(November 2nd photo by Scott Painter)
That photo was taken at Camp Long about 400 feet north of the lodge, by the photographer’s estimate. But as you’ll see in this roundup of recent reports received from WSB readers, they don’t by any means limit themselves to parks and greenbelts. The photographs we receive tend to show them in those settings, but here’s one spotted on a neighborhood sidewalk:
Katina, who shared that photo, explained:
My family and I encountered this coyote at the intersection of Walnut Ave SW and SW Hinds (October 28th) at 10:30 am. It was clearly injured about the neck area. It was originally sitting in the middle to the street, but began to run as our car approached. It then slowed down and just stared at us before taking off down 40th Ave SW.
Seven more recent reports are ahead, starting with a pet owner who saw two coyotes make off with her cat:
Maggie sent this on Friday:
My cat was taken from my front porch by two coyotes (Thursday) night and left dead /eaten on my neighbor’s lawn. I saw them with my own eyes. We live on 52nd Avenue up on Genesee hill. Our porch is up several stairs; it was a bold move to get her there. We are not next to open space.
Please, please get the word out that it does not matter where you are located, if you are in West Seattle, your cat and/or small dog can be taken from your front door.
Get your pets in by dark. I wouldn’t wish this day on anyone and, unfortunately, it was avoidable.
Earlier on Friday, we had received this note from Meg, which might be related to Maggie’s story:
This morning there was a sighting of a large coyote on 52nd Ave. SW (between Andover & Dakota), on Genesee Hill. I can only assume that it came from Schmitz Park. Unfortunately, it had recently killed a neighborhood cat, leaving the remains on my neighbors’ front lawn. My husband and another neighbor actually saw the animal and both stated that it is a “large coyote”, standing at least knee-high. My husband compared it to our 60 pound cattle dog. I don’t know who the cat belongs to, but I do recognize it from the neighborhood. It was white, with large black spots and long fur. It was a decent sized cat, not small. I am very sorry for the family’s loss and for my neighbors unfortunate discovery (I was late for work, and simply covered the cat with a towel). . .
I don’t know if this is the right way to go about this, but I was hoping to get the word out. . . With the later darker hours, coyotes, raccoons, and possums will be active until the sun comes up. Neighbors need to be cautious when letting their smaller animals outside and even during early morning walks.
It’s a somewhat precarious world for the coyotes too. On Tuesday, we received an anonymous note titled “Coyote hit by a car,” including a photo of a coyote carcass strewn with flowers:
Rest in peace, Mr. Coyote, we will not miss you. Love, all the neighborhood pets you’ve eaten. This photo was taken at 35th Ave SW and 112th Place.
Also from Arbor Heights, Joanne e-mailed us today:
I spotted a coyote in my fenced back yard on Thursday morning at about 8 a.m. I live in the 3600 block of SW 107th. Just wanted to add that to the other sightings in the neighborhood.
Scott tweeted this today:
Another Coyote sighting on 51st above #MeKwaMooks off Jacobson cc @westseattleblog
— Scott M Alki Wa. (@KayakScottNW) November 10, 2012
Laura reported a sighting last Sunday:
Two coyotes were seen at 3 am … at the corner of 49th & Hill Street in North Admiral. (I saw them at that early hour because they were growling outside my window and it woke me up!)
Also in Admiral, Cameron and her dog had this close encounter on November 1st:
At about 10:30 pm I let my mini-poodle out for her usual nightly “business.” She wandered over to the grassy lookout on the corner of SW Hill St and SW Walnut Ave. I took my eye off her for a minute to turn some lights off and clean up from the trick-or-treaters. When I glanced back over in her direction, I noticed an animal’s head peering out of the bushes about 15 feet from my dog. Thanks to the wonderful photography on the West Seattle Blog, I quickly recognized the large pointy ears and knew it was a coyote. I immediatetly sprinted toward the lookout and when I was close enough, the coyote disappeared back into the brambles. Phewww … I don’t doubt for a second the coyote’s intentions as I have seen the other reports listed on your blog.
I cherish the wild neighbors we have in West Seattle, but this animal is demonstrating aggressive behavior.
In case this is the first coyote report you’ve read here, we want to say it again – we don’t publish sightings to be alarmist, but instead, to be educational. We still hear from people who are surprised to hear about or see a coyote in their neighborhood; in five-plus years of sighting reports, we’ve had them from just about everywhere in West Seattle. So how do you encourage them to keep their distance, and what do you do when you see one? This information from the state is a must-read. Meantime, our past reports on coyotes are all archived here, newest to oldest.
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