WEST SEATTLE WILDLIFE: Coyote sighting

| Coyotes | Fauntleroy | West Seattle news | Wildlife

Thanks for the photos! For the first time in a long time, we’ve received reports of a West Seattle coyote sighting. Very early this morning, in Upper Fauntleroy, along 37th SW – the photo above is from William, and the one below is from Adam.

As we routinely reminded readers back when we received and published many such sightings (you can scroll through the archives here), this is not something to be alarmed about. Yes, coyotes eat smaller animals, sometimes even roaming cats, but more often, their diets have been found to include what you might consider nuisances/pests – like rodents. William, in fact, reported seeing the coyote after it “had just finished his unsuccessful pursuit of a squirrel.” Advice on how to coexist by keeping them at a distance is part of this state-produced Living With Wildlife guide.

anonyme June 29, 2023 (12:06 pm)

Cute. Looks like a skinny youngster.

Also John June 29, 2023 (3:29 pm)

Agree… cute youngster.

Curious George June 29, 2023 (12:30 pm)

These predators are needed too keep the balance of nature in check.

Beto June 29, 2023 (12:48 pm)

I agree. I prefer to see coyotes, I like them because they eat rats or those rabbits that are making a mess in my garden.
george2 June 29, 2023 (7:20 pm)

I agree but I did come across 3 coyotes ripping apart a cat one night and its kind of hard to ever get that out of your head.
- steve June 30, 2023 (6:37 pm)
  
  Yes. It is frightening. I urge my neighbors to keep their cats indoors, but constantly hear one of them calling, “Pretty Baby, come come num num.” around one in the morning. When her cat gets eaten she’ll really start howling.
  - WSB June 30, 2023 (6:46 pm)
    
    There are actually many more, and more common, threats to pets left unaccompanied outdoors than coyotes – cars, people, raccoons, other cats, etc. Also, they could eat a rodent that has consumed poison. Even if you think your cat “has to” go outside, they can change (we have a rescue cat who was almost certainly an outdoor barn cat before animal control picked him up in a rural area a year and a half ago, unneutered and unchipped – he has acclimated to indoor life just fine) – TR

wscommuter June 29, 2023 (1:00 pm)

Yay!!! Can we induce more? The bunny and raccoon population needs serious thinning.

Jay June 29, 2023 (4:13 pm)

I want one in my back yard to protect the birds from cats!

Jeff June 29, 2023 (1:05 pm)

No shortage of rabbits around to support a predator population.

WSCurmudgeon June 29, 2023 (1:32 pm)

Delighted to see that they’re back. There are too many rabbits around!

HS June 29, 2023 (1:42 pm)

Oh good!

Mike June 29, 2023 (1:45 pm)

Hope they return to the Duwamish Greenbelt. Rabbits are ruining my garden.

Mike June 29, 2023 (2:07 pm)

Still wondering why they disappeared from the Duwamish Head Greenbelt above Harbor Avenue.

waikikigirl June 29, 2023 (2:33 pm)

I think because they go where the food is…and now it’s back around here. rabbits…
WS Res June 29, 2023 (4:30 pm)

People paid to have them killed by the feds.
- WSB June 29, 2023 (5:01 pm)
  
  https://westseattleblog.com/2013/07/federal-wildlife-agent-its-a-neighborhood-problem-not-a-coyote-problem/
  
  “Co-op fee.”

snowskier June 29, 2023 (2:14 pm)

How cool. Lots of good rabbits for him in the Arroyos! The bobcat is also welcome to return.

TG June 29, 2023 (2:21 pm)

Ohh! It makes me so happy to see this little one, I hope more are able to co exist with us. Sooo much for them to eat, which is beneficial for everyone :)

SummerParasol June 29, 2023 (2:25 pm)

I welcome the coyotes, I hope they put a dent in the rat population. (But do keep your cats inside at night!)

shotinthefoot June 29, 2023 (2:43 pm)

been seeing so many bunnies lately, it’s no wonder the coyotes have made a return!

