West Seattle coyotes: Who’s seeing them and where

(Added Thursday afternoon: Coyote seen by Rebecca on SW Barton)
Maybe it’s the change of seasons. The pace of coyote-sighting reports has picked up recently. We report them for awareness and education, not hysteria – here are the most-recent reports:

TWO HIGHLAND PARK SIGHTINGS: Moments ago, someone texted about a coyote spotted today at 18th and Cloverdale. That’s the second recent report we’ve had from Highland Park; Nicole reported one seen near 14th and Trenton “with a cat carcass.”

GATEWOOD SIGHTING #1: Janet says one “walked right by me as I was doing yard work” around 4:45 pm Tuesday near California/Webster. “Did not seem afraid of me. Appeared straggly and hungry.” It was headed east and she thinks it might have come up the stairs at 44th/Webster (not far from Solstice Park).

GATEWOOD SIGHTING #2: A few hours before that, to the northeast, Elizabeth encountered one while working, similar description: “I am a FedEx driver and just followed one down the street near 38th Ave SW & Myrtle. It was extremely mangy looking and emaciated, which could be of concern. Still a rather large one though. I saw it run up a tree filled driveway toward a house (in the 4100 block of) SW Orchard. Just a heads-up!”

NEAR CAMP LONG: TH spotted a coyote around 8 pm Sunday, about to cross 36th SW at Brandon: “Probably heading towards Camp Long. He looked healthy and while he was cautious he didn’t appear afraid. I figure he was 2′ at the shoulder.”

ARBOR HEIGHTS: Wendy reported her mother-in-law spotting two coyotes hanging out at a vacant lot near 39th/105th.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE ONE? Our recent texter in HP said she had called Fish and Wildlife, which advised they don’t routinely respond to sightings. That’s true and has long been so. They do have an excellent guide about coexisting with coyotes, with advice such as how to scare them away if you see them, so that they will be encouraged to keep their distance, for our sake and theirs. We link it from every coyote report we publish – so here it is again.

25 Replies to "West Seattle coyotes: Who's seeing them and where"

  • anonyme October 15, 2014 (5:42 pm)

    A single coyote was also reported near the alley entrance at 39th & 104th in Arbor Heights around 10 am this week. This is right where the garbage truck took out the power about a week ago.

    Cat owners – please, please bring your cats inside. Bringing them in at night only is of no use; these coyotes are hunting day and night.

  • cj October 15, 2014 (5:55 pm)

    If there are people camping in their normal woodsy areas they will be more likely to be out amongst us looking for new hiding places. Also people who leave out trash that might smell interesting encourage natural scavengers, including racoons and coyotes. As they have been seen though , might want to keep smallish size pets where you can see them.

  • West Seattle Hipster October 15, 2014 (7:03 pm)

    It’s just as much their planet as it is ours.

  • Dana October 15, 2014 (8:08 pm)

    Heard from a neighbor today that a coyote was spotted at 24th & Cloverdale as well.

  • Ttt October 15, 2014 (8:34 pm)

    Glad they are around to eat the vermin!

  • JH October 15, 2014 (9:07 pm)

    I love my backyard coyotes! I coexist with them and really don’t pay much attention to them anymore, even if they run by me when I’m doing yard work. So glad we have them in WS!

  • Becky October 15, 2014 (10:36 pm)

    Saw one a few weeks ago on our street, 21st Ave SW and SW 100th (White Center). My first sighting. I was excited but also saddened to know that there had to be a reason that it was so nonchalent about being out in the open both in daylight (dusk) and again later that night.

  • kayo October 16, 2014 (7:12 am)

    I saw a large coyote at noon on the sidewalk in front of a house on my street last week (4700 block of 26th). It had what looked like blood on its front legs and seemed completely unconcerned by me in my car stopping to take a picture just feet away. Not too surprising I guess since there is a greenbelt right behind this location and the golf course. I posted on our north Delridge page just in case the blood was from a pet. I’ve also seen them in the alley behind my house. My neighbor left a bag of fertiilizer out and I think the smell attracted that one because it was nosing around the bag,when I saw it.

  • junctioneer October 16, 2014 (7:34 am)

    Have been hearing multiple coyotes howling in the ravine below Admiral bridge. Heard a chorus in the middle of the night at a grand scale a couple weeks ago, and again a few days ago at a lesser scale but in the evening. Maybe it’s common, but it’s the first time I’ve ever heard them in West Seattle.

  • Lindsey October 16, 2014 (7:54 am)

    Kayo – hello neighbor! I’ve also seen a single coyote, on a few separate instances, follow Longfellow Creek Trail across Juneau and behind 26th toward Greg Davis park. We don’t let our kitty out unsupervised anymore.

