Don’t feed the coyotes

Both urban and rural Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary managers across Washington have experienced that shadow of grayish-brown fur, those furtive backward glances, or the yipping, yelping song of coyotes.

Canis latrans is everywhere because the species is adaptable to almost every conceivable habitat type, from forested mountains to downtown waterfront. It’s also intelligent, and usually shy enough, to co-exist relatively easily with humans.

Most wildlife enthusiasts appreciate or admire the wily tenacity and beauty of the coyote. But this year in Washington coyotes officially joined the ranks of potentially dangerous wildlife.

This spring, two toddlers, an adult, and a dog were bitten by coyotes in the Bellevue and Issaquah areas. A 1 ½-year-old boy was bitten on the ear while playing under the supervision of his parents at an elementary school playground. A 4-year-old boy was bitten on the buttocks in the yard of his home. A woman was bitten on the leg in the afternoon as she was walking on a sidewalk to pick her child up from school. And a pet toy poodle was attacked while being walked on a leash in town. The children and woman were medically treated and underwent rabies vaccinations just in case the coyote was rabid; the dog also recovered after treatment.

Due to the proximity of the incidents in both time and place, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) investigating officers believed the same coyote could have been involved in the attacks on people. Weeks after the incidents, a WDFW officer shot and killed a coyote believed to be the offending animal. Because it was shot in the head, it could not be tested for rabies. (To date there is no documentation of rabies in coyotes in Washington, but rabid coyotes have been found in other parts of North America.)

The coyote attacks on humans were the first ever recorded in Washington.

California has been dealing with such incidents for several years in some communities where some coyotes have become habituated to humans, usually through an association with food.

WDFW wildlife biologists believe the coyote or coyotes involved in the attacks here this year may have become aggressive because they were accustomed to getting food—either intentionally or inadvertently—from humans. Once individual coyotes learn about easy meals, they become overly familiar with people, start traveling during the day, and develop unusually bold and aggressive behavior.

Coyotes are opportunistic scavengers and hunters who are known to eat a wide variety of food: grass, berries, other fruit, grasshoppers and other insects, small mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, garden vegetables, poultry and other livestock, domestic cats and small dogs, pet food, wild bird seed, and garbage.
If a food source remains available, and if people fail to establish their own territorial boundaries by harassing a bold coyote out of their area, another potentially dangerous incident could occur.

The most important way to minimize the likelihood of a coyote interaction is to not feed them, certainly not intentionally, but also not inadvertently.

Here are some specific steps to take to avoid problems with coyotes:

• Keep garbage and compost piles securely covered.
• Keep pet food and water inside.
• Keep pets indoors or confined in a kennel or covered exercise yard.
• Do not feed any wildlife on the ground; keep wild bird seed in elevated feeders designed for birds, and clean up spilled seed from the ground.
• Do not feed feral cats; coyotes prey on the cats and feed on cat food left out for them.
• Minimize ground cover vegetation near children's play areas, to avoid attracting rodents and small mammals that in turn attract coyotes.
• Use noise-making devices when coyotes are seen; check with local authorities regarding noise and firearm ordinances.
• Be assertive toward coyotes that do not show fear of humans; clap hands, shout and throw rocks at individuals that venture too close to people, pets and homes.

Coyotes are clever enough to be around as long as we are, so we need to learn to co-exist with them and enjoy them from afar.

More information on coyotes is available on the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/coyotes.htm