Tacoma Goes Wild! Coyotes! (31. October 2006, 08:39 by Derek Young) ~ Wild Wild Wild Ahhh
So we hear that a coyote was prowling Wright Park this weekend and it caused quite a stir. The News Tribune reported today on attempts to catch the critter as he watched ducks in the pond. Gone are the days when a coyote can watch ducks in a pond like a civilized creature…
What strikes us as interesting is that coyotes have been causing quite a stir in this city for several months now. Some residents in the North End are encountering these critters on a near daily basis and that dozens of pets have gone missing. We’ve been told that the city has tried to stay out of it – although it did assign an intern to the problem. What does that mean? We have no idea.
We once watched a cat stalk a peacock near old town. But that’s a different story…
Link to The News Tribune
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I had a coyote roam in my yard over here near Tacoma mall….I live on 44th and Sheridan and it ran right across the road while we were outside.
1 | Posted by Jason Hulen | Oct 31, 10:19 AM
I grew up with the critters on the very outside edge of LA. House cats for coyotes are like fat little cheeseburgers just sitting around for late night snacks. I don’t actually remember how many cats disappeared on my street growing up, but it was a constant occurrence. We lost a couple of cats and a chicken.
One summer day I was out in the canyon when I was about 14, it was late and getting dark. I was followed the last quarter mile back to civilization by a small pack of coyotes – very creepy. My sister was followed by a pack of them when she was out on horseback one late evening. One on one they’re very shy, but a pack is a different story.
They will flourish and grow in a suburban-type environment like the North End. They can live quite nicely in the gulches during the day – no predators at all to thin them out – and at night they can come into the neighborhoods to eat pet food as well as the pets.
My advice to people would be to leave NO food at all out for your pets, even in what you think is an enclosed yard. They can smell it, and they will get over, under or around the fence if there is one. Dogs stand a chance against them one-on-one, depending, but cats are vulnerable.
2 | Posted by RCC | Oct 31, 10:35 AM
I have several contacts that are animal behavior specialists, and they have told me that coyotes in search of a meal display these characteristics.
3 | Posted by Dave L. | Oct 31, 12:17 PM
I was at a council committee meeting about a month ago and some people were discussing coyotes (and perhaps other animals) coming up through the neighborhood and taking out a pet or two.
Scott Hansen from Puget Creek Restoration Society
poinently explained (and I thought effectively) that the local pets were the non-native species. Everyone cracked up.
Thus, this may be one of those situations where there is no “problem” to solve.
Thus, this may be one of those situations where there is no “problem” to solve.
I’m not saying that there’s a problem, but I would be interested in what’s caused the change in behavior. It appears as though there’s an increased number of sightings. I’d expect this if we were a new city on the edge of the suburbs. But these are established neighborhoods that have been around a long time. The gullies have been around a long time. Or is it simply increased awareness.
There is nothing static about many animal populations, even in cities.
As for the increased sightings, it may be that somehow coyotes have been introduced into the North End gullies in the last few years and have establised a growing population base.
The problem is that besides humans, there are no natural predators for the coyotes in the North End of Tacoma. With a large amount of shelter in the gullies, and a very large source of food & water, one would expect to see the population grow fairly quickly once established.
Check out the predator-prey cycle – here’s a mathy link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predator-prey_equations
The punchline you might care about from that link is: “In the model system, the predators thrive when there are plentiful prey but, ultimately, outstrip their food supply and decline. As the predator population is low the prey population will increase again. These dynamics continue in a cycle of growth and decline.”
But, the critical point here is that with the coyotes we’re looking at a huge food supply – pet food & pets.
One might guess they will grow like kudzu until we start trapping or shooting them.
6 | Posted by RCC | Oct 31, 01:36 PM
There are a number of other animals that live somewhat seamlessly with humans – rats, possums, raccoons. I would think that these too are prey. Consider though that as Tacoma developed, the animals moved out. The areas they moved to are now being developed. It’s possible they’re back as it’s now the ‘best’ place given the other options. Rather than shooting or trapping, I’d like to hear about ways to live cohesively with the native species. Is it really necessary as humans to dominate another species?
8 | Posted by M.W. | Nov 1, 07:48 AM
Rather than shooting or trapping, I’d like to hear about ways to live cohesively with the native species. Is it really necessary as humans to dominate another species?
Humans (and their pets) already completely dominate the areas which were once pretty natural. There are probably 20,000 or more cats and dogs in the city and just a few dozen coyotes so the pets seem to be doing pretty well comparatively.
The question is whether we should pay to try to have Tacoma sanitized so that the last few reminents of wildlife are removed.
I liked Hensen’s remark because it questioned the presumption that pets should completely dominate the area over the wild species and if there is a conflict, that the coyotes are the ones that must be eliminated.
The city barly has the resources to deal with stray dogs. I’d rather have coyotes wandering my city than the stray pit bulls I have now.
10 | Posted by Hilltop, its not as bad as you think! | Nov 1, 05:17 PM
Hello:
As a Wildlife Ecologist I have seen what the human population has done to the wildlife, especially in the urban arena. Coyotes are not the problem: the problem lies in irresponsible pet owners. Do you know that the number one problem with ground dwelling bird and small mammal populations is with domestic house cats and not the natural predators? House cats are quick enought to catch the birds and mammals and thus have taken the balance out of nature. Coyotes go after cats because they are smaller than possums and raccoons and have less teeth. Cats are bigger then rats so they offer more food. The best way to control a predator population is to take away its easy food source (cats-leave them indoors where they belong, don’t feed the wildlife, clean up around bird feeders, don’t feed on your back porch and don’t trap or kill the coyotes). The coyotes will eventually hunt more of its natural prey: raccoons, possums, rats etc. and thus control those populations that seem to bother people as well. In other words let nature control nature and everything will balance out. Thank you.
Scott M. Hansen-Wildlife Ecologist and Vice President of the Board of Directors for Puget Creek Restoration Society
11 | Posted by Scott M. Hansen (Puget Creek Restoration Society) | Nov 3, 09:43 AM
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