Urban coyote

Urban coyotes are coyotes that reside in North American metropolitan areas (major cities and their suburbs). Coyotes thrive in suburban settings and urban regions, because of the availability of food and the lack of predators.[1][2] One report described them as "thriving" in U.S. cities,[3] and a 2013 report in The Economist suggested that urban coyotes were increasingly living in cities and suburbs.[4]

A coyote crossing the street in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California

Adaptations to urban environments

Wildlife ecologists at Ohio State University studied coyotes living in Chicago over a seven-year period (2000–2007) and found that coyotes have adapted well to living in densely populated urban environments while avoiding contact with humans. They found that urban coyotes tend to live longer than their rural counterparts, kill rodents and small pets, and live anywhere from parks to industrial areas. The researchers estimated that there are up to 2,000 coyotes living in the Chicago metropolitan area and that this circumstance may well apply to many other urban areas in North America.[5]

In Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, coyotes den and raise their young, scavenge roadkill, and hunt rodents. "I don't see it as a bad thing for a park," the assigned National Park Service biologist told a reporter for Smithsonian Magazine. "I see it as good for keeping animal populations in control, like the squirrels and the mice."[6]

Coyote in a suburban Thousand Oaks, California, backyard

Unlike rural coyotes, urban ones have a longer lifespan and tend to live in higher densities but rarely attack humans and can be frightened away by arm waving or loud noises.[7] The animals generally are nocturnal and prey upon rabbits, rats, Canada geese, fruit, insects and family pets, especially small dogs and domestic cats.[8] Analysis of urban coyote scat found that the most common food source of Southern California coyotes came from anthropogenic sources, namely edible plantings cultivated by humans (particularly figs, palm fruit and grapes), litter/refuse, and domestic cats. They also consumed gophers, ground squirrels (but rarely rats or mice), rabbits and birds.[9] Meanwhile, the diet of suburban coyotes included a much higher proportion of native mammals, primarily rabbits.[9]

Coyotes in all Canadian provinces can be attracted to food left out for birds, or prey upon stray cats, and tend to live between apartment buildings and in industrial parks throughout major cities from Vancouver through Toronto and all the way to St. John's.

”We rarely think about storm drains, power line rights of way, or railroad tracks, but these are coyote highways, linking one habitat to another,” note the authors of Wild L.A.: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles.[10]

Coyotes tend to be opportunistic and clever, according to one view.

One study in Tucson, Arizona found that urban coyotes had similar antibodies and pathogens to coyotes in general, and had a survival rate in the city of 72% for any given year, on average.[11] A study in 2007 suggested that coyotes were "successful in adjusting to an urbanized landscape" with high survival rates, and are frequently in "close proximity" to people. [12]

Both studies suggested that a major cause of deaths of urban coyotes was collisions with motorized vehicles.[5][11]

Management

A researcher studying the impact of coyotes in the city of Austin, Texas found that urban coyote management techniques, including steps to trap and remove coyotes who were exhibiting bold or aggressive behavior, as well as efforts to educate the public about not feeding the animals, had had a positive effect in lessening possible risk to humans or to pets.[13]

California and Vermont ban coyote hunting contests.[14]

In order to ensure that urban coyotes remain afraid of humans, Edmonton, Canada announced that volunteers would "make a ruckus" if coyotes do not run away when initially approached.[15]

Coyotes are a common sight in major urban parks in Canada and the U.S.

Specific urban coyotes

A coyote nicknamed "Hal" made his way to New York City's Central Park in March 2006, wandering about the park for at least two days before being captured by officials. New York City parks commissioner Adrian Benepe noted this coyote had to be very adventurous and curious to get so far into the city.[16] In 2015, there were reports of coyotes howling at night in Central Park.[17]

An incident occurred in April 2007 in the Chicago Loop district, where a coyote, later nicknamed "Adrian", quietly entered a Quizno's restaurant during the lunch hours; it was later captured and released at a wildlife rehabilitation center near Barrington, Illinois.[18][19] In February 2010, up to three coyotes were spotted on the Columbia University campus in New York City, and another coyote sighting occurred in Central Park.[20] Up to ten coyotes have also been living and breeding in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.[21]

Coyotes were reportedly living underneath decks in suburban Stamford, Connecticut and in some instances chasing after large dogs.[22]

Attacks and fatalities
Main articles: Coyote attack, Animal–human conflict, and Wildland–urban interface

