TODAY: This report and video are from Katie:

Coyote sighting near College Street Ravine, 51st Ave SW and College St. Careful walking through the ravine today!

TUESDAY: Another reader reported, “My friend heard something & his dog’s ears perked up. He looked outside to see two coyotes in his yard. They walked around the yard, down the stairs and headed north on Victoria Ave SW at 3:15 AM.”

COEXISTING WITH COYOTES: We share periodic sighting reports for awareness, not alarm. You can best help them keep their distance by not providing food (which means, don’t leave small domestic animals unattended, or unsecured garbage, etc.). Here’s one place to read more about avoiding coyote conflicts!

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THIS MORNING, FAUNTLEE HILLS: Sent by Ann:

I followed this well-fed coyote up Donovan from Fauntlee Crest (Fauntlee Hills) this am around 6:40. He was not the least bit concerned about me.

LAST THURSDAY, SUNRISE HEIGHTS: Sent by a reader who wanted to be anonymous:

Coyote on 29th and Webster around 9:30 pm.

We publish coyote sightings for awareness, not alarm; if you’ve never seen one, you might still have trouble believing they live among us. Here’s state wildlife authorities’ advice on ensuring we can continue co-existing.

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Thanks to Kathryn in Delridge for the snippet of video/audio recorded last night when, she says, a neighborhood dog’s barking touched off an unseen pack of coyotes yipping. Even if you’ve never heard them, they’re in most neighborhoods – just scroll through our archive for evidence!

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HIGHLAND PARK COYOTE: Just received via text this morning, Jessica spotted a coyote on their camera about 10 pm Sunday near 20th/Holden.

“I do see a lot of cats roaming around ,, might be good to share (another) announcement,” Jessica suggested.

JUNCTION-AREA COYOTE: From Micah:

Early (Thursday) morning, caught a coyote next to my house in the Junction. First time I’ve seen one in the Junction. I was in my car, 39th between Genesee and Dakota 3 am Thursday morning, Halloween. It was dark and of course they’re pretty elusive.

GATEWOOD COYOTES: Last Sunday via text: “Just saw two coyotes cross 35th Ave SW at Myrtle heading west.”

NORTH ADMIRAL COYOTE: From Greg, a recent North Admiral sighting:

We share coyote videos and photos (scroll through our archive here) for awareness and education, not alarm; here’s one of many info-sheets with advice on co-existence.

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Rose De Dan has shared interesting wildlife views from her “Wild Reiki Spa” garden camera in Belvidere before – this time, a coyote stopping for a drink. Rose says, “I am at least able to let my neighbors know, and it sounds like they are all keeping their cats on house arrest at night. I know I am! My cat Tamerlan showed up as a starving adult stray tomcat (now neutered) and it has been quite the process getting him to accept staying in since he had never been in a house before. Now he sleeps with me, but as the daylight wanes it is getting harder to keep moving his curfew up…” We share coyote videos and photos (scroll through the archive here) for awareness and education, not alarm; here’s one of many info-sheets with advice on co-existing with them.

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Thanks to Sean O for sending two clips from a sighting tonight of three coyotes near 36th/Hanford. You can see the third in this one:

Other sightings since our last coyote update a few weeks ago:

HIGH POINT: Zachary saw two near 32nd/Raymond the night of September 17:

Two coyotes crossing 32nd Ave SW and SW Raymond St around 11:40. Didn’t mind me and my dog. Did stop to look at me as I tried to get a pic.

FAIRMOUNT: Anthony reported a September 20 sighting – “Spotted a coyote just before 10 pm at the intersection of Dawson and 38th. There were a rabble of smaller animals nearby scattering to evade it, too. I was behind the wheel at the time, so I could not safely get a picture.”

UPPER FAUNTLEROY: That same night, Tim had this sighting: “At about 9:15 p.m. I saw a large coyote trotting at a fair clip south on 37th Ave in the Gatewood neighborhood between Cloverdale and Donovan as I was walking north. It took a quick nose over toward me as I sped up past it, then it continued south. I warned a couple of dog walkers who were heading in the same direction. I’ve walked a lot in this neighborhood at night over the last five years (I’m a Gatewood resident), have seen a decent collection of wildlife, but never a coyote in this area.”

