Coyotes getting too close for comfort in some areas
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NORMANDY PARK, Wash. -- Wild animals can be very bold in urban settings, and members of several local communities are finding that out first hand.
Many of the homes in Normandy Park are in wooded settings, which is prime real estate for both humans and animals. Recent photos snapped in the area show just how comfortable a coyote pup is in the neighborhood.
From West Seattle to Des Moines, there are plenty of ravines and green belts were dozens of coyotes live.
"We live quite close to the Des Moines fire station. There was a siren that went off about midnight and there must have been maybe three, four or five of them. You know, they started singing along," said Kip Kniskern.
While Kniskern's only heard the coyotes, Brett Fish has been up close and personal with the animals. He snapped photos of a pup playing with an old rug and a garden hose.
Fish and Wildlife officer Kim Chandler can appreciate the photos, but said once the shutter snaps it's time to take action.
"Yes, they're warm and fuzzy and cute and at the time it seems like a good idea, but bottom line is they're wild animals. We need to help keep them wild," Chandler said.
Chandler said anyone who sees coyotes up close should throw rocks, scream and do anything they can to make the animals uncomfortable near humans.
Food left outside for cats or dogs during the day needs to be taken in at night so the coyotes have to forage for their own meals.
"They eat a lot of mice, rats, squirrels. Anything they can catch. They're not above taking small cats, big cats," Chandler said.
Neighbors in the area say they've heard stories of residents losing cats and dogs to the coyotes, and Chandler said it's very important for everyone to be on the same page to make sure the animals stay away.
Many of the homes in Normandy Park are in wooded settings, which is prime real estate for both humans and animals. Recent photos snapped in the area show just how comfortable a coyote pup is in the neighborhood.
From West Seattle to Des Moines, there are plenty of ravines and green belts were dozens of coyotes live.
"We live quite close to the Des Moines fire station. There was a siren that went off about midnight and there must have been maybe three, four or five of them. You know, they started singing along," said Kip Kniskern.
While Kniskern's only heard the coyotes, Brett Fish has been up close and personal with the animals. He snapped photos of a pup playing with an old rug and a garden hose.
Fish and Wildlife officer Kim Chandler can appreciate the photos, but said once the shutter snaps it's time to take action.
"Yes, they're warm and fuzzy and cute and at the time it seems like a good idea, but bottom line is they're wild animals. We need to help keep them wild," Chandler said.
Chandler said anyone who sees coyotes up close should throw rocks, scream and do anything they can to make the animals uncomfortable near humans.
Food left outside for cats or dogs during the day needs to be taken in at night so the coyotes have to forage for their own meals.
"They eat a lot of mice, rats, squirrels. Anything they can catch. They're not above taking small cats, big cats," Chandler said.
Neighbors in the area say they've heard stories of residents losing cats and dogs to the coyotes, and Chandler said it's very important for everyone to be on the same page to make sure the animals stay away.
I guess that's what happens when you cut down their homes.Â
Unfortunately the coyote's have forgotten where they reside in the food chain.  I do my part and remind a few of them each year that man is higher up than they are.  I would encourage others to do the same and get outdoors and do a little coyote hunting while you are out there.  It doesn't take much to get them into range, just a predator call and some good camouflage.  If you want a nice pelt I suggest you hunt them in the Winter months.  If a coyote sees you and doesn't run that coyote is a prime candidate for removal.  Coyotes have their place in nature and do a fine job at it.  Unfortunately grabbing a cat or dog off someone's front porch and devouring it on the lawn is not where they belong.  I can see the responses now "but we live in their environment."  Yeah, Yeah, so go boycott  and speak out against extermination companies that kill mice, rats, bugs and anything else we don't want around our houses that are in "their" environment. Â
This is very good advice!
I think its time we have some sort of help controling the population of coyotes. They are in the news all the time & I believe its only a matter of time before something real bad happens. Government needs to step up to the plate.
I'm in Kitsap County and we received a notice from our school district last week warning of coyotes that have been approaching kids on a trail near the high school and middle school. Yesterday as I was going home after dropping my son off at school, I had to hit the brakes to avoid hitting a coyote that ran across the road in front of my car. This is in a long-established and developed part of town, and it was a very close to a main highway.Â
We have had them in our neighborhood for 20 years and I have seen them in my backyard, so we always look before we take the dog out. It worries me to think that they are brave enough to approach kids on their way to school.
In my neighborhood in Federal Way, about 12 in the afternoon, right around 1st of the year, I was about 2 houses away from my own and stopped for a dog crossing the road. I stopped because i didn't want to hit what I thought was neighborhood dog running across the street. When I got a better look at it, it was a nice healthy coyote carrying some poor neighbor's puppy in its mouth and ran into the greenbelt. I hear them probably once or twice a month (much more frequently in the summer) out in the woods killing animals and then running off in different directions howling, hollering and barking kinda like pirates just pillaging a village or something.
