West Seattle coyotes: More sightings, including 2 together

| Coyotes | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Two more coyote reports to share – including one instance of two seen together. Read ahead for both:

From an anonymous WSB’er:

At 11:52 pm on the night of 9/9/11, we saw two adult coyotes walking north on 31st Ave SW towards SW Othello St (map). They were walking down the middle of the street. We had just pulled up and were sitting in our car. They were clearly scavenging, darting in and out of each front yard along the west side of the street. We watched them get a little closer to our car. It was clear they knew we were there, but were not at all afraid. Having a bad feeling about that, I got out of the car and tried to spook them by yelling and clapping my hands. At first they were not at all phased. I did it for another 30 seconds or so and finally they went between two houses. We waited a bit and then saw them walking west on SW Webster St. The animals appeared to have very healthy coats, unlike coyotes I have seen in rural areas, and had giant ears. It was sad to have to yell at them, but also eerie that they were not afraid of us. We were very glad to get home in the nick of time to put our cat inside who had crossed the street to our bushes 30 seconds before.

From Susie:

I was on my way to my bus stop (Wednesday) morning at 5:50 am (still dark) from my home (in the 5000 block of) 38th Ave SW (map), I crossed Fauntleroy on Dawson to go up the hill. I was on the North side of Dawson nearly to 40th SW when I heard something coming North through the alley on the south side of the street. I at first thought it was a dog until it took off running past me (about 10 feet away) turned its head quickly and looked at me and kept running down the middle of 40th. It was a coyote, and he looked at me like it was as scared of me as I was of it. It happened so fast – they run very fast – I just stood there gaping saying, “Oh my God!” A few of my neighbors have reported seeing a coyote at night or in the wee hours of the morning. I believe it may be staying in the woods behind the now closed Fairmount Park Elementary. The poor creatures are just hungry, so keep your pets inside at night and early mornings.

Instead of the “co-existing with coyotes” link we often include, here’s a really simple one – a quick checklist on what to do if you see a coyote. It’s from Colorado, but applicable here.

Fauntleephil September 11, 2011 (7:19 am)

Either Wed or Thurs night about 8:45p you could hear a couple of coyotes “singing” in the vicinity of 38th and Trenton. My dog woke up from a sound sleep and went crazy, she was on edge the rest of the night. She went out in our back yard and the howlers must have been in the greenspace above, she was definitely on alert. My first coyote experience, even though I didn’t actually see them.

george September 11, 2011 (1:26 pm)

A couple of times now I have seen the coyote that lives at greenbridge in WC. One morning he was crossing street going from the empty part f greenbridge off 4th Ave SW to the eastern side of the street. When I rolled up, he got scared and went back to greenbridge.

a week later I saw him in the afternoon just inside the fence of greenbridge at the same intersection. The one closest to Roxbury. I am sure there is good hunting there in all that tall grass.

JayDee September 11, 2011 (4:49 pm)

Sometime before dawn on Sunday I heard a coyote howling/yipping in Schmitz Park. It was well before first light and I could hear the echos so I am pretty sure is was in the ravine. Keep “tinkerbell” and “snowball” inside…

Pv September 11, 2011 (7:15 pm)

They are eating peoples pets, especially cats. They come out of West Seattles many green belts and parks at night, hunt down, kill and eat peoples very loved pets. It is time to kill or relocate them to more urban areas. They are not nice or cute, they don’t belong in the city. I must be the only one who feels this way. But if they killed your cat and left it’s remains on your doorstep you might feel different. When they kill a toddler or a baby then there will be outrage.

Neal Chism September 11, 2011 (7:56 pm)

Your not the only one.

Send a letter to the Washington State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. They are the ones who will have to deal with this sooner or later.

breezygirl September 12, 2011 (3:34 am)

I’m just curious as to what the statistics of coyote’s killing children is??

WSB September 12, 2011 (7:35 am)

There was one in California in 1981. Then, per online research, a coyote was blamed for killing a young woman in Canada in 2009. According to multiple sources, those are the only two fatal coyote-human attacks.

Neal Chism September 13, 2011 (8:26 am)

The probability of a child being attacked is very low but the emotional and physical costs would be very high. So that is value judgement we have to decide for ourselves.
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What we are really choosing to do here, from lack of action, is to substitute a very effective owner subsidized rodent control program, our pet cats, for packs of wild, hungry dogs.
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So ask yourself what will be the thing or predator that will limit the population size of coyotes here? Food availability, being hit by cars? The next predator that would go after the coyotes is probably a cougar and I doubt we are going to allow many of those animals to roam around in the city. So there really are limits to the “live and let live” argument. The Coyotes fall in the gray area of making the decision. A ten pound cat is pretty safe to have around and a 100 pound cat is not. That’s pretty easy. What about the 20-30 pound coyote? What about the next generation well fed coyotes in the 30-40 pound range?
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I just wish, for once, we could be proactive and deal with these animals now while the numbers are small. And do it before many more of our pets are killed, or before a child does get nipped at by one and then has to go for that thousand dollar rabbies shot at the emergency room and the lawsuits against DFW start up.
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olgast September 14, 2011 (9:09 pm)

In the OLGA St neighborhood north of Schmitz Park there are numerous missing cats (at least 4) signs and even a missing small dog. Our cat of 13 years hasn’t been seen for a day or two – she is a gray and white tabby – pretty big. My husband heard coyotes howling a couple of nights ago and my daugher has seen then when she has come home later (2 am or so). Keep your cats inside at night!

Tracy September 14, 2011 (11:48 pm)

My dad was exercising at Greg Davison park at the corner of 26th and by Long Fellow Creek when a coyote came out of the creek with a white cat in it’s mouth, he said that the coyote was eating the cat. This make me feel sad because someone in West Seattle is probably waiting for their cat to come home

Tracy September 15, 2011 (12:23 am)

Pv I totally agree with you, the numbers of sightings are adding up in West Seattle. My siblings and I grow up in West Seattle (Delridge by Long Fellow Creek) for 21 years and I had never seen a coyote up until 5 months ago when we saw one eating a cat, after that I see them all the time. I am afraid for our children and pet. Coyotes are not cute and they don’t belong here in the city. They are mutiplying and there are more then before. I think that there are people that agree with me

Joe September 17, 2011 (1:48 pm)

Chased a coyote out of my yard at 4am today. Certainly hunting my neighbors cats. 3900 block of SW Portland St. I have seen lots of coyotes and he was a big guy, well fed. Please bring your small pets inside at night.

Ken September 24, 2011 (1:22 pm)

We live in the 50-60th Block of 49t Ave SW. We hear Coyotes regularly in the greenbelt below our home, (at least 3 times a week) even in the day time. Occaisionally we hear them in death battles with prey. I have see them twice, both times around mid-day. I would suggest that we need to dis-abuse ourselves of the notions that this is part of a balanced ecosystem and that coyotes are not a danger to people, especially children.
While the reports of death by Coyotes are quite rare, reports of attacks resulting in injury are merely uncommon, and rising.

The following link is to an a recent article by National Geographic which, I believe does a good job explaining the rise in population nationally and how much concern and caution is warranted.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0607_050607_coyotes_2.html

WSB September 24, 2011 (1:35 pm)

Actually – I just read that story and was shocked to go back to page 1 and see it was from 2005. At least the fear of escalation in human injuries hasn’t materialized in the past six years. But what they urge is what we continually urge here – don’t feed them, do scare them away, etc. – TR

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