We share sightings periodically for awareness and education, not alarm. Many brochures and one-sheets offer simple tips for coexisting with coyotes – here’s one of them.

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The photo is from Michael, who reports: “Coyote spotted walking on 39th Ave from Willow toward Morgan St. [last night]. It seemed healthy but obviously should be avoided.”

South of there, from JP in Gatewood:

A very healthy coyote was in my back yard twice midday 9/16 sniffing air where bunnies graze. I shooed it away from safety of my deck. It was not skittish. My son saw a smaller one later. Sadly, neighbors found a dead cat in their driveway (white paws & tail). It was covered. SW 39th & Othello. Watch out for your roaming cats.

(And it should be noted that coyotes are far from the only threat to small unattended domestic animals.)

We also have a cluster of sightings from last week. One anonymous reader reported, “I saw a coyote at the intersection of Palm and SW Massachusetts (last Tuesday) morning (~6 am).” About that same time, also in North Admiral, Brenda reports a cat was killed in an attack that neighbors attributed to a coyote, though none was seen. That night, near 20th/Holden, Jon reported that he “heard a noise out front and went to look. I knew they were coyotes, maybe 3 to 4 that were attacking something in the bushes. It was loud and they moved to my neighbors’ driveway. I threw a chunk of 2×4 at them and they took off.”

Scaring them off is part of experts’ advice on how to encourage coyotes to keep their distance. Here’s the short version of state Department of Fish and Wildlife recommendations.

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We just saw a coyote in our neighborhood on 38th & Genesee – wanted to alert local pet owners!

That reminded us we were overdue to publish the others received since our previous compilation almost two weeks ago. Molly saw this one in Upper Fauntleroy earlier this week:

Spotted this one on 38th at about 9:15 pm. It then went down to Henderson and trotted west. Did not seem afraid of us—stood and watched us awhile until we shouted at it to shoo it away. Never seen one so bold!

That’s one recommendation of experts – try to “haze” them, by shouting, waving, etc., to try to encourage them to keep their distance. The same night, and almost the same time, as Molly’s sighting, Coleman saw a coyote in Sunrise Heights:

We just spotted a coyote 9:00 pm standing in front of our house on 32nd and Holden. Heading North toward Walt Hundley Playfield. Beautiful to see.

Several days before those, a texter sent this report and photo from the neighborhood near Gatewood Elementary:

Coyote sighting on Woodside at Myrtle. I saw [a previous] Woodside sighting in The Blog, so I was excited to see this one in person.

Last but not least, Kate shared this early-morning sighting of an apparent coyote family, near the Longfellow Creek Trail:

Now, our standard side note: We report coyote sightings in the spirit of awareness, not alarm – our chances of uneventful coexistence improve if you avoid providing food (from unattended pets to unsecured garbage). Here’s more of what you should know about coyotes.

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LOWER GATEWOOD: The photo and report are from Brian Quinn:

On my morning walk with my dog, and this guy just came sprinting down the middle of the street – Woodside Pl and Othello.

UPPER FAUNTLEROY: Quick glimpse on security video, sent by Robert:

The sighting was around 8 this morning. (Not far from our own one-and-only coyote sighting – 16 years ago.)

SUNRISE HEIGHTS: Merica reported two coyotes seen near 30th/Elmgrove last Saturday night (August 10).

We’ve been reporting coyote sightings for 17 years to encourage awareness, not alarm – we and they can stay a healthy distance from each other, experts say, especially if you avoid providing food (from unattended pets to unsecured garbage) – they have plenty of small wildlife (including rodents) and vegetation to eat otherwise. Read more about coexisting with coyotes here.

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ADMIRAL: This is the most recent one sent in – Ashley reported this sighting around 3:30 am today:

I wanted to get the word out that I just happened upon our local coyote in front of Taste of Mumbai on California. He was running down the street with a cat in his mouth. If anyone is missing a gray striped cat in the area, the coyote got it sadly.

