West Seattle coyotes: 4 sightings, South Admiral to Highland Park

Bryan photographed that coyote in his back yard near 36th and Hinds, where he says it’s showed up the past two days. That’s one of four sightings we’ve received in the past five days, including:

*13th and Cloverdale (same area mentioned during last week’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting), last Friday morning. Amy writes, “I was walking home from dropping my kindergartner off at Highland Park Elementary. I was heading west on Cloverdale and saw the coyote on the corner of 13th and Cloverdale.”

*Also in Highland Park, last Thursday. Erin writes, “Saw a coyote … run across our backyard that borders the greenbelt in Highland Park. After clapping loudly to scare it away, I realized there was a second one off in the woods in a different direction.”

*From the Fairmount Ravine area, Jennifer sent in a “found cat” note last week – after, she said, “I just had a coyote chase a young gray cat into my yard. … He sat down across the street from my partner and yawned at him this morning when he interrupted the cat chase by going out to get in his car.”

We report periodically on coyote sightings not in the interest of hysteria, but in the interest of neighbors reminding neighbors that they live among us. For answers to questions such as “what do I do if I see one?” and “what do I do to encourage them to keep their distance?” the state’s Living With Wildlife: Coyotes infopage offers thorough advice. Archived coyote reports published on WSB can be found here; the map we published earlier this year, to show all the places WSB readers have reported sightings since 2007, can be seen here.

28 Replies to "West Seattle coyotes: 4 sightings, South Admiral to Highland Park"

  • Rebecca October 2, 2012 (8:16 am)

    Thank you for rescuing the cat!

  • Highland Park Paula October 2, 2012 (8:32 am)

    There is an abandoned house at the corner of 13th Ave. SW & SW Cloverdale. It has been vacant for over 20 years is overgrown with blackberries and other bushes. I saw a large coyote Sunday at 9:30 a.m., running down the middle of Cloverdale between 13th and 14th Avenues. He saw me and ducked into the bushes by the abandoned house. Talking to neighbors, it appears he is a fixture in our area. Guess I’d better poke the City about that neglected property.

  • coyoteandthecat October 2, 2012 (8:37 am)

    Better than a homeless drug addict hiding in those blackbeery bushes huh?

  • w.s. maverick October 2, 2012 (9:23 am)

    we should bring back the wild animal population its good for the environment

  • marcus ativalu October 2, 2012 (10:47 am)

    see em weekly here in highland park near the greenbelt
    keeping rodent #s down on my street

  • NeoYogi October 2, 2012 (10:49 am)

    That one at 36th & Hinds explains why the neighborhood dogs have been freaking out lately!

  • WestSeattleDrew October 2, 2012 (11:03 am)

    I love the coyotes. Look at that camouflage!

  • ad October 2, 2012 (1:22 pm)

    I think it needs to rain?

  • BeFree October 2, 2012 (2:16 pm)

    Saw one on Sunday around 2pm on 3rd Ave just inside the Westcrest park boundry.

  • G October 2, 2012 (3:23 pm)

    LA, like other cities, is seeing the same influx of coyotes and people are wondering what to do about it, if anything. From what I’ve read, not a whole lot one can do once they have settled in. Looks like folks are going to have to adapt, like it or not.

  • Tk October 2, 2012 (4:12 pm)

    Asked my ex to take our husky dog on a hike last weekend in the greenbelt in highland park. Like a dummy he let her run, alone with her leash still on and she got caught! It took me 5 whole hours to find her, hike back out, hike back in, hike out again, drive around at the bottom of the hill, hike back in again and swim through a 200ft sea of sticker bushes to release her. She would have been a meal for the coyotes that night!!! It was extremely stressful situation. This article confirms my strong reaction and the way I handled that situation; with tremendous urgency! So great full she’s alive! (posting from mobile, Please excuse brevity & typos. )

  • Todd October 2, 2012 (4:31 pm)

    Jennifer,
    Is the grey cat you found a long haired cat with
    white toes and bib? We lost our cat several months ago and believe it was likely attacked by coyotes. We live near the Fairmount ravine. It would be a miracle if our cat was still alive.

