Coyotes and humans increasingly cross paths here. Experts offer advice about co-existing
In the early morning hours on a day in September, Sherri and Joe Earl, residents of Olympia’s east side, got a notification from their Ring camera.
The 6 a.m. footage captured an adorable, curious coyote sniffing around their porch, seemingly unbothered by its proximity to the humans inside the house.
Sherri told McClatchy she was “kind of surprised” that the coyote came right to the front door and looked as if it would have walked in if given the opportunity. She said the furry creature left some scat on their sidewalk before it took off.
While the Earls’ coyote experience was pleasant enough, a quick view of almost any Nextdoor neighborhood page will give readers examples of coyotes misbehaving in urban and suburban areas.
But experts say there are some ways that humans can interact with coyotes so that everyone can co-exist.
Coyotes are adaptable
Jennifer Bacar, communications manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, told McClatchy that coyotes are a unique species.
While other wildlife species are uniquely adapted to certain habitats or ecosystems, coyotes are what’s known as “generalists” and have been able to find success in a variety of ecosystems — including human neighborhoods.
Coyotes have also figured out that garbage cans provide a nice source of food.
“The coyote has actually evolved, or responded quite well, to human development and has found its space alongside humans in a lot of urban and suburban areas,” Bacar said.
Katie Remine, the Living Northwest Conservation Manager in the Wildlife Conservation division at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, told McClatchy that coyotes are also known as being “behaviorally plastic” because of their adaptability and that this means they can be found almost anywhere in the state, except for high mountain areas.
In terms of where coyotes like to hang out, Remine said they like sheltered areas such as blackberry thickets and dense shrubs or under logs to sleep and to keep their dens.
When they’re hunting and finding food, they tend to roam.
“A lot of people think of natural coyote behavior as being only active at night, but that’s not really the case in urban and suburban habitats,” Remine added.
Remine said coyotes don’t travel in “packs” like wolves but instead travel in small “family groups.” Coyotes have their pups in the spring, which is when they will find sites to keep their dens.
“That’s when female coyotes are very protective of their pups, just like most mothers would be,” Remine said. “So that’s the time when they’re going to be most vigilant around their den area – they’ll really be looking and keeping an eye on what’s going on.
“And that’s the time of year where people can encounter coyotes and it feels like it can be an uncomfortable encounter, because the females will stand and watch and might even escort. They want to make sure you’re going away.”
Pups typically stay in the den for six weeks, and will hang around the den for six to nine months. Around fall and winter is when those pups, now grown, will begin to wander. This time of the year is when people most often encounter coyotes, she said, as they find their way around and learn the terrain.
Residents may notice coyote howling in their neighborhoods. She said they have unique vocal capabilities where their howl can sound like a bigger group of coyotes when really it may just be two to three of them.
Coyotes usually howl as a means of social contact such as communicating with other family groups, she noted. It can also mean sometimes that they are agitated or disturbed.
How to reduce coyote interactions at your home
One of the best ways people can “keep all wildlife wild” is to limit those human-provided attractants, Bacar noted. Keep trash cans sealed and out of reach, and don’t leave dog or cat food outside. Fallen fruit from a tree or orchard should be picked up to prevent a constant food source.
While coyotes are more active at dawn and dusk, Bacar and Remine advised that pet owners should never leave small pets unattended outside, dogs should be kept on a leash when on walks, chickens should be kept in enclosed coops, and cat owners should find alternatives for their outdoor cats such as “catios”.
Electric fences are also good deterrents, Bacar said.
“Unfortunately, things like cats are not an uncommon target for coyotes in terms of prey,” Bacar noted. “...If a coyote were to encounter your cat at high noon, and it had the opportunity, it probably wouldn’t turn that down just because it’s not prime hunting time.”
What to do if you encounter a coyote
So what should you do if you encounter a coyote in a space where you don’t think it belongs?
Bacar and Remine both told McClatchy that it’s OK to do what is called “humane hazing” – clapping your hands, shouting, and jingling or even throwing your keys to get them to back off.
But make sure you don’t run away.
“Stand your ground because coyotes chase their prey,” Bacar said.
Small children should be picked up, but older children can be taught to stand their ground with others to appear like a bigger group. Making yourself appear “big” is important too.
“One thing that’s very clear is that we’re here and they’re here, and neither of us is going away,” Remine said. “We’ve tried to get rid of coyotes for hundreds of years, and it doesn’t work. They respond by having more babies and finding new ways to kind of get by, and so that, to me, is admirable.
“They’re real survivors. And they’re really adaptable. So that just means, ‘OK, we do need to figure out how to coexist.’”
If you do see a coyote, the Woodland Park Zoo has a resource where you can report your sightings that isn’t limited to a specific geographic area: carnivorespotter.org.
This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
