 10, was ravaged in the frenzied fight
on a trail in the 500-acre William P. Holliday Nature Preserve off
Haggerty and Koppernick roads earlier this week.

"They got all of his front and back limbs, trying to knock him down
to kill him," said Janice's husband Gary Palis, 50, whose 120-pound
wife fought the coyotes off with a stick. "If she wasn't there our
dog would have been dead."

For both the size of the dog attacked and the proximity of Janice
Palis, the confrontation marks one of the most brazen yet for the
growing number of coyotes in Metro Detroit. In Grosse Pointe Farms,
Westland, Plymouth, Dearborn and Detroit, the collie-sized animals
have been on the prowl, mauling pets, strolling through golf courses,
even being chased in downtown Detroit.

"Coyotes are losing their natural fear as they spend time around
people and if they get fed," said Dave Bostick, fur bearer specialist
for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "They have a
tendency to stop associating people with danger and start associating
people with food."

Thought to fear humans, they are now venturing further into suburban
neighborhoods, he said.

The Tuesday incident has left Duke with lacerations and puncture
wounds along his front and back legs and the possibility of long-term
nerve damage, the family said. He didn't walk again until Thursday.

Palis said Duke's attack has changed her perception of the seemingly
peaceful coyotes.

"I've always been respectful to them. They are a part of nature now I
am intimidated," said Palis, 49, who said the coyotes stalked her
from a distance as she retreated to her vehicle after the attack.

Bostick said Michiganians unknowingly attract coyotes to their homes
with landscaping techniques or by leaving pet food on outdoor porches
at night.

Duke's run-in, he said, was probably a territorial move.

"It's the time of year that they are having pups they may perceive a
dog as a threat," Bostick said.

Bill Sutherland, co-owner of Westland's Varmint Police Inc., doesn't
agree.

For at least five years, he said, the DNR has downplayed the issue.
Sutherland said it's only a matter of time before a child playing in
a wooded park or yard becomes a target.

Bostick said habituated coyotes are not unique to southeastern
Michigan, and nationwide the numbers have been growing for the past
decade.

"Folks need to be aware of it and reduce the potential for a
problem," he said.

Bill Starnes, 45 of Plymouth didn't think much of the coyote stories
he's heard in recent weeks, until he saw one "prancing down Hines
Drive" Thursday morning near Newburgh.

"I was surprised. It was very unusual," said Starnes.

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http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070511/METRO/705110389&imw=Y_._,_.___