May 11, 2000
Where Coyotes Howl .... by Dee Walmsley
“A fed coyote is a dead coyote,” states Kristine Lampa Executive Director of the Stanley Park Ecology Society. Kristine wrote her masters thesis on urban coyotes and has since become Vancouver’s expert on this much maligned critter. “We have a problem, and it’s a people problem,” she said. “Folks are feeding coyotes by hand and leaving out pet food in their yards turning these skittish canines into people friendly wild pets, unfortunately, it’s the coyote who suffers in the end.” Like them or not, coyotes are here to stay. It’s a matter of learning to live with them.
Coyotes kill cats! They certainly do as demonstrated by the recent discovery of a den containing 55 cat collars Coyotes can’t kill indoor cats which seems to be the most responsible solution to a common problem. . They have been known to take small dogs and in some cases a pack will use a female coyote to lure an unsuspecting amorous male dog into the fray and attack. These attacks are rare where coyote habitat is left in tact. Then they feast on rats, rabbits and other rodents considered pests by humans. Once again leashing and taking on the guardianship of your dog solves the problem.
City coyotes, if left unfed by backyard enthusiasts will survive. Their numbers may dwindle to a point where the food source and habitat allows them to continue to exist but those numbers will remain consistent. Feeding coyotes increases their population, which in the long run promotes diseases like canine distemper. This is nature’s way to cull the pack. When the natural food source is depleted by over-population the coyote is forced to seek out supplements in the way of family pets. By leaving pet food unattended and encouraging coyotes to eat human table-scraps the animals lose their fear of humans. Hand-fed coyotes are usually the animals that are responsible for people biting. They learn to associate an outstretched hand with food and when it’s not there the coyote bites at what it thinks is an offering. Panic prevails and the curious, hungry coyote ends up being killed as a vicious predator.
Coyotes mate for life. They thrive in family groupings with both parents raising the pups. They are opportunistic as is any urban wildlife and they are highly intelligent. Coyotes have been known to set their internal clocks by watching human’s habits. If the dog is fed outdoors at 5:00 pm everyday and the people eat at 5:30 pm the coyote will use that time to search out any snack knowing the humans are busy inside the house. If the family cat is thrown out each night at 11:00 pm or let out at 6:00 am each morning the old trickster will be there watching and waiting. We can learn to co-exist with this cunning canine by using our own wit and intelligence. Where the coyote howls depends on you.