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Community Corner

Living with Coyotes...Follow-Up

Earlier this month, when Eureka-Wildwood Patch reported about a dog that stepped in to protect his 14-year-old owner from a coyote, readers responded with several different perspectives about living around and with these canids.

Editor's Note:  On Jan. 2, Eureka-Wildwood Patch posted an article about a Wildwood dog who attacked and killed a coyote in front of his young owner.  A Patch reader,"Deb," wanted to know what happened to the barn cats mentioned in the article, which we indicated were fine. 

Thanks to all for the feedback and questions about increased coyote interactions. 

One concerned Patch reader, "Jane," asked what we all can do about the seemingly mounting population of coyotes in the area.  She said on many mornings, her horses are very skittish, and do not even want to go into their barn stalls to eat grain. They run in, grab a bite and then run out, and nervously look around. She said she lives a little east of Highway 109 and Shepard Road.  "Is there not something that the city of Wildwood can do about the ever increasing number of coyotes in this area?" she posed.

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Jane indicated in a second comment that when she contacted a wildlife control specialist about coyotes, she was told having an expert come in to deal with the matter  would cost in excess of $1,000, and there is no guarantee.  She said her neighbor has a horse, two cats and a small dog, and that a particular coyote appears on her property regularly.  She said that coyote is getting a little too comfortable, and it makes her very nervous.

Another Patch reader, Julie Burdge, brought up a good point on Jan. 5: "There is not an increasing number of coyotes in Wildwood. There is an increasing number of people and construction taking their homes."

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Patch asked Missouri Department of Conservation urban wildlife biologist Erin Shank to respond to the overall question of coyote management. 

"We do not have a coyote problem like we do with deer, and it's like saying you want to get rid of squirrels. Coyotes are here to stay, so we have to change the behavior. Human behavior, and coyote behavior," Shank said. 

Shank monitors wildlife matters in St. Louis County, and is headquartered at Powder Valley Nature Conservation Center, which is located at 11715 Cragwold Rd., off Interstate 44 in the Kirkwood, MO, area.

The first step Shank suggests toward a coyote-related resolution is for people to take an active role. "Make sure there is no trash left lying around on your property," she said. "And pick up leftover pet food as well. Coyotes are nibblers, they like a free lunch."

Because coyotes are much more social animals than raccoons and opossums, they are therefore more likely to become confident and less skittish when a supply of food presents itself. Shank recommends that Wildwood and Eureka residents throw rocks or sticks at coyotes to get them to retreat.

Another suggestion is to use pepper spray, which Shank said seems to work well. 

The months of January through March seem to have the most sightings of coyotes in the local area. Wildlife specialists indicate this is due to the lack of food at this time of year, and that people tend to notice coyotes more during winter, due to the absent foliage behind which they usually hide during other seasons.

Mid- to late-summer is also a time that coyotes appear to make their presence known more often.  Shank said this is because baby coyotes are leaving the den for the first time, and they follow their mother when she goes to hunt for food. 

Authorities get calls from people during the summer stating that they are seeing "packs" of coyotes running around, Shank said. When in fact, coyotes don't hunt in packs like wolves do.  Coyotes tend to travel solo.

Regarding engaging an exterminator to try to deal with the issue, Shank said residents would be better served by contacting a licensed trapper, rather than someone who serves only to exterminate. "Although there are no requirements in Wildwood to have a licensed person do this task, someone with experience is a better option," she said.

She said she knows of only one St. Louis municipality, Olivette, whose representatives hired a trapper to catch a coyote living in one of the city's parks.  "In this case, the coyote was running up to picnic tables to grab food, and obviously something had to be done before something bad happened," she said.

Shank said she also wants Patch readers to know that there has not been one reported attack by a coyote on a human in the entire state of Missouri.  

"Coyotes, as with raccoons, fox, deer and any other wild animal, must be treated as so. With good boundaries and a clean yard, we can live in peace with these animals, and the occasional visit," she said.

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