coyote tip sheet - chicago · 2020-03-20 · coyote tip sheet coyotes are becoming increasingly...

CoyoteTipSheet

Coyotesarebecomingincreasinglycommonincities.Evenindenselypopulatedareas,coyotesmaintainanavoidanceofhumanssopotentialforinteractionislow.Tomaintainasafedistance,homeownersareinstructedtolimitavailabilityoffoodontheirpropertyandhazeindividualcoyotesinthecaseofdirectencounters.Thesetechniquesareoutlinedbelow.Iffollowedbyresidents,thelikelihoodofnegativeinteractionsbetweencoyotesandhumans/petsislowandcoexistenceispossible.StepstoAvoidCoyote-HumanConflict

1. DonotfeedcoyotesUnintentionalandintentionalfeedingaretheleadingcausesofcoyotehabituation(whenacoyotebecomesuncharacteristicallycomfortablearoundhumans).Refrainfromdirectlyfeedingcoyotesandavoidleavinggarbageoutsideforlongperiodsoftime.Outdoorbirdfeedersmayalsobeanattractantbecausetheydrawinsmallrodentsservingasamajorfoodsourceforcoyotes.

2. MonitorPetsUrbancoyotesarenotinclinedtofrequenthomesorpublicspacesduringdaytime.Itisrarethatacoyotewouldapproachapet,butitisusefultomonitoryourpetscloselytopreventinteractions.Coyoteslesslikelytoapproachananimalifinthecompanyofaperson.Alwaysleashyourpetsandmonitorthemwhenoutside-eveninyourbackyard.Domesticatedcatsshouldbekeptinside.

3. HazingItisrecommendedthatifyouencounteracoyotedirectly,donotrunaway.Shouting,Waving,andthrowingitemsareformsofhazingmeanttoinstillfearandpreventaggressivebehaviorincoyotes.Duringbreedingandpup-rearingseasons(March-August)coyotesaremorelikelytoexhibitaggressivebehavior.Itmaybebeneficialtocarryanoise-makertoshakeinthecaseofanencounteriftherehavebeenaseriesofcoyotesightingsinyourneighborhood.However,ifacoyoteisnoticedandisnon-threatening/avoidingyourpresence,donotseekoutanencounterorhazingopportunity.

4. ReportAggressiveCoyotesUnprovokedbarking,hackleraising,snarling,andgrowingareallsignsofaggressivecoyotes.Ifyounoticethesebehaviorpatterns,reportthistocityofficials.

ForfurtherinformationviewChicago’sCoexistencePlan:https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/cacc/PDFiles/CACC_Coyote_Management_FINAL.pdf