Why Are There Coyotes in My Neighborhood?
Whether you know it or not, you are likely sharing your neighborhood with one or more coyotes.
Biologists tell us there are more coyotes now than in any time in history, and the territorial range of North America’s most adaptable predator continues to expand. Yes, the territorial range is expanding – and for many urban communities throughout the country, that is happening right in your backyard.
But you might still be asking, “why are coyotes living in my neighborhood?” Well, they aren’t there to socialize, they are there to eat.
Try this experiment: go for a walk through your neighborhood. Go down one side of the street for ten minutes, cross over and walk back along the other side of the street. In those twenty minutes, you will walk about a mile. As you walk, think about how much food might be available in every single yard you passed.
Think about uncovered trash cans, pet food on the back porch, and pet dogs and cats. Consider the compost pile in the backyard and then consider that studies have shown in some cases as many as 25% of people in neighborhoods purposely leave food out for wildlife!
How many potential food sources do you think you might encounter during that one-mile walk? Plenty.
In the second half of this test, take a drive. Drive to the outskirts of your community. That line between human development and undeveloped wildland is referred to as the “wildland-urban interface,” or “WUI”.
Once you are out in the wildland area surrounding where you live, take another 20-minute walk. Again, that will be about a mile. See if there is a hiking trail or creek bed where you can walk and while walking, be alert for uncovered trash cans, food on the back porch, stray cats, pet dogs and cats and other “easy” food sources.
You will find that there are none. At the same time, pay attention for rabbits, gophers, birds and other small animals that a coyote might be able to catch and eat. Very quickly you will get the picture. The fact is, human development has created some of the best habitat coyotes have ever seen.
Coyotes living in undeveloped areas, forests and deserts, may be trapped or hunted. But not those living in your subdivision! Think about it, your local neighborhood coyote is just better protected and better fed.
That’s right, urban coyotes live off the fat of the land while their wild counterparts must struggle for every meal, and that is why coyotes live in your neighborhood.
To protect your pets from coyotes, you need a good defensive plan, you must make your yard coyote proof.