Coexisting with Coyotes

By Jane A. White
Published on September 1, 2007
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Astute learners, these fuzzy pups will soon be able to fend for themselves.
Astute learners, these fuzzy pups will soon be able to fend for themselves.
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A full garbage can holds considerable interest for a hungry coyote, just as for any canine.
A full garbage can holds considerable interest for a hungry coyote, just as for any canine.

On April 4, a male coyote wandered into a Chicago fast-food restaurant. The following week, a female coyote was captured in front of the Federal Courthouse in downtown Detroit.

State departments of Natural Resources, Humane societies, city officials, and rural and urban families are experiencing close encounters of the coyote kind with ever increasing frequency. This is due in part to shrinking numbers of black bears, wolves, mountain lions and other top predators, but it is also related to urban sprawl and the associated loss of natural habitat. Farmers and ranchers have forever fought with the crafty coyote, but now the battles have moved to town.

How will I recognize it?

Coyotes (Canis latrans) belong to the dog family. With a weight of 25 to 35 pounds, they have pointed ears, yellow eyes, a narrow muzzle and a round, bushy, dropping tail with a black tip. Generally, the coyote’s upper body is a yellowish gray with a light-cream fur covering the throat and the underbelly.

What’s for dinner?

Coyotes are omnivorous scavengers, and while their primary diet consists of mice, rabbits, squirrels, insects, reptiles and berries of wild plants, they will eat garbage and various types of carrion, including roadkill. Coyotes only attack livestock and household pets when such animals are easy prey. Unsecured trash cans, overfilled bird feeders and outdoor pet-food bowls are also part of a coyote’s food supply.

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