  • G October 16, 2014 (9:16 am)

    Seems like coyotes are expanding their habitat. Never saw coyotes in West Seattle growing up. Fox, but no coyotes. Speaking of….haven’t seen too many fox in recent years, wonder if they came to the same fate as cats and dogs.

  • Ex-Westwood Resident October 16, 2014 (10:14 am)

    G,
    Yes, the Red Fox that was so plentiful in WS in the past have shared the same fate as cats and small dogs at the paws and teeth of coyotes.
    Coyotes are a predator species, that are NOT native to the WS area, and will kill and eat ANY smaller animal, and sometimes attack humans, although rare, there are accounts of attacks and numerous threatening behavior toward humans.
    The wild coyotes are normally frightened by humans, but the coyote population in WS, for the most part, have “lost” their fear of humans. It is that loss that makes them a danger to humans. It is those coyotes that need to be trapped/removed or eradicated.

  • kelsie October 16, 2014 (10:28 am)

    My boyfriend saw one, on his way to work, hanging out near Cloverdale & 13th on a morning a couple of weeks ago.

    I’d rather have a coyote hanging around than any rodents that might be around without him.

  • cookirb October 16, 2014 (11:40 am)

    I have seen a handful the last few years and have listen to them howl love our Coyotes!!!

  • G October 16, 2014 (3:36 pm)

    Ex-Westwood Resident,

    Thanks for the comment. Barred Owls are another owl one never saw decades ago, transplants from back East by way of Canada. Not my favorite owl, big and aggressive. Two species that have had a big impact on the ecosystem, for better or worse. Btw, coyotes are all over the place down here in southland and a nuisance.

  • Thomas M. October 16, 2014 (8:49 pm)

    Coyotes are a nonstop hazard to small animals. There are web videos of them snatching small dogs which are on a leash. They do attach small children. There is nothing good about them (or raccoons).

  • Linda October 17, 2014 (1:02 pm)

    Spotted a coyote at night trotting up Cloverdale, turn onto Tillicum and then up Donovan. Our neighbor saw one reverse this route around the dinner hour in daylight.

  • MMB October 18, 2014 (8:32 am)

    +1 to anonyme: we’ve switched our cats to indoor-only, after three in our neighborhood fell victim a decade ago. Before that, we’d seen foxes but not coyotes. No more foxes, not in years. I love cats, and I just feel so sad when I see them outdoors anymore. I feel especially sad when I see the “missing” posters. Folks, our vet bills have gone down (no fights or bites) and our floors stay cleaner now. The kitties had to adjust – but they did adjust. It took a little commitment and some time. Re: large coyotes: I read somewhere that they sometimes have dog DNA. We have seen at least one very tall coyote, compared to ones you see in the boonies. No doubt a diet including people’s pets and garbage contributes to their size.

  • anonyme October 18, 2014 (11:50 am)

    There is one element unifying the perceived problem with coyotes, raccoons, crows, rats, and other scavenger species: humans and their garbage. Get rid of the dirty humans – problem solved!

  • unknown October 18, 2014 (7:57 pm)

    MMB>>>I agree with you totally, it takes a little patience but your kitties will get used to being indoor only and as you say they stay healthier, less vet bills, no fleas… we have 1 cat in our neighborhood thats outside day and night and her owners know of the coyotes, their excuse is “we don’t want a cat box” argh!!! we’ve let her inside sometimes when it’s so cold out…feel so sorry for her.
    But keep pets in no food,garbage out where easy to get at and maybe the coyotes will stay away from your neighborhood.

  • MMB October 19, 2014 (10:33 am)

    Yes, unknown, I forgot to mention the no-fleas bonus! So no chemical treatments needed, and I’m not getting eaten alive in my own house anymore.

  • Bradley October 21, 2014 (1:02 am)

    I was at Lincoln Park the other day walking west into the park from the north parking lot in mid-afternoon and saw a large coyote walking down the trail in front of me. Some women were in front of me and we all stopped to look at it. It didn’t seem startled at all to see us and just turned around and continued to walk down the trail.

  • Marce October 28, 2014 (2:12 pm)

    Just saw one a minute ago across the street trotting westbound on Kenyon toward 41st. Fairly decent sized, moving along like he had a somewhere to be.

  • Curtis October 29, 2014 (8:38 pm)

    Saw a skinny whitish colored coyote at 7:40 this morning walking down the street looking lost and out of place. He was heading north on 21st Ave SW approaching SW Barton Pl a block west of Delridge just above Westwood Village.

  • Gk October 29, 2014 (9:58 pm)

    (35th & SW Rose) A neighbor spotted one today up on our front porch today while we were at work!

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