When I was horseback riding at around 5:00 p.m., I was riding north to a big clump of trees when I heard the high-pitched howl of a whole pack of coyotes. There were probably 10 in all. I thought it was really cool. - Kailee, age 11

My family and I were staying in a cabin in Yellowstone National Park, and we were sitting on the porch and saw what we thought was a dog. Then my husband realized it was a coyote. I thought it was very sleek and low to the ground as it walked right across the field in front of us. - Linda, on vacation, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Last year I was hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park on a trail that was new to me. When I hike an unfamiliar trail, I pay close attention to what's around me. This trail followed the road for a short way, then plunged into the open brush before leading into the forest. As I made my way through the sage and grasses, I looked up and was startled to see a coyote a stones throw away. Maybe I hadn't noticed it earlier, because in the morning light it had perfect camouflage. I suppose it did not hear me coming-I'd approached from around a boulder. Rather than spook it, I stood quietly behind a tree watching as the coyote trotted back and forth, head down sniffing. Time passed and I wanted to be on my way. Since it was right in my path, I decided to let it know I was there, so that it could leave and I could pass. The coyote's head snapped to attention in my direction when I whistled. It watched me briefly, turned, and slowly trotted away.-Susan, hiker, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

As we were growing up, behind the stone house that we lived in was a very high cliff that was mostly rock, and it sat directly to the northeast of our house. At night and especially about this time of year, the coyotes would gather as if they were having a meeting, on the cliff and howl. They took turns howling. They could look down on our house, our chicken house and all the other buildings around the house. The coyotes kept very close tabs on whatever was going on in our house. We lived in a two-story and the bedrooms were upstairs and at night these coyotes could howl for hours. They would sit there for hours and were silhouetted by the moonlight. But we did not really think anything about that, as it was pretty much an every day occurrence. Seems like in the summertime they like to "howl at the moon," so I guess that is where that phrase originated.-Audrey, childhood story

I often see coyotes, but my favorite encounter was in my backyard which is south of Hygiene. One morning in the winter as I opened my backdoor to get to school there was a coyote just strolling through my back yard. He looked at me. I looked at him. Then it just sauntered away. He didn't look one bit afraid or upset that I was there. I love listening to them at night. I often hear packs of them as they are hunting. I am very lucky!-Sue, teacher, South of Hygiene, Colorado

It was early Christmas Eve morning. I was traveling with my husband to a shopping center. We were traveling on the E470 heading west at about 75 mph when a huge coyote ran across the highway. It came from the south, and crossed over two lanes before crossing over to ours. We didn't even have a chance to slow down. Just as he ran in front of the truck, it was like slow motion, he slowly turned his head and looked right at us. His mouth was open, and his tongue was hanging out, and when he looked at us, he had this look on his face of mischief. Almost like he had totally won the race of the century! I tell you the he had a grin on his face, for sure! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!-Julie, driver, Broomfield, Colorado

I now live in the extreme part of Longmont, Colorado, near very open fields and farmlands. Almost every other week I spot coyotes at or around my home, and a few times I saw signs of them in my yard. In spite of my experiences in Mexico, I still look forward to seeing them and watching their behavior. It's hard to watch a coyote prancing through the snow to catch mice without smiling appreciatively. I just wish they'd do a better job thinning out the rabbit population in our neighborhood--I don't have a fenced yard yet. -Jason, teacher, Longmont, Colorado

DesertUSA

I grew up on the prairie and I would see coyotes running with their pups in the field.Then at night I could hear them howling back and forth to each other. It reminds me of the old west when people would sit around the campfire and listen to coyotes. I also remember hearing stories about the pioneers who would sit close to a fire to avoid coyotes and other things. One of the pioneers would have to keep the fire going all night.-Elana, prairie resident, Colorado

I think that coyotes are foes, because they kill a lot of animals. I really like animals and it makes me sad when coyotes kill helpless creatures. I have also heard coyotes at night, and I think its sounds cool, but I still do not like what these creatures hunt.- Jake, age 8

When my children were young (4-7), we lived in rural Nevada. My youngest son, Hayes, had several 'fears'. He would NOT allow us to leave his room at night until he could see there was a light nearby. He HAD to have his closet closed ( boogeyman lurked there). The call of packs of coyotes howling in the dark made his trip out with the trash terrifying! Our promise that the coyotes were hunting for small animals, not children, did not soothe his fear. If his older brother was feeling kind towards him he would go out with Hayes-for protection. However, Hayes sometimes got a real spanking rather than face the coyotes if it would get him out of his chore! - Susan, resident of rural Nevada

My dog got loose in Joshua Tree National Park at 5:00 in the morning several years ago. When he was loose, several sneaky coyotes surrounded him in the valley and then teased him and lured him off a mile away. I think my dog wanted to play with them, but they were smart enough to be able to lure him away to try to eat him! They were very smart as a pack to work against my dog who was much bigger than any one coyote. Thankfully, my dog was safe.-Erin, science teacher, Joshua National Park, California

When I was a young girl living in Claremont, California, there was a big field behind my house. Sometimes at night, I could hear the coyotes howling. We also had eleven cats while we were living at that house. They all disappeared one by one, and my family thinks it was because they were eaten by coyotes!! -Emily, memory, Claremont, California

A neighbor of my brother was taking a hike in the mountains one day, as his Irish setter walked lazily, but well ahead of them. The man saw a coyote playfully approach his dog, still off in the distance, and happily entice his dog off of the path and into a clearing surrounded by trees and aspens. Even though the coyote appeared friendly to his dog, the man ran ahead to look into things. When he reached the clearing, his dog was encircled by a pack of three or four coyotes whose behavior suggested they really didn't intend to play at all. I'm not sure if the story is true or not, but it definitely made an impression on me. On one hand, I was shocked at their blood thirsty trickery. On the other hand, I was amazed by it.-Jason, Las Alamos, New Mexico

I also remember a coyote attack on a toddler taking place when I lived in Los Alamos. Many of the houses there border on mountainous, wooded open space. Even in the center of town, it was not uncommon to spot coyotes, but the houses near the mountains had coyotes as familiar neighbors. Apparently the coyote in question came into the backyard of this particular house and attacked the toddler who was playing in the fenced yard unattended. There was speculation that the coyote intended to eat the child, as most of his injuries were in the abdominal area. Our friend, who was a nurse in the town's hospital at the time, said the child's injuries were pretty gruesome and that he lost part of his intestines.-Jason, Los Alamos, New Mexico

My friend and I were throwing a bouncy-ball around in the dark, and while we were doing that my friend thought that we could throw it in the field across from my house so we could find it. When we were looking for it we did not see it, but we were approaching a coyote. We still didn't see it until we were face-to-face with it. I was so afraid of it I ran into my house screaming. Then I locked all of my doors.-Cody, age 11

My husband and I went coyote hunting several years ago near the mountains in Walden, Colorado. We were sitting on a hillside about 100 yards up the slope and began calling coyotes in to us with a rabbit call. It was about half an hour later that we saw our first coyote about 700-800 yards away. We continued to call with the rabbit call and the eeriest thing happened. From every hillside around us, we began to see coyotes moving in our direction. We counted over 15 coyotes approaching us from about 4 directions. The scary thing was instead of feeling like we were the hunters, we began to feel like we were the ones being hunted. It was the most amazing and eerie I have ever seen in the wild.-Rachel, hunter, Longmont, CO