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There's a lot of them around here. Just a matter of time before someone's child gets severely hurt or worse.
I have 2 on my patio every morning.... they are hungry and I am in their home ............................
Have you ever killed a coyote in the middle of the night In the middle of a party
Brought it home and threw it on the carpet
Sit and kill a coyote, I'm starving
Who wants to eat a coyote?
1/3 of the urban coyotes diet is house cat.
Cats kill an estimated 500 million birds every year. I like cats don't get me wrong.Â
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I love my cats ... but they don't go outdoors, we have plenty of things in the house for them to climb.  We all have a purpose in the food chain . . . even coyotes.  We ARE in their home after all.
My parents have a group of yotes somewhere in the 40 undeveloped acres near their house...they go out with their dogs, keep the dogs in at night  and holler and scream when a yote gets too close to the backyard.
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If you can't take actions knowing there are coyotes in the area, move. That simple to me.
We have had encounters with the coyotes. They have killed several of our sheep, our small dog & a couple of weeks ago our beloved Black Lab. JUST so sad right now & not sure if we should move or what. This past weekend there were 4 running down the neighbors road. The week before there were 5 in a neighbors backyard. The humane society said watch the grand kids close. Our property is completely fenced...doesn't matter.
@lindas58 I am sorry for your loss. While it may be tough to think about getting another dog right now, there are breeds you could look at (I am talking outdoor dogs, not just indoor). Some of these breeds were bred for fighting off wolves, not coyotes; some have hair so luxurious and thick as to constitute a protective mane, and others like the Komondor (I think?) have a high degree of protection albeit at the cost of some grooming on your part. Anyway, nowadays it is pretty easy for you to do your own research on breeds from around the world, and others here might be happy to pass along suggestions of their own.
@lindas58
 @lindas58 It sounds like you might live in a more rural area if you have sheep. If you're in an unincorporated area with no shooting restrictions I would seriously consider getting a 22 rifle, taking a high vantage point in the house and taking a few shots at them. A basic 22 rifle with scope will set you back a few hundred bucks with ear protection, eye protection, etc. Obviously, check all laws regarding firearms in your area, as well as the laws surrounding killing coyotes.
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If you could take one of them out the others might get the message, for a time at least.
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 @nwbackpacker  @lindas58 We are on the outskirts of Federal Way. Just happens we have a little land. We do have a 22 rifle & when the coyotes were eating our lab my husband shot at them but...we now have bought a new gun! We will use it as the Sheiff says its ok...do it!
 @nwbackpacker  Quote "take one of them out the others might get the message"I am ROFL, that will not slow them down for much more then a day if that..
 @nwbackpacker  @lindas58 a little 22 bullet is to slow to get a coyote in most cases unless you can guess which way its gonna turn when it hears the shot unless it is real close. if you are using a scope they bare to far away.Add to that it does not have the stopping power needed to kill unless you are a perfect shot. You need something bigger and faster then a 22.The last 22 I shot that 'might' have been loud enough for hearing protection was an old single shot survival 22 with nothing more then the metal frame, firing mechanism and barrel
 @blackbearlover  @nwbackpacker  @lindas58 That is just about the dumbest comment I've ever heard. A .22 round is too slow for a coyote? Are Coyotes faster than a speeding bullet?
Maybe wildlife officials could transport local coyotes to old growth forests to feed on the barred owls threatening the remaining spotted owl population; killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. Â
Ha! Cats need to be kept indoors and small dogs need to be kept on a leash or they will become coyote food. Plain and simple, the coyote is an animal of opportunity that will eat whatever is out there to survive; garbage, cats, small dogs, small animals of any kind are on their menu. They are now hunting in packs versus being solitary animals. Their behaviors are changing like their environment. Humans are moving into their space and they will continue to evolve to survive just like the other animals out there like wolves. Those that thought that wolves would get introduced and only prey on wild free ranging animals like deek and elk were stupid to make that assumption. A wolf will go after fenced in cattle or sheep because it takes less work to take down a contained animal. They are intelligent animals and are and always be efficient killers to survive.
 @Original Coyote Actually, they're solitary unless they're hunting, that's when they form up into a pack.
 @Original Coyote but for the rancher/farmer wolves can be convinced to move on with a good stereo and some commercially available wolf urine marking your perimeter. They're not big on encroaching on what they believe to be another packs turf.
 @sumgi This is what eventually happens. I know several people in Eastern Washington and Idaho who have the same problem. I live here on the west side and shoot all coyotes I see. Have no trouble with my cattle.
