West Seattle coyotes: One by The Mount, one by the beach

| Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Two coyote sightings have come in over the past five days – first one, the coyote Mary saw last night on Providence Mount St. Vincent property:

This isn’t a very good photo … but we spent about 20 minutes watching a coyote who was hanging around the parking lot at Providence Mt. St. V. near Hudson and 36th. S/he definitely spotted us — we were walking our two mastiffs who completely were clueless about the coyote — and s/he kept a close watch on us from a small hill as we observed from across the street. I’ve been wanting to see one since we moved over here — behind a fence and across the street suits me fine! And since our dogs are bigger than it was, we weren’t worried about that. This was about a block from where Karen Berge of the Hansen View Blockwatch reported a coyote in a staredown with a cat.

Ahead, a report earlier in the week from Linda in the Alki area, and coverage of a coyote clash in Colorado (in a link shared by a WSB’er):

There was a coyote in the backyard of (3200 block) 64th SW on Thursday night around midnight (next door to me). Screams of a cat were heard prior to this sighting. The following Evening my cocker would not go outside farther than the back door, and was sniffing the air. Saturday morning he wouldn’t go very far either. I have him on the leash now whenever he goes out. He did venture farther into the back yard late this afternoon. Perhaps the coyote has gone back to Schmitz Park?

I haven’t seen any cats or squirrels go thru my back yard for about a week now. They used to cross the yard regularly.

When is the city going to captures the coyotes and relocate them, before all our pets are gone. Are the small children next? The coyotes are multiplying, only to cause more problems in the future. The city needs to do something!

The authorities currently advise education on co-existence. But that doesn’t mean being quiet about it – they continue to urge that you help ensure coyotes maintain a fear of humans. This advice is borne out in a link from Colorado, shared by Bob A. – after a coyote killed an off-leash dog that was in the mountains with a hiker, local authorities reminded people to do everything they can to harass/scare off coyotes they encounter.

pjmanley June 17, 2011 (12:37 am)

Last night, after working until the wee hours, I was walking my dog about 1:30 a.m. near 41st and Andover, when we came around the corner and encountered a young coyote. I almost never walk my dog off the leash, but it just so happened I couldn’t find it near the door, and didn’t want to wake the family looking for it. My dog is also well-trained, stays close, and obeys commands, well, at least he did until he saw that coyote. Then POW! Off he went after it. I gave chase and caught up to my dog about two blocks away. After a bit of scolding him, we headed back toward home. On the way back, we encountered it again, and my dog went after it a second time. I again gave chase, and about 1/2 a block from my house, a second coyote sprang out from a yard less than 10 feet in front of me, saw me, and took off after my dog and the other coyote. This time my dog responded to my shouts when he got near my house, and pulled away from chasing the other coyote. I don’t think he saw the second one, as it ran off in the opposite direction.
I believe this group lives in an undeveloped alley/green belt between 39th and 40th, North of Dakota Street, as that seemed to be where they headed to, and I know they’ve been there before.

AH June 17, 2011 (7:16 am)

Many coyote spottings have come to my attention while talking to my Arbor Heights neighbors lately, both in and around the Fauntleroy Park area, all the way down California Ave at least to 106th. I have seen coyotes myself outside the park at least twice lately. Numerous missing cat posters are no coincidence, and small pets are at increasing risk.

JenF June 17, 2011 (8:09 am)

A couple of weeks ago a commenter recommended calling Fish and Wildlife to report sightings. I did so after literally running into a coyote running down the middle of Othello at 34th in the middle of the day. The person I spoke to laughed at me and said there were far too many urban coyote sightings for any agency to record. I guess we have to wait for one to threaten or bite a child before anyone takes it seriously. Our pets aren’t important enough.

Mongo June 17, 2011 (8:17 am)

pjmanley,
The behavior of these coyotes around your dog is not unusual. I have family in Northern Arizona that live around coyotes. It’s not unusual for one coyote to get a dog to chase it — and the the rest of their pack to be waiting and then surround and take down the dog. It’s a common pack hunting strategy. Your dog was fortunate to come out OK in the case you described above.

GG June 17, 2011 (9:11 am)

I suspect it’s a related incident to these reports, but my wife and I found the rather gruesome remains of an orange tabby cat in our yard on 40th Ave near Morgan Junction yesterday. No way to identify it, and it certainly looked like it fell victim to a large predator.

Jim June 17, 2011 (9:21 am)

How long will it be until someone spotting a coyote is not a news item?

Mary T June 17, 2011 (9:23 am)

People need to keep their cats indoors. Since I sent in that photo, we learned from another neighbor that about a half-hour prior (so around 7, complete daylight) the same coyote had just been walking up 37th near Alaska. A lot of neighbors with small children around there, so people should be aware.

EllEss June 17, 2011 (9:34 am)

I don’t know if this will be helpful but last summer I had a problem with coyotes climbing my backyard fence in pursuit of my cats (luckily cat got away). Anyway a friend of mine who is an avid hunter brought back some couger urine from a hunting store in Montana (they use it for dog training I guess). I have since sprinkled it around the perimeter of my yard and it seems to have done the trick. Cougers are a natural predator of the coyote. Of course I’m always keeping my fingers crossed.

