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In the News: Tails of Marin
Keeping Marin's Coyotes Wild
Just as we enjoy living in Marin County because of the protected open spaces, coyotes like it, too. While perhaps immune to the beauty of our scenic vistas, coyotes certainly enjoy the temperate climate, plentiful water, bountiful coverage and abundant rodent population available in our rural areas. The unique thing about coyotes is how well they can also exist in suburban and even urban areas — if we give them the food, water and shelter that they need. But if we do, the coyotes are likely to run into problems with us.
It’s important to remember two things: Coyotes are part of the natural landscape of Marin County and it is our responsibility to ensure that they remain wild. Coyotes serve an important role in our ecosystem by helping to regulate populations of rats, raccoons, skunks and opossums. Think of them as offering free “pest” control services! Yet, as much as we might want to welcome them to our neighborhoods for that reason, it is vitally important that we not habituate them to humans.
During the summer, coyotes sometimes take advantage of the opportunities presented to them in residential neighborhoods: pets (and their food) are left outside more, fruit is falling from trees, and rats are making nuisances of themselves. But habituating coyotes, or allowing them to become accustomed to the presence of people, is as harmful as signing their death warrant. And feeding coyotes, intentionally or not, is the surest way to make them feel too welcome and is most often at the root of conflicts. Remember: A fed coyote is a dead coyote!
There are a number of things that you and your neighbors can do to ensure that coyotes stay wild and neighborly:
- Admire coyotes as the wild creatures that they are; do not attempt to approach them or make friends with them. Also, do not let your dogs play with them.
- Never intentionally or unintentionally leave a food or water source on your property (bring in the dog and cat food, ensure that bird feeders don’t overflow, secure your garbage can lids).
- Make coyotes visiting your property feel unwelcome: Shout at them, make loud and unusual noises, spray them with a garden hose, throw small objects toward them. These are all “vexing” techniques designed to help reinstill coyotes’ natural fear of humans.
- Keep your pets safe with proper supervision and confinement, especially at dawn and after dusk.
- Walk your dog on leash in areas where coyotes have been sighted.
- Make your yard “coyote proof.” Remove attractants (such as bushes next to home walls), enclose decks and staircases, reduce rodent populations, contain all waste and compost, and remove ripe and fallen tree fruit (yes, coyotes eat fruit!).
- Report all coyote sightings to the Marin Humane Society at 883-4621.
The Marin Humane Society, Animal Protection Institute, WildCare, Marin County Parks, Marin County Open Space District and the Mill Valley Police Department are all working together to monitor coyotes in certain neighborhoods and to offer help and advice. If you have a question about coexisting with coyotes, please write to loveanimals@marinhumanesociety.org or contact one of these agencies.
Named “God’s Dog” by the Navajo, coyotes are remarkably intelligent and resilient animals. “If we’re smart, we’ll recognize that coyotes have much to offer us, not only by keeping ecosystems healthy and diverse, but also by providing inspiring examples of ingenuity and adaptability in an ever-changing world,” says Camilla Fox of the Animal Protection Institute.
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