Wiley Coyotes!  Jennifer Olmstead

Perhaps at first glance you thought you saw a stray dog or even a large fox skulk across your yard and dart into the edge of the woods behind your barn or garage. Wait—you looked again. It was something else. It was Canis lantrans, better known to us non-biologists as a coyote. No doubt, this weekend, there will be a dozen neighborly next-door sites with panicked coyote posts. That’s because these days many Back Bay residents, and suburban dwellers as well, are getting up close and personal with these close relatives of the wolf, domestic dog, and jackal, whether they like it or not. Folks report looking out of their kitchen windows and seeing a coyote under the neighbor’s hedge. Daytime walkers turn the corner on their street to confront a coyote sauntering across an intersection. Commuters returning from work startle a coyote as they pull into their paved driveway—within a fenced yard.



Coyotes are Natural Born Killers and Scavengers and Opportunists—Just Like all Other Omnivores

Many coyotes have the light brown coat depicted in cartoons and classic western movies, but the animals can and do range in color from light cream to red to black to dark gray. This can make identification confusing. Coyotes in the Eastern US also tend to be a bit larger than their kin wandering western states. carnivores by definition, coyotes have an important place in the ecosystem’s producer-consumer chain, and typically hunt rodents and small mammals as well as Red Fox and Whitetail fawns. But, they will also follow the crumb trail of least resistance for food. In addition to tracking down small prey individually or larger prey when in a pack situation, they consume a variety of other foods, including roadkill, seeds, berries, fruit, garbage, compost, pet and livestock feed, poultry scratch, and birdseed. They will obtain water from any available source: creeks, livestock water troughs, swimming pools, landscape ponds, and birdbaths—and yes, your dog’s sidewalk water bowl. Common sense prevails here. If you want to minimize the presence of coyotes in your yard or near your house, don’t serve them up food and water sources!

 When Species Collide

Know that coyotes are adaptable and opportunistic and thrive in rural, suburban—and, yes, urban—environments. They can be seen in fields, on beach dunes, on golf courses, along roadsides, and on city sidewalks. The only place they don't call home is a dense forest habitat. Capable of clearing fences up to 7' high and scaling those which are even higher (yes, they can), coyotes pose a real threat to small livestock and free-roaming small pets such as cats and small dogs, especially during mating and whelping season, which is March through August. Which is right now! The threat can extend to small children, as coyotes have on occasion attacked toddlers in other Eastern States. If you have seen Coyote on or near your property do not leave children outside unattended even for a short time.

How Many Coyotes are Out There?

The number of coyotes in Virginia is increasing, just as our push to clear wooded areas and replace them with yards and houses increases. This activity creates a more favorable environment for coyote populations. Precisely how much the coyote population is growing is difficult to gauge. The reason?  Coyotes get around. Unlike foxes, or bobcats, both of which are solitary species, coyotes are frequently seen out in the open both day-and-night patrolling territories of up to a double-digit mile radius. This ability to cover such wide-ranging turf in a short period can make their numbers appear to be larger than they actually are. One landowner might see three members of a coyote pack one day. A neighbor living a mile or two down the road might see two of those three coyotes a day later. This makes the sighting of three individual animals seem to observers as though it was five animals. A century ago, the eradication of the wolf and mountain lion (cougar) populations in Virginia and northeast North Carolina spelled opportunity for coyotes to tiptoe their way into position they now hold as our region's top keystone predator. 

 Coyotes have steadily made their way eastward since the 1950s, and today we have coyotes in every country in Virginia. And, now that they're here—they're staying. The species is a quipped with a survival Plan B. When their population experiences sudden dramatic mortality, coyotes respond by producing larger and more frequent litters. So, if a human decides to go out hunting and kills a bunch of coyotes, while that human is posting their kill on Facebook, the surviving coyotes are already working on reproducing the next generation of their pack.

 The Taylor Mitchell Killing: Could it Happen Here?           

In the first recorded case of a verified coyote killing in America, authorities concluded that the death of Taylor Mitchell, 19, a Canadian folk singer, was a result of a Coyote attack in 2009. The musician was hiking alone in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia when she was mauled by several coyotes. One day later, she died of injuries sustained in the attack. In the 2011 National Geographic documentary, Killed by Coyotes, Breton Cape Highlands National Park officials described evidence at the scene which suggested that Mitchell had run away from the coyotes she confronted on the trail—a fatal error in judgment. Authorities also concluded through DNA testing that the coyotes found within the park are Eastern Coyotes, a wolf-coyote hybrid, which ranges from the Northeastern United States and Canada.

Running Scared—Don’t You Dare!

Let's say you encounter a coyote—or more than one coyote, in your berry patch, garden, on a walk near the woods. What can you do? Firstly, bear in mind that the average coyote is about the size and weight of a medium dog. That’s 2.5 feet high and approximately 40 pounds. Still, you may be scared. You may be unsure. There may be four, 40-pound coyotes in front of you. Rage, don't run. Coyotes are predators, and predators respond instinctively to flight behaviors in their intended prey. Translation: if an animal runs, the coyotes will chase it. If the coyote isn't retreating from you, do not turn and flee. Flail your arms, yell, throw rocks, sticks, whatever you can grab (nothing edible, of course). And what about rabies? In the event of a coyote bite, that's not likely. While contracting rabies from a coyote is a possibility, it's not a probability. To date, there are no known cases of a human contracting rabies from a coyote in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Push Me and I’ll Push Back

What if a coyote keeps hanging around your farm or yard? If you raise or keep small livestock, live chickens, goats, turkeys or you live at the juncture of open land and woods—better known as edge habitat—you are sharing the coyotes’ ideal hunting ground. In Virginia, coyotes are legally designated a nuisance species, and state law allows year-round hunting of the species except on Sunday only in those rural areas where it is legal for you to operate and discharge a firearm on your property. If coyote attacks pose an immediate threat to your pets or livestock on any day of the week, the Sunday exception does not apply, again only in those rural areas where it is legal for you to operate and discharge a firearm on your property. You can also call your local animal control department request to pick up of the animal USDA's Wildlife Services Cooperative Coyote damage control program offers assistance with livestock and agricultural damage caused by qualities phone (540) 381-7387 or for more information.

 They’re So Cute When They’re Little

Yeah, so are bear and lion cubs, but hopefully you wouldn't consider approaching them in the wild, either. Experts agree, that were coyotes are concerned the best defense is a good offense. Don’t welcome coyotes—not even wandering pups—into your personal space, and never bait them with scraps to coax them within range of your living room window or game cam. These highly intelligent, adaptable animals are constantly testing the limits of their environment, acclimating and adapting to our encroachment into their habitat, and the challenges we present to their survival.

https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wildlife/nuisance/coyotes/