West Seattle wildlife: Coyote not fazed by weather

| Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Quick break for a couple more short stories before we resume weather-related coverage. From Charley:

Today (Tuesday the 17th of January) a young coyote was spotted roaming around Riverview Park neighborhood. He visited many neighbors’ backyards and seemed harmless (maybe just a little hungry). He was later spotted going into a wooded area, which later he left to roam around more.

The WSB archive of West Seattle coyote reports – including what to do if you see one (hint: make a lot of noise – they and we need to remain wary of each other) – can be found here.

OP January 17, 2012 (3:30 pm)

What weather.

jiggers January 17, 2012 (5:52 pm)

yeah what weather..i made plans to go camping tonight. oh that’s every night…:)

obvious January 17, 2012 (5:59 pm)

I would suspect that most, if not all wild animals are not fazed by temporary weather events like this, seeing as how they don’t have heated homes to relate to. Living outdoors 24/7/365 regardless of weather is what makes them “wild”.

thistle stair January 17, 2012 (6:06 pm)

what is the difference between an off lease dog and a coyote?

JoAnne January 17, 2012 (6:42 pm)

An off-leash dog might not eat your cat?

obvious January 17, 2012 (6:47 pm)

You can’t ticket the coyote’s owner?

datamuse January 17, 2012 (8:12 pm)

In my experience? A coyote runs away from me.

An off-leash dog runs toward me, sometimes barking and snarling.

Alkira January 17, 2012 (9:11 pm)

to thistle stair: a coyote is an animal native to this area.

I own a pet that could be easily maimed or killed by a coyote or a raccoon. The answer is not to round up the coyotes or the raccoons, but for me to to understand that I live in an area that requires me to keep an eye on my pet and take extra measures to keep him safe. I keep him indoors, in a dog park or leash at all times in West Seattle. My small dog isn’t native to this area. They coyotes and the raccoons are and we don’t have the ethical right to keep them out.

I love that we have wildlife here! May that always be the case!

PS: That is a beautiful coyote. Thanks to whomever took the picture!

tk January 17, 2012 (11:38 pm)

Hey coyote, Come eat my cat. He keeps peeing on my clothes!!! LMAO! It’s nature’s way right?

WSB January 17, 2012 (11:43 pm)

Gosh, TK, that’s harsh. We have a cat with a little self-control problem and we just keep his target areas locked off, which seems to do the trick … TR

JoAnne January 18, 2012 (7:40 am)

Please, please, please do your homework before commenting about local native species.
.

Coyotes are absolutely NOT native animals here!
.
Coyote populations have exploded throughout the U.S., and the PNW is one of many areas to which they have expanded their range.

WSwalker January 18, 2012 (9:52 am)

Coyotes, are not concidered native to the westside, but have spread from eastern wash. due to human activity, clearcutting and roads. I welcome them! Keep your non-native cats indoors and enjoy the wildlife in your back yard such as songbirds.

Moose January 18, 2012 (10:32 am)

We’re not exactly natives either…

Moose January 18, 2012 (10:39 am)

We’re not exactly native either…

ltfd January 18, 2012 (2:34 pm)

Here’s a document outlining the historical range of the coyote in North American, and the coyotes’ range expansion following European settlement:

http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/coyotes.pdf

cherstef January 18, 2012 (3:18 pm)

We have developed every inch of land and cut down all the trees and ravaged the wooded areas in this area to the point the wild life has nowhere to go. We are IN their homes and they don’t have a choice to move elsewhere. Shame on us. How would you like to come home to someone squatting on YOUR land. That is why you are seeing so many out and about in your neighborhoods…It’s because it was THEIR neighborhood….

Sorry, comment time is over.