  • Rebecca October 2, 2012 (4:33 pm)

    The issue of adapting is an important one, but adapting is not the same as just “live and let live.” Coyotes can and will become human aggressive if we don’t teach them that they’re the ones living next to predators (us). If you like the coyotes, be mean to them. Yell at them, throw things at them, and make them fear you. That’s their best chance for survival. The coyotes here are considered problem animals not because they’re in the city, but because they have no hesitation about entering yards, attacking dogs that are standing next to people, and getting into stare-downs with humans. Those are all big problems because wildlife experts will tell you that before humans(i.e. children) get attacked, the coyotes need to get comfy. Those who make them comfortable should be ashamed of themselves. If you like the coyotes, make sure we don’t see them. No one should be able to photograph coyotes because they should take off running at the mere sight of a person.

  • lily October 2, 2012 (4:48 pm)

    Tk>>>”let her run” is that one of the reasons he’s an Ex?

    Anyways YES we do need to get used to the coyotes, they’re here and I don’t think they’ll be going anywhere so keep you Cats inside and your dogs leashed and close to you.

    That picture though… the coyote looks very thin & underfed. :(

  • G October 2, 2012 (5:49 pm)

    Adapting does not mean waving the white flag and pretending that they are not dangerous wild animals, which they are. People like to attribute human qualities to their pets, but please do not do this with coyotes.

  • Keith October 2, 2012 (5:51 pm)

    Do coyotes eat raccoons? If so, how can I go about ordering a few more pups for Highland Park? Also- Do we know if feeding them dog food will decrease their drive to hunt the raccoons, or conversely, give them more stamina for the raccoon hunting?

    • WSB October 2, 2012 (6:08 pm)

      Keith: Assuming any part of your question is serious – whatever you do, NO dog food. If you follow the link to the state-provided information, it will point out that leaving pet food out is one of the things that causes wildlife to come in closer, lose its fear of people, decide neighborhoods are great places to hang around and get comfy.

  • Keith October 2, 2012 (6:31 pm)

    Yes…not serious, but thanks for clarifying. Unless they do really eat raccoons, then I’m serious. Let’s leave the poor puppies alone. We should REALLY be collectively shifting our attention to the Raccoons- The coyotes don’t keep chewing the plastic ports off of fountain pumps, tear up the sod every goddamn night, tear up landscape lighting, flowers and border edging… Coyotes may stay. Raccoons must go.

  • JayDee October 2, 2012 (6:49 pm)

    I live west of Schmitz Park, and I have heard them at 5:45 a few mornings yipping and howling in the park…hard to say how many but more than 2 of them. I tell my inside cats that the coyotes are looking to have them for breakfast.

  • MMB October 2, 2012 (8:08 pm)

    +1 for annoyed by varmints. Squirrels (non-native, btw) and/or raccoons ate all my strawberries, my squashes and sunflowers. I hope the coyotes feed on those pests. They (the varmints) probably could all stand to be thinned out a bit.

  • K October 2, 2012 (8:40 pm)

    My daughter woke up 2 nights ago at 1 am to a coyote carrying a squawking chicken across the street. We have also had loose chickens in HPV also. It was a young one, but not a pup anymore.

  • Marcus M October 2, 2012 (8:52 pm)

    That is a powerful cloaking device on that there coyote

  • Mike October 4, 2012 (12:14 am)

    I saw a cougar in the Junction. She was walking into a restaurant. Scary times people… scary times.

  • SD October 7, 2012 (9:04 pm)

    I saw a coyote racing up from the beach on SW Brace Point around 8:40 AM today. I followed it by car up to the Arbor Heights area where it escaped through someone’s yard.

  • LT October 9, 2012 (11:59 pm)

    I’m from NC — visiting Issaquah this week. While staying at the Hilton off Gilmore Rd, saw what looked like a coyote running across the parking lot. It kind of shocked me; I’ve seen coyotes at home in the country but didn’t expect one to be running across the parking lot at the hotel. Which led me to look it up on the web and I came across this site.

  • Dead Cat owner October 11, 2012 (7:45 am)

    Seems my cat got eaten by a coyote last night per my neighbor who saw the whole thing take place. I am in the 5200 block of 42nd across from Rite Aid. Didn’t know the had made it to my neighborhood. They will have a lot to eat there because of a huge feral cat population. At least that might be thinned out or removed all together.

    • WSB October 11, 2012 (7:56 am)

      Sorry to hear about your cat. You have to assume they are in ALL neighborhoods. We will include your report in the next coyote roundup, which is in the works … TR

  • kppets October 18, 2012 (3:21 pm)

    COYOTE in yard this AM Just east of Delridge across from Home Depot, only one, not shy and took sweet time leaving yard upon seeing me, when I came back out of house in the yard again

Sorry, comment time is over.