Cowpie June 17, 2011 (10:23 am)

pjmanley,

I love nature and I know people will dislike what I’m about to say. I was expecting pjmanley to state that her unleashed dog was taken down by a pack. As Mongo said that’s what they do. It would’ve been the evalution of urbanized coyote’s to hear they did that in such a populated neighborhood. I would’ve found that extremely interesting and important in thier survival. Unfortunately at the sadness of pjmanley.

I Wonder June 17, 2011 (1:26 pm)

Just a matter of time before a small child gets taken down. Probably keeping a close eye on the playground at the Mount.

KBear June 17, 2011 (1:46 pm)

Rampant hysteria poses more of a threat to children than coyotes ever will. But do keep your cats indoors.

Brontosaurus June 18, 2011 (2:10 am)

Last week, a coyote ran across Walt Hundley Playfields near Highpoint Community Center. It was around 6pm. He came within about 10 ft of our kids, who had just finished playing Tball. He seemed curious and unafraid.

george June 18, 2011 (9:05 am)

YOU can claim “rampant hysteria” all you want. No one else here is. All it takes is one child. And they do prey on “small victims”.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,354505,00.html

JoAnne June 18, 2011 (9:12 am)

Coyotes are a dangerous pest species, like rats. They are not native here. Neither the city or state governments will do anything to defend people, pets, or small livestock from coyotes.

We may be willing to peacefully “coexist” with coyotes, but coyotes will never reciprocate. They are opportunistic predator/scavengers, and don’t really care what or who they eat.

There is nothing a private citizen can do to protect herself, either. Shooting is illegal in the city, and professional trappers will not be set traps in urban areas where there are dogs and children.

With no natural or unnatural enemies, these populations will probably continue to explode until they have occupied all of the available habitat.

I am not surprised to hear they are lurking around Mt. St. Vincent–it’s where the weakest and most vulnerable in our society live…and that’s who the coyote always picks on first.

WSB June 18, 2011 (9:50 am)

Important to note for those who have never followed the link we include in most of these stories – the “co-existence” advised by authorities is not “peaceful” – as in the story from Colorado, you are advised to do everything you can to scare them away if you see one close by. They need to be made/kept fearful of people – or else you run the risk of the kind of encounter that is mentioned in the 2008 link from “George.” Regarding exploding populations, I have wondered about that, and have been trying to find the right people to talk with for a more “big picture” on this – it’s been a while since our last one. – TR

homedk June 18, 2011 (10:02 am)

Regardless of how one feels about co-existing with coyotes & other wildlife, I think we should be concerned that these may be losing their fear of humans & not behaving as a “typical” wild coyote would. Daylight sightings seem to be increasingly frequent & the coyotes seem to be undeterred by close proximity to people. By our reactions (watching & photographing them, as opposed to scaring them or otherwise seeming like a potential threat) I worry that we are inadvertently “training” them not to fear us…in a similar way, wildlife in National Parks learn to ignore the tourists.

Linda Blackinton June 19, 2011 (8:42 pm)

Just read a 2006 article in the Seattle Times about two small children being bitten by coyotes in Bellevue, WA. Also, my cousin says Bellingham, WA has an ordinance that says you call someone there when coyotes or raccoons are sighted, they come and cage them, and take them far away. Why can’t Seattle do that. It would create jobs! I hope I don’t see coyotes during the day around here (64th).
LB

ltfd June 20, 2011 (3:58 pm)

Pick up a rock & throw it at a coyote if it is behaving too nonchalantly in your presence; it’s good throwing practice for you and behavior modification for the coyote.

http://www.king5.com/news/local/124204979.html

JoAnne June 24, 2011 (9:47 am)

The city is not likely to start a trapping program for several reasons. For one thing, there is no trap that will capture only coyotes but not other wildlife or pets and children.

Also, coyotes are “wiley,” and very difficult to trap. However, even if they were trapped, it would be pointless to relocate them to wild areas. These populations are moving from wild areas into urban areas because of the feeding opportunity here.

This movement is what started the problem started in the first place. As long as they are allowed to live in the city, they will keep coming back.

I know people get upset when they hear this, but the only real solution is to shoot them.

But don’t worry about that–the city is not likely to begin a shooting program, either. They will probably continue to do nothing unless a person is attacked or killed. In that case, they may kill 1 or 2 coyotes, then go back to doing nothing.

Michael July 7, 2011 (9:11 am)

At around 7:15am today (7/7/11), I saw a coyote coming out of the bushes near Fauntleroy and 35th with what looked like a dead chicken in his mouth. I live near there and know of at least one house in our neighborhood that keeps chickens. Watch your pets!

mary s July 12, 2011 (1:20 am)

Yep, we had one, or maybe two, in our backyard (just south of Camp Long – 34th/Brandon) last week that I scared off only to have one immediately show up in our neighbor’s overgrown yard next door, even closer to our houses. This was at 8:45am, well into the morning. Fortunately(?) my #1 cat was trapped two years ago by, we’re pretty sure, coyotes for a few days and he is our family weathervane when it comes to letting us know they are near. He stays close most days but when there is coyote in the air, he sticks like glue, and shepherds the other animals into the house as well (he’s a really smart one). Those coyotes are so dang quiet when they are out there hunting. Amazing and terrifying, all at the same time. We all stay on point, knowing they come through regularly.

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