Coyotes and the food chain

I've noticed more & more coyotes in the area...more than before. There is always plenty of raccoons around here. Does anyone know if the increase in coyotes will impact as a reduction in the raccoon population. It would be a good relief to the gardeners around here. Do they usually hunt them?
Can anyone help me with who would win the match listed below:

Fox vs Raccoon = winner
Coyote vs Raccoon=winner

 

Coyotes and racoons are not usually a war with each other, in my view... for example, coyotes on the West Coast will attack small pets before they venture on a frisky racoon....

 

Partly depends on the size & experience of the coon. In Texas I actually saw what the rancher called "a wily old coon" take on a big black & tan and send him away screeching, with nose, lips, & ears in tatters. The rancher and I both estimated the coon to be well over 20lbs. The vet said it was a wonder the dog survived. Maybe that's why coyotes take pets - they seem to be well aware of the energy expense vs. benefit equation.

 

Ditto here in central Ohio. Coyotes are appearing more frequently in backyards, and are featured on the evening news when they make a meal of a suburban Shih-Tzu. Why take on an animal who is instantly ready to defend itself when you can easily pounce on an unsuspecting pet? Of course, coyotes do eat when not on camera, so raccoon is probably on their menu, especially ill or disabled ones. Not nearly so newsworthy.

I live in an urban area, and am continually surprised by the number of raccoons and possums that visit my backyard. Just about any night when I go outside to take out the trash, etc. I will hear a rustling under the arborvitaes...then I see a pointy white face peering at me from the shadows. ---Deer have been common around here for a long time: the isolated populations in park areas are not hunted, so overpopulate and self-cull by unsuccessful ventures onto local freeways. I daresay coyotes would have no qualms about roadkill.

If only coyotes had a taste for squirrels...

 

How do they get over walls and fences? Wouldn't have thought they were good enough at jumping.

 

Fences aren't a problem for them...as for walls there is always an alternate route around the corner for them.

 

Can they really jump over a normal 1.5-2m high garden fence? That would make them a lot more agile than either foxes or pet dogs.

Not for back gardens there isn't usually!

 

I've seen a coyote (effortlessly?) jump on to a highway barrier (~1m high) and then make another leap from there in one fluid motion. So, I suppose 1.5m isn't out of the question.

 

My roughly 20 pound dog used to jump to the top of a neck-height wood fence and perch there while attempting to intercept fleeing gray squirrels. A book I have on gardening with wildlife has a diagram of fencing designed to exclude coyotes, don't have it in front of me but I believe it indicates the fence must be at least 7 feet tall AND with a top that curves back, as with a slug barrier in order to be sure of keeping them out.

 

nice one what kind of fence will keep a raccoon out?
what's this book called?

 

I think there's one out called Gardening with Wildlife and I may have seen another in stores recently. There are web pages up on this topic also, from government agencies and other sources.

Not sure if I have two copies of the same title, by mistake in the one library (I post from two different locations) or if I have two different books. The office they are in is a bit disheveled at the moment.

 

Raccoons can climb just about anything; so it would be difficult to design a fence to keep them out. The only effective fence that I'm aware of is an electric fence.