SYLVAN RIDGE: Michael recorded this short video on Wednesday:

He said, “I had no idea they could just walk into blackberry bushes like that.”

NORTH HIGHLINE: From the other side of the city-limit line, Katie sent this on Tuesday:

I wanted to let you know that at least one coyote was in our yard in the North Highline Unincorporated Area, so presumably they’ve made the trek all the way south through West Seattle. I wish I had a photo of the actual coyote, but I wasn’t fast enough. They got one of our chickens yesterday, unseen. Today they came back for seconds and I hustled out thanks to the vigilance (and volume) of the neighborhood crows.

PIGEON POINT: Annette reports that a pack of coyotes seems to be active in Pigeon Point: “We have lost 9 cats over a very short period of time.” She says she witnessed one cat taken by a coyote early in the morning. She says neighbors have reported the pack near Pigeon Point Park and the golf course downhill. “I know nature lives side by side in West Seattle due to the lovely greenbelts we have scattered throughout the area, but the size of the pack seems to be growing beyond what the area and our neighborhood can handle.” She was planning on trying natural deterrent including wolf urine.

Our standard disclaimer: Coyote reports are published here for awareness, not alarm. Experts say the best way to keep them at bay is to not provide food – they will not just eat unattended small pets, but also pet food and unsecured food waste. (And they eat small wildlife, too.) To learn more about coexisting with coyotes, including what to do if you encounter one, here’s info from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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That photo was texted along with the note, “SW Brandon and 19th SW – hid for a few minutes then ran west toward 21st.” Also this morning, Barb emailed us this report from about a mile south of there:

I’ve seen stories regarding coyote sightings in WS, but don’t recall seeing any mention in this area. Good sized and healthy looking! It went into a yard at the bottom of SW Austin.

We also received two emailed reports of sightings last Sunday in Seaview. This one’s from Lisa:

Just before 9 PM we watched a coyote walk down the alley between 48th/49th ave SW at Juneau St. It went in to a neighbor’s yard and up on front porch. Eventually left the yard and scurried south back down the alley.

And this one from Robin:

Crow mob chased coyote south down 50th Ave SW. Started at Hudson at 6:30 am … this coyote looked healthy. Hopefully catching a lot of rodents.

Our standard disclaimer: We don’t publish coyote reports for alarm, but rather for awareness. Experts say the best way to keep them at a healthy distance is to not supply food, and that means everything from leaving bowls of pet food outside to leaving small domestic animals unattended. As our coverage has shown over the years, they have been seen in most neighborhoods, so you can’t assume yours is coyote-free just because, for example, you’re not near a greenbelt. To learn more about coexisting with coyotes, including what to do if you encounter one, here’s info from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

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Just saw a coyote chasing my chickens. Keep your pets indoors! We live between the Pathfinder trails and the Duwamish Longhouse. Still waiting to see if my scattered flock returns….

Since we weren’t able to publish that immediately, we checked back later, and Amy updated us:

The chickens are mostly okay. They came out of hiding about an hour later. One of them had bite marks and needed stitches, but will recover. The attack happened around 10:00 AM. I’m not letting the chickens or my cat out unsupervised any time soon.

Rose De Dan thinks her cat might have encountered a coyote, perhaps the one captured on her Wild Reiki Spa video from the Belvidere area last Saturday:

I love and respect coyotes but do not want to see one hunting at the Wild Reiki Spa near dawn. The coyote doubles back; he’s hunting something, maybe a rabbit. The two sets of glowing eyes on the mid-left are my two foster cats watching the action from the window. I am worried; former outdoor-only stray cat Tamerlan came home dirty and injured around 10 p.m. last night (no bites, but a possible muscle strain and fall, perhaps from fleeing a coyote). I am glad I can warn the neighbors to keep their cats in at night and not leave their dogs unattended in the backyard. This is a very healthy coyote and pets don’t stand a chance.

And Sally reported this Wednesday sighting:

I’d never seen a coyote in person, so I guess today was my turn.