NLR June 29, 2023 (3:22 pm)

This is all heartbreaking to read…starving coyotes in the city. How thoughtless of us humans to express irritation with bunnies and other creatures sharing your garden. We’re on their earth too.

anonyme June 29, 2023 (4:33 pm)

NLR, thanks for saying this. The number one problem animal walks on two legs. The rest are just trying to survive wherever and however they can with the little bit of food and habitat left over from our own voracious appetites.
- Yma June 29, 2023 (7:24 pm)
  
  The bunnies, while cute, can be considered invasive pests. They are non-native & were introduced to the area in the 1930s.
  - anonyme June 30, 2023 (6:41 am)
    
    Yes, bunnies are non-native – they were introduced by humans. The biggest threat to my garden is non-native domestic cats that dig and crap everywhere, including in my veggies, while also killing native birds. Yet if a coyote eats somebody’s free-range cat, there is outrage and cries to “do something”. Humans are constantly intefering with nature and then whining about the consequences; ironic, considering humans are the most dangerous invasive pests of all.
  - NLR June 30, 2023 (2:00 pm)
    
    Please see below. We too can be considered invasive pests.
- NLR June 30, 2023 (1:59 pm)
  
  Thank you, Anonyme… I so appreciate you and your words. Us two-legged problems seem to forget that we don’t own the earth. We’re also “non-native and were introduced” to this area @yma.

K to the F June 29, 2023 (3:42 pm)

Yes! Eat those bunnies! Maybe then I can go back to removing the wire fence from our veggie garden.

AB June 29, 2023 (4:15 pm)

I saw a coyote up on Puget Ridge two nights ago at Myrtle and 18th.

Chad June 29, 2023 (4:38 pm)

We live in the area. Our neighbors tell us that there used to be a “resident” coyote up here but that it left the area some years ago to the frustration of avid gardeners as the rabbit population has exploded since, ravaging flowers and tender leaves of veggie gardens.

Jessie June 29, 2023 (5:14 pm)

Yup. That coyote must have heard it’s the year of the rabbit.

Kay June 29, 2023 (5:32 pm)

There have been at least 2 pedator vs. prey “confrontations” in the wee a.m. hours just in the last week, up near Fauntleroy park. I only heard the ruckus (can’t see anything out the window) so I can’t tell who’s being preyed upon (rabbits?, opossums?, definitely not cats), but it’s always loud enough to jolt me awake. The first time I suspected coyote, but suddenly the screeching was coming from a lot further away, so I assume it was an owl flying away with its catch. Last night same animal sounds, much shorter duration.

Cogburn June 29, 2023 (5:33 pm)

Like many others – the bunnies are cute but too many are hurting my garden veggies and flowers – so a few coyotes are ok, but leave the pheasant alone

ACME Bat Suit June 29, 2023 (6:04 pm)

Neat, but PLEASE keep your cats and small dogs inside at night with these hungry coyotes around.

waikikigirl June 30, 2023 (11:43 am)

I don’t think it matters to the coyote to bring your pets in at night (only) as you see from these 2 pictures it is daylight hours and when a coyote is hungry it will go after and eat.
Please keep pets inside at all times unless of course you are with them when outside.

Gus June 29, 2023 (10:34 pm)

Please tell me these coyotes jump high enough to get the obnoxious crows, which truly have no predator!

Bess June 29, 2023 (11:32 pm)

Finally. we need bunny control. I hope this guy brings all his friends. The number of bunnies in and around Lincoln park is getting to be a nuisance. I hope he is hungry.

Scarlett June 30, 2023 (11:11 am)

Humans, ironically, have been responsible for the overpopulation of a number of species. Many species, predator and non-predator alike, thrive in the wild-urban interface.

steve June 30, 2023 (6:33 pm)

I wouldn’t be sad if it made its way up to High Point. Too many neighbors let their cats roam freely. And my yard is very bird freindly.

rob June 30, 2023 (7:03 pm)

its time we include human behavior as part of evolution no different then what every other creature on earths impact. birds do what they do humans do what they do. its evolution. where is mans natural habitat?

WestSeattleBadTakes July 1, 2023 (10:17 am)

Man’s chosen habitat is in a car on a stroad to Costco. I’ll let you decide if its natural.

Leon Jackson July 1, 2023 (6:33 am)

About time they returned. Probably worked their way down the green/duwamish river finally. When I lived near the river in Kent there were bunches of Coyotes. As echoed in the comments, the bunny population has exploded. The neighbor cats have eaten most of the litters across the street but still too many rabbits. Sorry about your small pets.