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http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2012/11/killing_of_7_wolves_in_northea.html
 @sumgi Sorry, I do not buy that and I side with the Rancher/farmer. I feel they should not have to spend their money to buy wolf urine to mark the perimeter of their property every time it rains or snows to keep predators away from their livelyhood.Â
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I heard a small dog from the neighborhood being eaten to death about 5am a few months ago. It was yelping somethng horrible and then suddenly, silence.
@Superman_1967 When I lived in Idaho, we'd hear coyotes all the time. One night we could tell that they had caught something...turned out to be the neighbors dog. We didn't hear the dog, but there is no mistaking when they have caught something.
This isn't news. They've been all over the region for a while now. You shouldn't wait until one of your animals gets killed before deciding to be aware of your surroundings.Â
 @jowsuf I always love when people read a non news article on a news page and then comment on the non news article telling us that it is not news...
 @The206 Glad you like it.
have them here along with opossums, raccoons, deer, black bears, bobcats and though I have never seen it we even had an occasional cougar(per WDFW ) with a tracking collar wondering through.all the wildlife  have been around here for over 50 years.if people can not deal with fact, then maybe should relocate themselves to a high rise apt building and plant trees where their current house now stands
We have coyotes in the area I live, as well as racoons, deer, black bears, etc....we just deal with it. I don't know what Normandy Park is like, but if there's wooded areas, you're going to have wild animals..When food is scarce, they're going to wander into areas they may not normally go to. It's unnerving, but they've always been there.
We live very close to downton Redmond and there have been coyotes in the "Peters Creek Ravine @ 85th since I moved here in 1986. They have been seen in a number of backyards, on the streets and have killed small dogs, cats and chickens. Three years ago seven pups were seen together and we can hear them reguarly. Just learn how to take care of your animals. They do not consider your property "OFF LIMITS".
Haha! I hope all you bunny squeezin' meadow muffins that voted to outlaw trapping don't mind donating your pets to your coyotes. Wolves will be next in your backyards and they will eat more than your pets.
 @noreaster Will they eat the trappers?
Wait till we get wolves. There are many who think this is a good idea and they are multiplying. Ranchers will love that!
Just a note - keeping pets inside just "at night" won't cut it. They will hunt during the day & evening too.
I lost a much-beloved cat that had accidently gotten outside over the summer. All I found of him was the last inch of his tail. I don't know if it was coyotes or raccoons, but I have frozen paintballs in my freezer waiting to go if they dare ever show up in my yard. The WDFW told me that killing them is illegal where I live, however paintballs are a-ok.
 @Tattooed_Angel Killing Witch One
 @Tattooed_Angel Sub-sonic .22's and a shovel, that is all I can say.
We have a lot of ignorant people who have moved out to the suburbs to enjoy life in the country. What they do not realize is they are displacing the animals which lived there, and there are fewer and fewer places for these animals to forage. To make things worse, they leave their pets out in pens without tops, or even worse on a cable (snack on a rope). If you actually value your pets, keep the small ones in at night. In North Korea, we have starving parents killing and eating their children, so donât get down on a hungry coyote, bobcat, or mountain lion snacking on your pets that you provide no protection for.   Â
 @oldster70 I lived out in the country most of my life and frequently heard coyotes around us, but we never lost a cat (they were indoor/outdoor kitties) or dog to them...I guess the urban coyotes are different than the country ones.
 @MoonDragonWitch Not really. We have not lost a pet to them either. We have a lot of them from time to time. We also have lots of wild rabbits. Works for me.Â
@MoonDragonWitch @oldster70 Why do you think they are mostly shy animals. When they are packin' they are anything but shy. They killed a woman jogger in Canada a few years ago. The problem around here is that they have no naturual predators and they are building up a huge population. They need thinned or someone is going to end up dead. Canines have litters, remember? They multiply like crazy.
 @oldster70 We have a few of them around my apartment complex in NE Tacoma. I've been within 10 feet of one a few times, they just look at me and my dog for a few moments before loping off. I don't get why some people get so freaked out by wildlife like Coyotes, they're mostly shy animals that will sooner run from you then attack (unless there is something wrong with them or you're near their den). Plus it's kind of nice to have some natural pest control since my apartment complex has issues emptying the dumpsters when they are overflowing, no rats!
Call P.E.T.AÂ Â Â Â They will take care of them.
 @Pawpabear Yeah, their naked girls will scare the daylights out of those coyotes.
 @noreaster  @Pawpabear That's halarious!
 @noreaster  @Pawpabear You are hysterical!  Seriously, I just had two big and much needed belly laughs on this thread alone and I thank you.  Keep posting, you are very funny!  If I use 'bunny squeezin' meadow muffins' I will be sure to give you credit.
"They eat a lot of mice, rats, squirrels. Anything they can catch."
I guess roadrunners are off the menu then.
 @Elvis All we have to do is ship in some roadrunners and our cats will be just fine.