I saw it come from SW Holly, at the south edge of South Seattle College. It started to run out onto 16th Ave SW, but ran back to the curb to avoid getting hit by cars. It had a small animal in its mouth, but I couldn’t tell what it was – could have been a cat. All I saw was that the prey had dark gray, brown, white stripe-y soft texture. To me, it really looked like the back of a barred owl, though I couldn’t imagine that a coyote would manage to catch an owl? This was around 6:45 am.

As we’ve noted many times before in our 15-plus years of coyote-sighting reports, coyotes have a varied diet – nuts and berries as well as wildlife (squirrels, rats, etc.) and yes, some unattended pets. We publish sightings periodically for awareness, not alarm; even if you don’t live near a greenbelt, they’re likely in your neighborhood. Learn about them here.

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Stefanie sent that photo after seeing that coyote – squirrel in mouth – running across 35th and down Juneau in mid-June. We’ve been publishing coyote sightings for a decade and a half, often one-offs, but this time we have several in queue, to perhaps provide better context of how they’re living around and among us. This is important for pet owners to realize, since in addition to eating small wildlife like the squirrel in the photo, rats, and more, unattended domestic animals can be part of their diet too. Other sightings, minus prey, included this one texted a few days ago:

Not a great shot but we saw a lone coyote scampering around 37th and Henderson … Public service announcement.

Also via text, sent Monday:

There was one in Sunrise Park in the High Point neighborhood around 6:30 am … We have many outdoor cats in the area that I worry about. Looks to have headed into the ravine toward Delridge.

Early morning is a common sighting time. Aaron saw one this morning:

I was not able to snag a picture, but we just saw a coyote trotting up Frontenac and then head south on 39th in Gatewood. Have appreciated the community sharing updates on locations but this was the first time we’d seen one out and about.

Also in Gatewood, Pam reported a sighting last Friday:

For the second time in the last two weeks (?) I saw a leggy coyote heading down the alley between California and 41st, this morning, it was moving fast and carrying a critter. I sure hope it was a rabbit … might be worth letting everyone know that there’s a hunter around and to keep an eye on their pets. Here’s a good source on keeping our four-legged smalls safe.

They can travel a lot of ground, too – Terris observed this one a little over a week ago:

Coyote spotted coming across the Oregon hill (23rd/22nd, whatever we call that road) from Delridge up to Puget Ridge. It crossed the intersection where 23rd branches off and ran up by the houses on the east side of the hill along on the retaining wall. Please keep your pets safe.

As noted in the FAQ Pam shared, as well as many infosheets (like this one) that we’ve shared over the years, avoiding feeding coyotes – intentionally or unintentionally – is the best way to avoid you and/or your pet coming into close contact with them.

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–Kathleen emailed today to report, “We saw a small coyote in our yard on 39th between Andover and Dakota at 6:30 a.m. this morning.”

-A texter reported two coyotes at Walt Hundley Playfield in High Point on Monday.

–Charrie saw that one via a security camera on their front porch at 60th/Charlestown on May 24.

This is not cause for alarm but rather awareness, which is why we have published reader coyote sightings from time to time over the past 15+ years – not everyone realizes they’re here living among us (or is it, we among them?). Authorities say the best way to ensure we and they can maintain a healthy distance apart is to not provide food sources – which can include anything from pet food to unattended small pets. Here’s more information on coexisting with coyotes.

ADDED 10:15 PM: Aaron has since sent this video recorded by his parents in Gatewood on Wednesday, a coyote running as a crow chased it:

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Not sure if this is well known or not but it’s my first time seeing them in Lincoln Park and I’m here every morning. Was stalked by a couple very resilient coyotes (Wednesday) morning while walking my dog; they were skittish as usual but kept coming back after running off. I managed to get a picture of one.

We have long published coyote sightings (click “coyotes” under the headline and scroll through our archive) – for awareness, not alarm. Here’s information on coexisting with coyotes.

SIDE NOTE: You can learn about urban wildlife from a naturalist while volunteering with Friends of Lincoln Park 10 am-noon Sunday, June 2 – sign-ups are open, here.

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