West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle wildlife: Longfellow Creek coyote’s breakfast

July 24, 2011 at 3:10 pm | In Coyotes, West Seattle news, Wildlife | 33 Comments

Jen Izutsu shared the photo of a coyote spotted near Longfellow Creek this morning – having a snake for breakfast. Snakes are part of the long list of potential food sources listed for coyotes on the state’s “Living With Wildlife: Coexisting With Coyotes” page, though we tend to hear more often about cats. And we’ll remind you that experts urge you to startle and scare coyotes when you are near them – to ensure we can keep our mutual distance, which they say is better for all concerned.

33 Comments

1. What an absolutely gorgeous picture!!

   Comment by AG — 3:14 pm July 24, 2011 #

2. Mmmm, having me a liitle snake sushi for lunch today!

   Comment by Vanessa — 3:18 pm July 24, 2011 #

3. Great shot Jen!

   Comment by cjboffoli — 3:32 pm July 24, 2011 #

4. Coexisting with coyotes? Heck when are they going to put a bounty on these house pet killers? They need to be traped then either taken away or nuetered as to not reproduce in the neighborhood. Heck I guess nothing will happen till one grabs a small kid at the park or maybe your backyard.

   Comment by Foy boy — 3:47 pm July 24, 2011 #

5. How lucky for you, Jen, to have witnessed two such rare species to see! I’d love to see a snake around here.

   Comment by Trileigh — 4:16 pm July 24, 2011 #

6. Great pic!
   .
   Foy boy, pets that are outside are more of a nuisance than coyotes. Did you know it’s legal to trap pets that are on your property, peeing and pooping in your yard. Cats that jump into kids play sandbox and poop in it cause more health issues than Coyotes. When’s the last time you heard of a coyote attack on a human? I hear about cat scratches/bites and dog bites more and more every day. You’re more likely to hurt yourself or somebody else driving around West Seattle than to be hurt by a coyote. Maybe we should just ban you from being in West Seattle?

   Comment by Mike — 5:01 pm July 24, 2011 #

7. Heck I guess as long as people keep “house pets” outside of their houses, those pets will encounter the rest of the world we all have to share and coexist in.
   .
   Also, lovely photograph!

   Comment by mookie — 6:14 pm July 24, 2011 #

8. Already said, but. GREAT pic!!!

   Comment by Beth — 6:25 pm July 24, 2011 #

9. Trapped and removed? With what money? This city can’t even afford to fill potholes.
   .
   There’s a very easy way to keep a coyote from attacking your pet. While you’re at it, secure your garbage, don’t leave pet food outside, and don’t act friendly towards them.
   .
   Or you could move to the country and shoot them yourself.

   Comment by datamuse — 7:14 pm July 24, 2011 #

10. Snake for breakfast? Honey badger doesn’t care.

    Comment by SomeGuy — 7:31 pm July 24, 2011 #

11. OMG, my pet snake has been missing since this morning!

    Comment by casaboba — 8:55 pm July 24, 2011 #

12. SomeGuy FTW!

    Comment by S5 — 10:06 pm July 24, 2011 #

13. Not sure whether to thank or curse you all for forcing me to Google that and watching the video it led me to.

    Comment by WSB — 10:17 pm July 24, 2011 #

14. Honey Badger don’t care, Honey Badger doesn’t give a sh*t, he just takes what he wants. The Honey Badger.

    Yay Coyotes – you were here first – have fun catching things to live on. If you care about your pets and kids – keep them inside and within your view.

    Comment by ZippyDogs — 10:41 pm July 24, 2011 #

15. SomeGuy, right on! Jen, great photo!

    Comment by Valerie — 10:47 pm July 24, 2011 #

16. How about banning humans from further encroching upon their natural habitat. They were here first and deserve to stay. I saw and tracked a coyote on cali in the admiral district a couple weeks ago on my early morning walk to work. I love seeing wildlife in urban areas. Gives us great oppurtunities to teach our kids respect and how to coexist!

    Comment by Will — 1:36 am July 25, 2011 #

17. Love, love, love the photo!! Thanks! And happy to see all the recommendations to keep pets in. Just had a cat in my yard this morning and said to my husband, “coyote food.”
    .
    Now I guess I have to google “honey badger.”

    Comment by amalia — 7:59 am July 25, 2011 #

18. beautiful photo! You can see the intelligence and confidence of this social animal.

    Comment by I. Ponder — 8:24 am July 25, 2011 #

19. I’d love to use that picture as my desktop background. Jen, are you willing to share a larger copy?

    Comment by A — 8:40 am July 25, 2011 #

20. Love honey badger….be sure to watch the original version (a bit dry & boring)—it will make the ‘revised’ version even funnier!

