Have you heard coyotes howling recently? Have you seen a coyote in your yard or along neighborhood streets?
Surprising as it may seem in an urban neighborhood such as Madison Park, the coyote has probably become well-established in the areas around the Washington Park Arboretum.
Coyotes have been spotted recently from the Evergreen Point Bridge south to Interstate 90, including several sightings in the Broadmoor community and golf course.
On a local website that monitors and maps coyote sightings in Seattle, (nw coyotetracker.googlepages.com), residents report more than two dozen recent sightings in the areas south of state Route 520 down to I-90, with most concentrated in and around the arboretum.
For some people, encounters with coyotes can be an intriguing glimpse of nature in the city. Coyotes are usually spotted trotting down a woodland trail or quiet street near dawn or dusk. They are typically non-intrusive and quite wary of humans.
PREDATORY ANIMALS
There may be benefits to urban coyotes. The wildlife advocacy group Fund for Wildlife points out on its website that coyotes enthusiastically hunt rodents: "Coyotes help keep the balance of nature in order.... An area with coyotes will not be overrun with mice, gophers, squirrels or rabbits."
If you've been bothered by rats or mice, you may welcome coyotes as natural pest controllers, much preferable to manufactured poisons or traps.
Occasionally, though, encounters with coyotes can be downright disturbing. Coyotes are resourceful, determined hunters, and they typically prey on small mammals. In the city, this can include not only rodents such as rats and squirrels, but also household pets.
Local newspapers contain several eyewitness reports of coyotes preying on pet cats. One person saw a coyote near her home with a dead cat in its mouth. Another found her own cat's fur in coyote droppings in her yard. An Eastside resident saw a coyote "sizing up" his poodle before he easily scared it away.
While wildlife biologists affirm that coyotes are virtually never aggressive to humans, in two separate incidents, a coyote bit two small children in the Eastgate area of Bellevue last year and was then tracked and killed by state wildlife officials.
NO GOVERNMENT ACTION YET
So, should urban-dwellers be alarmed by coyotes in the city? Should we discourage them, perhaps trap and remove them?
Or should we tolerate and even welcome them as representatives of nature in the middle of the city, living evidence that nature is resilient enough to adapt and even thrive in our urban environment?
Whatever action may be taken in the future, we will likely live with coyotes in our midst for some time to come. If past efforts to control urban wildlife are any guide - remember the sea lions at the Ballard Locks or the Canada geese at waterfront parks? - any proposal to remove the coyotes will likely meet with vigorous opposition and strong views on all sides.
So far, no one has made a serious, public proposal to remove or eradicate the coyotes from the city.
Coyotes "self-regulate" their population in their territory, which means that if their population drops for whatever reason, coyotes increase their numbers by either bearing more pups per litter, or even allowing other coyotes to move into their range.
Even if the city decided to try to get rid of its urban coyotes, actually doing so might not be easy.
LIVING WITH COYOTES
Here are steps you can take to live successfully with coyotes in the neighborhood:
❚ Learn about the coyote.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has information on the coyote at Living with Coyotes. The Fund for Wildlife has tips for co-existing with coyotes and other urban wildlife at www.fundwildlife.org/coexist.html.
❚ Think carefully about whether and when to let small pets, particularly cats, outside.
Most cat breeders adamantly advise against letting cats roam outdoors as a general rule, and the Fund for Wildlife recommends letting cats and other small pets outdoors "only under strict supervision" to avoid predation by coyotes and other wildlife. Some cat owners may find this a difficult (if not downright impossible) limitation on their pets' lives.
❚ Avoid inadvertently feeding coyotes.
Coyotes are opportunistic, adaptable feeders who will readily forage for food, including fruit, edible garbage and pet food. Make sure garbage cans are not accessible to them, pick fruit from your garden as soon as it is ready and keep pet food inside.
❚ Avoid close interactions.
While coyotes generally try to avoid encounters with humans, they may react aggressively to being approached, particularly if a female perceives danger to her pups.
If one approaches you, pick up small children and make yourself appear large and formidable by yelling, throwing stones or sticks and waving your arms.
