Don't be telling about coyote behavior in California and trying to scare people here in The Villages. California is suffering from a severe drought and has been for a number of years. There is not much water to be found in non populated areas where normally coyotes hang out. Because of this the numbers of small mammals which constitute natural prey have severely declined. And so coyotes are becoming more common in populated residential areas where they can find both water and prey (including small pets). This is not the same situation as in Florida.
In addition, coyotes are generally quite timid around humans. I have encountered them many times and they are easily scared off....although they become more bold when they are in packs. In the rare cases where they have attacked when humans were present, you can be sure they were going after the pet, not the human.
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