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| Coyote in Shoreline Photo by Susan Riley |
If you see a coyote passing through your neighborhood, there is no need to report it. They are a natural part of our environment.
However, to ensure the safety of you, your children, and your pets, it is important to keep a few things in mind.
The best strategy to prevent conflicts with coyotes is to avoid attracting them:
- Don’t leave small children unattended where coyotes are often seen or heard.
- Keep dogs and cats indoors, especially from dusk to dawn.
- Never ever feed coyotes, raccoons, squirrels. Do feed birds.
- Don’t give coyotes access to garbage or compost.
- Feed dogs and cats indoors or bring the food dishes in as soon as they are done.
- If you are feeding free-roaming cats, don't leave the food out, particularly at night.
- Prevent the buildup of feeder food under bird feeders.
- Enclose poultry and other small animals that live outdoors in a secure outdoor pen and house.
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| Shoreline coyote Photo by Bill Schnall |
If it comes towards you, act aggressively toward the coyote. Wave your arms, throw stones, and shout at the coyote. If necessary, make yourself look larger.
Do not turn and run. If a coyote does not scare easily, it most likely has become accustomed to humans through food. People have either fed the coyote or left easily accessible food sources around their homes.
If a coyote continues to act aggressively or in an unusual way, then contact the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) North Puget Sound office at 425-775-1311. In an emergency, dial 911.
WDFW handles wildlife management in the state. The Cities do not offer trapping, translocation, or lethal removal services. Only in extreme cases of a coyote acting aggressively will WDFW or the City act to remove the animal.
More information on coyotes from Department of Fish and Wildlife.
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| Paramount Park Photo by Janet Way |
WDFW handles wildlife management in the state. The Cities do not offer trapping, translocation, or lethal removal services. Only in extreme cases of a coyote acting aggressively will WDFW or the City act to remove the animal.
More information on coyotes from Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Where can I hire a roadrunner?!
ReplyDeleteLet me start by saying I love coyotes. I travel to remote areas of our state frequently and love to hear their calls at night. But that's where coyotes belong --- out there, not in the city.
ReplyDeleteIt is a mistake for us to tolerate urban coyotes. Coyotes are a nuisance in the city and should be relegated to rural environments where they belong. Coyotes eat cats and small dogs. They raid chicken coops. They may even attack small children who might be unattended for a few moments. Coyotes used to live in the shadows, but now they'll brazenly trot down the middle of the street. They will continue to embolden as we enable them through excessive tolerance.
I suspect the reason we see more coyotes than we used to is because people used to shoot them on sight decades ago and not make a big fuss about it. Yes, even in Shoreline. I'm not suggesting that we go back to doing that, but there were a lot fewer brokenhearted people putting up Lost Pet signs. We should have an active trap, neuter, relocate, euthanize infrastructure to deal with them.
We are choosing to coexist with dangerous predators who were not tolerated in Shoreline for decades. We should embrace our previous intolerance before the problem gets bad enough that children end up dead.
We can live alongside wildlife if we are willing to negotiate some of our expectations and "back in the good old days" = most people now days understand cats should be inside only as they murder so many birds.I believe coyotes eat more rats and rabbits than dogs and cats.
ReplyDelete