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"Coyote Ugly?"

© Stacey Monfils

Recently it came to light that there have been sightings of coyotes at the end of our street. Our neighborhood is not considered rural, although we do border the next town which is comprised of thick, dense trees before entering the next neighborhood. The people at the end of our street were relaxing in their living room when the creature leaped over the low fence in their backyard. The woman who lives there described it as looking like a dog, but more feral-looking and unkempt. Her husband jumped up, went outside and yelled at the animal, which then scurried away into nearby woods.

Investigating further, I have learned that there has been a rash of cats missing from the neighborhood and some of the kids were even talking about an encounter with a coyote. The woman and her husband who spotted the coyote said that two of her felines vanished recently, and another disappeared during the past year. "I can live with the fact that we don't have our cats anymore," she was quoted as saying. "But I fear a child will get attacked." She also went on to say that she feels something needs to be done.

Now before I go on with my article and lest anyone say I am more concerned about the cats than I am the children, let me remind you that I am the mother of two. I, too, worry for their safety and have discussed with them what they should and should NOT do if they encounter a coyote in their neighborhood. I am also aware that statistics show that incidents of coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare.

However, it seems to me that losing three pets in the course of a year would make me more cautious and more importantly, responsible. It appears to me that continuing to let your cats out after even ONE has disappeared does not exactly make the most responsible show of pet ownership. Then to state that you can "live" with the fact that your pets are gone...huh? If your going to continue to provide available prey for a coyote, why wouldn't it return, and probably bolder each time?

While acknowledging that coyotes have migrated to the area and grown accustomed to living near humans, DEM specialists often state that there is little they can do to eradicate the problem. They cannot remove them. How would they? Where would they remove them to? Besides, removing one will not take care of the others that will show up later.

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