    Foy Boy–TNR coyotes…(Trap-neuter-return)…good idea. If 70% of the population is spay/neutered, then the population level will stablize.

    Pet owners….keep you pets inside or a your side at all times. If you want to give your pets outdoor time, with you around, get a dog run and put a roof on it so your pet will be safe. It’s an inexpensive way to keep your pets healthy and safe.

    Comment by funkie — 8:47 am July 25, 2011 #

21. To be fair, coyotes’ range has expanded considerably over the last couple of centuries; they’ve been seen in New England and even Washington, D.C. (insert your own joke here). Human habitations, especially suburban environments, are tailor-made for them, especially since rodents that are common human pests make up a significant part of their diet.
    .
    Mind you, the expansion of coyotes’ range has also been attributed to the decline of wolves, which competed with coyotes for food and kept their populations in check. Therefore, clearly the solution is introduce wolves into Seattle. :D

    Comment by datamuse — 11:43 am July 25, 2011 #

22. Was just making up bed time stories with my 5 yo daughter which included unicorns, ferry boats, dogs named Larry, snakes and, you guessed it, Honey Badger! Because Honey Badger don’t care. He ate Larry the dog. And then the pirate captain of the ferry boat had to kill Honey Badger dead.
    .
    Not kidding. This is really the story she was making up. And I 3rd or 4th the opinion about this photo; it’s excellent!
    .
    PS I love the Honey Badger video(s) on YouTube. Funniest thing ever!

    Comment by Jasperblu — 8:53 pm July 25, 2011 #

23. Awesome shot!

    Comment by Cc — 10:46 pm July 25, 2011 #

24. Neither coyotes or snakes are endangered. Coyotes are everywhere and snakes are too. Coyotes are canines and as intelligent as your dog the only difference is that they are wild and still have instincts your dog no longer has. There is nothing beautiful about any wild animals life. It is a constant struggle to find food. They are constantly plaqued by fleas and worms. And they all have some animal bigger, smarter, or stronger then they trying to kill them. Disney did us no favors.

    Comment by Barb Wuerth — 11:12 pm July 25, 2011 #

25. Truly a bad idea to spay and nueter a wild animal. Who we DO need to spay and nueters are cats/dogs. People should also be responsible for their pets. There are more risk than coyotes in the outside world. Just be aware if you let your pet roam freely, you may never see them again. Spay/nueter, leash and scoop after your dogs and keep your small animals inside. If you own a pet be prepared to take complete responsibility for them.

    Comment by Will — 11:33 pm July 25, 2011 #

26. Love the picture. From a country girl raised around coyotes you don’t have to worry about aggresion towards humans. Media is wrong, imbrace but don’t approach. If you are worried about your small dogs, cats–keep them inside. these are not aggresive dogs, only hungry.

    Comment by seattlegirl — 12:25 am July 26, 2011 #

27. A – you can right click and save it directly from WSB.
    Someguy – thanks for implying the connection. Honey Badger and coyote are obviously badass kindred spirits. There he is, running in slow motion again. Oh look! He’s chasing things and eating them!

    Comment by Claire — 7:33 am July 26, 2011 #

28. Yeah I know how to save from WSB. The picture uploaded here is quite small, however, and pixelates when enlarged. I was hoping for an original-sized copy if the photographer is willing to make it available. It’s such a neat picture.

    Comment by A — 11:36 am July 26, 2011 #

29. If Jen doesn’t respond here, I’ll send her a note later. Unlike most photos we get, this one was sent to me in the size we publish – 490 pixels wide. Not that I would ever redistribute a contributed photo (we take huge pains to honor people’s rights to their own work, and always forward inquiries directly to the photographer, whether a reader contributor or someone who handled a paid assignment for us), but just wanted to note that I don’t even have a larger copy. – TR

    Comment by WSB — 11:41 am July 26, 2011 #

30. Sorry for the delay in response! Yes, the size was intentional but decided to put a larger image on my blog. It is not the original size, but larger. Thanks!

    http://mycreepingviolet.blogspot.com/

    Comment by jen i — 12:20 pm July 26, 2011 #

31. Its really kinda badass!~

    Comment by KristinaNoir — 12:42 pm July 26, 2011 #

32. That is one proud and beautiful looking coyote. We need to give them their space and leave them alone. We’re the ones that need to be spayed and neutered. One child per couple for the next 2 generations….that’ll cut the population to 1/4 of today. Relocate all people to coastal city’s and leave the rest of the interior alone. Science agrees and that’s where I heard this from.

    Comment by Cowpie — 2:59 pm July 26, 2011 #

33. Today (7/29/’11), at 4:45 a.m. I saw a BIG male coyote in the middle of the 1100 Block of Sunset Avenue SW in North Admiral.

    Comment by Aman — 11:48 am July 29, 2011 #

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