Urban coyotes are among the large carnivores known to prey on humans.[23][24] There have been two recorded human fatalities attributed to coyote attacks.[25]

See also

References
  1. Julie Feinstein, Field Guide to Urban Wildlife, 2011, ISBN 0811705854, pp. 86–92.
  2. Stanley D. Gehrt and Seth P. D. Riley, "Coyotes (Canis latrans)" in Urban Carnivores: Ecology, Conflict, and Conservation, Stanley D. Gehrt, Seth P. D. Riley, and Brian L. Cypher eds., JHU Press, 2010, ISBN 0801893895, pp. 79–96.
  3. "Coyotes thriving in U.S. cities". UPI. January 4, 2006.
  4. The Economist, March 9, 2013, Urban coyotes: Dogged persistence -- The coyote is quietly conquering urban America, Accessed March 13, 2013
  5. "Thriving under our noses, stealthily: coyotes" URL accessed on January 9, 2006.
  6. Dell'Amore, Christine. "City Slinkers." Smithsonian 36.12 (2006): 36-38. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 June 2013.
  7. "St. Paul seeing increase in coyote sightings". Twin Cities. 2018-07-21. Retrieved 2018-07-23.
  8. Garthwaite, Josie (2012-10-24). "Learning to Live With Urban Coyotes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-05-13.
  9. Larson, Rachel N.; Brown, Justin L.; Karels, Tim; Riley, Seth P. D. (2020-02-05). Apollonio, Marco (ed.). "Effects of urbanization on resource use and individual specialization in coyotes (Canis latrans) in southern California". PLOS ONE. 15 (2): e0228881. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1528881L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0228881. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 7001990. PMID 32023321.
  10. Higgins, Lila; Pauly, Gregory B. M (2019). Wild L.A.: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles. Timber Press. ISBN 978-1604697100.
  11. Morbidity-mortality factors and survival of an urban coyote population in Arizona, M Grinder and PR Krausmanm, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, jwildlifedis April 1, 2001 vol. 37 no. 2 312-317, Accessed March 14, 2013
  12. Stanley D. Gehrt, 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference (D.L. Nolte, W.M. Arjo, D.H. Stalman, Eds). 2007. ECOLOGY OF COYOTES IN URBAN LANDSCAPES April 2007, Accessed March 14, 2013
  13. Proceedings of the 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference (D.L. Nolte, W.M. Arjo, D.H. Stalman, Eds). 2007; Randy O. Farrar, ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF URBAN COYOTE ON PEOPLE AND PETS IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS April 2007, Accessed March 14, 2013
  14. Montero, David (March 25, 2019). "Reviled predator, often a target of 'coyote whacking,' is gaining a flicker of respect". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  15. "Cruel to be kind: New citizen patrols will scare Edmonton coyotes with sticks and tennis balls | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  16. Newman, Maria, and Janon Fisher. "Elusive Coyote Is Captured in Central Park." New York Times March 22, 2006. November 7, 2009.
  17. Lisa Foderaro, MARCH 6, 2015, The New York Times, That Howling? Just New York’s Neighborhood Coyotes, Retrieved March 7, 2015
  18. "And the coyote shall lie down with the SoBes ..." Associated Press. April 4, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
  19. Meincke, Paul (April 4, 2007). "Coyote captured in Loop to be set free". WLS-TV. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
  20. » Three Coyotes Spotted on Columbia’s Campus. Myupperwest.com (2010-02-08). Retrieved on May 10, 2011.
  21. "In City Where Dogs Outnumber Children, Finding a Way for Coyotes to Coexist", The New York Times, May 14, 2012
  22. CBS News, March 6, 2015, Coyotes Seen Going After Large Dogs In Stamford, Connecticut, Retrieved March 8, 2015
  23. Gehrt, Stanley D.; Muntz, Erich M.; Wilson, Evan C.; Power, Jason W. B.; Newsome, Seth D. (February 2023). "Severe environmental conditions create severe conflicts: A novel ecological pathway to extreme coyote attacks on humans". Journal of Applied Ecology. 60 (2): 353–364. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14333. ISSN 0021-8901. S2CID 253872509.
  24. "Proceedings of the Tenth Vertebrate Pest Conference (1982) | Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings collection | University of Nebraska - Lincoln". digitalcommons.unl.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
  25. "A Decade-Old Coyote Attack Mystery May Be Solved". Gizmodo. 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2023-03-13.
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