If you live in an area with coyotes (and that's a good portion of my f-list) please, please read this...
I just saw this article on a local news website. What I see is someone who witnessed an act of nature (albeit a rather gruesome one, and certainly upsetting for any pet owner) and had a knee-jerk, panicked reaction. What's worse, they are now encouraging the rest of the area to panic along with them.
In the end, I'm afraid that our wildlife will pay the price.
The fact that coyotes are becoming more prevalent in the area is not surprising at all. As the article states, people are pushing into wild areas more and more. Add to that the fact that coyotes are a species that has adapted well to human areas, and it makes the problem even bigger.
Coyotes are one of the most adaptable species out there. In the last few hundred years, they have greatly expanded their original range (the western plains) to include the majority of the continent. Why did it increase? Because large human populations spread across the continent, and the coyotes followed. They learned to use humans to find food. And we willingly provide the resources they need to continue to proliferate. It happens when people are careless or ignorant - or both. What does a coyote want? Food, water, shelter.
Food
Coyotes are scavengers. They eat just about anything - and humans provide just about anything. Garbage? Check - unsecured garbage cans provide a quick fix. Pet food? Check - people who leave pet food bowls outside provide an easy meal for a coyote. Pets? Definitely check. Coyotes are not hippie tree-huggers. They are animals, they eat meat, and they eat to survive. Having outdoor pets is an invitation for a coyote to move into the area and feed on beloved pets.
What can you do?
Cover and secure garbage can lids. Feed pets indoors. Keep compost areas fenced off. Keep pets indoors!
Water
It's a necessity of life for all living creatures. We do a pretty good job of providing it to coyotes, too. Rain barrels, swimming pools, whatever - there's plenty of sources of water around homes for coyotes.
What can you do?
Cover it up! Cover swimming pools, rain barrels, any source of water that you can.
Shelter
The biggie here is crawlspaces. People who have crawlspaces in their home that are open to the outside are inviting coyotes to use them as dens. This goes for other easily-accessible areas, too, such as the space underneath decks.
What can you do?
Seal entrances to crawlspaces, areas under decks, etc.
Why Don't We Just Kill Them?
All moral arguments aside - it doesn't work. When animals are killed, population size rebounds quickly, for several reasons:
-Coyotes have a large litter size, up to 19 pups per litter (source)
-Decreased competition for resources (due to the number of animals killed) can lead to an increased survival rate for pups
-When animals are killed, their niche is left open for another individual to replace them. Animals are not stationary! If there are resources available (say, due to the death of some individuals), other individuals will move in to make use of them.
The sad fact is, though, that we have been killing them - at a freakishly high rate. Americans - do you know that your taxpayer dollars have, for a VERY long time, been funding a coyote-killing program? Your federal tax dollars fund the USDA's "Wildlife Services" branch. Their aim is to kill "pest" species, primarily for the benefit of ranchers. Nearly 100,000 animals are killed every year by Wildlife Services. But this is indiscriminate killing - there is no distinction made between problem animals and non-problem animals. Any animal that stumbles across their path can be killed.
Where has this program gotten us? Nowhere. We're spending millions of dollars a year to run in circles (again, moral issues aside). As mentioned above - lethal programs don't work. Don't believe me? Look around you - we still have a big coyote problem, don't we?
Why Do We Need Coyotes?
Coyotes play an important role in the ecosystem. They keep populations of "mesopredators" (such as cats) under control. When coyotes are removed, a phenomenon called "mesopredator release" occurs in which the mesopredator population shoots up and smaller fauna (especially ground-dwelling birds) disappear. Without coyotes, biodiversity drops! (See the notes at the bottom of the page for papers describing this phenomenon) Not to mention the fact that they are important in keeping rodent populations under control. Coyotes may not be native to all the areas they currently inhabit, but they certainly have become an important part of the ecosystem!
Conclusion
Whether we like it or not, coyotes are here to stay. Lethal control is not a viable option - not to mention the fact that it stands on very shaky moral ground. The way to solve this problem is not to kill it, but to change the root of the problem - our own behavior.
Coexisting With Coyotes
A great source of information on how to live with coyotes.
Wildlife Services report
Look at the facts about the wildlife-killing program that American tax dollars pays for. (The Executive Summary is primarily of interest here)
2004 Wildlife Services Kill Numbers
How many animals of each species did Wildlife Services kill in 2004?
The Cost of Aerial Gunning
What is the human, economic, and environmental cost of gunning these animals down from helicopters?
Get the Brochure
The Animal Protection Institute puts out a free brochure on coexisting with coyotes. Fantastic material! Download it as a pdf or order it in print.
Scientific Research
Baker, Rex O. and Robert M. Timm. Management of conflicts between urban coyotes and humans in southern California. Proceedings of the 18th Vertebrate Pest Conference (1998), pp. 299-312. pdf link
Soule, Michael E., et al. Reconstructed dynamics of rapid extinctions of chaparral-requiring birds in urban habitat islands. Conservation Biology, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Mar., 1988), pp. 75-92.
Soule, Michael E., and Kevin R. Crooks. Mesopredatorrelease and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature, Vol. 400 (5 August, 1999) , pp. 563-566. pdf link
I encourage anyone who wants to to pass this on (hell, just copy/paste if ya like) in your own journal, via MySpace, wherever. This is information that everyone living with coyotes should know!
