Whenever possible, take your dog out on a dog leash. “We encourage people to not intentionally or unintentionally feed animals if they are trying to deter them from their yards and neighborhoods.”ĭo not leave your pet unattended: Keep an eye on your pet when you open the back door to let him out and do not let him stray too far away from you. But if an incident occurs, then the coyote gets blamed.”ĭo not feed wildlife: One of the biggest reasons that coyotes are infiltrating neighborhoods is the attraction of people food, Fox says. “There is an attraction often between dogs and coyotes and it’s often the dog that starts the chase behavior. “A dog and a coyote are genetically similar enough where they can interbreed, though interbreeding is not very common,” she notes. Here are a few precautions you can take:īe aware that some dogs may be drawn to coyotes: To ensure your dog’s safety in a coyote-ridden area, it’s essential to be aware that coyotes and dogs can be attracted to one another, Fox points out. “Humans need to avoid risky behaviors if we are to avoid interactions and conflict with coyotes,” she explains. The key to ensuring pet safety is for owners to adjust to their behavior and to take extra steps to keep their animals out of harm’s way. “Coyotes are here to stay,” Rodriguez says. “Once you allow your pets to roam, they basically become part of the ecosystem, so they may be perceived as prey by any given species.” How to Protect Pets From Coyotes “If a coyote is in an urban area and there is a fat fluffy that doesn’t have a lot of defense mechanism, cats could be considered prey,” she says. “So it’s going to do whatever it can to make a living at the lowest possible cost.”Įven in urban areas, a coyote will prefer to eat its natural diet of rodents and fruit but may snatch up a pet if the opportunity presents itself as an easy one, Fox adds. “I like to think of it this way: A coyote is just being a coyote,” she says. “When it does happen, it’s typically because humans are engaging in risky behavior-e.g., leaving/letting their pets outside alone, walking pets at night in urban centers.” And even then, Rodriguez explains that we can’t really place the blame on the coyotes. “It does happen from time to time, but it’s not all that common,” she explains. So, will a coyote attack a dog? Though everyone seems to have a “coyote ate my friend’s pet” story, Rodriguez says that these occurrences are still relatively low. And demographic wise, she notes that coyotes have been found “everywhere from Central America to the Arctic.” “This means they can live off their natural prey (smaller mammals like rabbits, squirrels, and even deer fawn, as well as insects, fruits, birds, amphibians, and reptiles), but they can also do fine preying on domestic pets and small livestock, human refuse, and agricultural crops,” she says. Rodriguez adds that coyotes are generalists, which means they don’t have narrow requirements for habitat, food, and such, like specialist species do. “Things like habitat encroachment, habitat alteration, and food can be an attraction for different species.” “As we increase human populations and develop formerly green space, wild areas, we are coming face to face with more wildlife, like coyotes,” explains Camilla Fox, founder and executive director of Project Coyote, an organization that strives to foster coexistence between people and wildlife. Shari Rodriguez, assistant professor of human dimensions of wildlife at Clemson University, noting that she has seen “an incredible photo of a coyote that got onto a subway car in Portland and curled up and went to sleep on a seat.” “Coyotes are found pretty much everywhere now, including urban centers,” says Dr. And this is ultimately why we are hearing more about their growing urban presence today. While coyotes once lived on untouched lands, the species has spread into heavily populated areas. But how common are coyote attacks in urban and suburban areas? Is this really something to lose sleep over? We asked the experts to answer burning questions about coyotes, and offer advice on how to keep your pets safe. People have reported coyotes snatching their pups from their backyards, causing mass hysteria. News headlines have highlighted the tragedy that can unfold if a hungry coyote crosses paths with a small, unattended pet. In recent years, we have been hearing more and more about wildlife posing a threat to dogs and cats.
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