I just saw this article on a local news website. What I see is someone who witnessed an act of nature (albeit a rather gruesome one, and certainly upsetting for any pet owner) and had a knee-jerk, panicked reaction. What's worse, they are now encouraging the rest of the area to panic along with them.
In the end, I'm afraid that our wildlife will pay the price.
The fact that coyotes are becoming more prevalent in the area is not surprising at all. As the article states, people are pushing into wild areas more and more. Add to that the fact that coyotes are a species that has adapted well to human areas, and it makes the problem even bigger.
Coyotes are one of the most adaptable species out there. In the last few hundred years, they have greatly expanded their original range (the western plains) to include the majority of the continent. Why did it increase? Because large human populations spread across the continent, and the coyotes followed. They learned to use humans to find food. And we willingly provide the resources they need to continue to proliferate. It happens when people are careless or ignorant - or both. What does a coyote want? Food, water, shelter.
Food
Coyotes are scavengers. They eat just about anything - and humans provide just about anything. Garbage? Check - unsecured garbage cans provide a quick fix. Pet food? Check - people who leave pet food bowls outside provide an easy meal for a coyote. Pets? Definitely check. Coyotes are not hippie tree-huggers. They are animals, they eat meat, and they eat to survive. Having outdoor pets is an invitation for a coyote to move into the area and feed on beloved pets.
What can you do?
Cover and secure garbage can lids. Feed pets indoors. Keep compost areas fenced off. Keep pets indoors!
Water
It's a necessity of life for all living creatures. We do a pretty good job of providing it to coyotes, too. Rain barrels, swimming pools, whatever - there's plenty of sources of water around homes for coyotes.
What can you do?
Cover it up! Cover swimming pools, rain barrels, any source of water that you can.
Shelter
The biggie here is crawlspaces. People who have crawlspaces in their home that are open to the outside are inviting coyotes to use them as dens. This goes for other easily-accessible areas, too, such as the space underneath decks.
What can you do?
Seal entrances to crawlspaces, areas under decks, etc.
Why Don't We Just Kill Them?
All moral arguments aside - it doesn't work. When animals are killed, population size rebounds quickly, for several reasons:
-Coyotes have a large litter size, up to 19 pups per litter (source)
-Decreased competition for resources (due to the number of animals killed) can lead to an increased survival rate for pups
-When animals are killed, their niche is left open for another individual to replace them. Animals are not stationary! If there are resources available (say, due to the death of some individuals), other individuals will move in to make use of them.
The sad fact is, though, that we have been killing them - at a freakishly high rate. Americans - do you know that your taxpayer dollars have, for a VERY long time, been funding a coyote-killing program? Your federal tax dollars fund the USDA's "Wildlife Services" branch. Their aim is to kill "pest" species, primarily for the benefit of ranchers. Nearly 100,000 animals are killed every year by Wildlife Services. But this is indiscriminate killing - there is no distinction made between problem animals and non-problem animals. Any animal that stumbles across their path can be killed.
Where has this program gotten us? Nowhere. We're spending millions of dollars a year to run in circles (again, moral issues aside). As mentioned above - lethal programs don't work. Don't believe me? Look around you - we still have a big coyote problem, don't we?
Why Do We Need Coyotes?
Coyotes play an important role in the ecosystem. They keep populations of "mesopredators" (such as cats) under control. When coyotes are removed, a phenomenon called "mesopredator release" occurs in which the mesopredator population shoots up and smaller fauna (especially ground-dwelling birds) disappear. Without coyotes, biodiversity drops! (See the notes at the bottom of the page for papers describing this phenomenon) Not to mention the fact that they are important in keeping rodent populations under control. Coyotes may not be native to all the areas they currently inhabit, but they certainly have become an important part of the ecosystem!
Conclusion
Whether we like it or not, coyotes are here to stay. Lethal control is not a viable option - not to mention the fact that it stands on very shaky moral ground. The way to solve this problem is not to kill it, but to change the root of the problem - our own behavior.
Resources
Coexisting With Coyotes
A great source of information on how to live with coyotes.
Wildlife Services report
Look at the facts about the wildlife-killing program that American tax dollars pays for. (The Executive Summary is primarily of interest here)
2004 Wildlife Services Kill Numbers
How many animals of each species did Wildlife Services kill in 2004?
The Cost of Aerial Gunning
What is the human, economic, and environmental cost of gunning these animals down from helicopters?
Get the Brochure
The Animal Protection Institute puts out a free brochure on coexisting with coyotes. Fantastic material! Download it as a pdf or order it in print.
Scientific Research
Baker, Rex O. and Robert M. Timm. Management of conflicts between urban coyotes and humans in southern California. Proceedings of the 18th Vertebrate Pest Conference (1998), pp. 299-312. pdf link
Soule, Michael E., et al. Reconstructed dynamics of rapid extinctions of chaparral-requiring birds in urban habitat islands. Conservation Biology, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Mar., 1988), pp. 75-92.
Soule, Michael E., and Kevin R. Crooks. Mesopredatorrelease and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature, Vol. 400 (5 August, 1999) , pp. 563-566. pdf link
I encourage anyone who wants to to pass this on (hell, just copy/paste if ya like) in your own journal, via MySpace, wherever. This is information that everyone living with coyotes should know!
11 wishes | rub the lamp
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