Experts: Best to leave Coyotes alone, if possible

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Tim Lockley, a specialist in entomology and columnist for the Sun Herald, is retired from a 30-year career as a research scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is an excerpt from a recent column.)

Coyotes can be found from southern Canada to Central America. Our modern highways have paved the way for these expansions, bridging barriers such as the Mississippi River.

Outside of urban and suburban habitats, coyotes aren't much of a problem. Their consumption of rodents and carrion is actually beneficial to us. It's when they come in contact with human beings, our pets or our livestock that they become a nuisance.

Until recently, people who do research on coyotes thought they wouldn't push too far into urban areas. Unfortunately, that hypothesis was shown to be wrong. Humans have eliminated predators that would otherwise control coyotes. We've expanded into their natural territory and now, due to population pressures, coyotes are returning the favor by adapting to our habitats.

That adaptation was made easy by their natural flexibility. Coyotes are predators. They prefer to feed on rodents and rabbits, but they also will consume just about anything organic. If they can digest it, it's food.

In the fall, a coyote will gorge on large quantities of fruit. They also will munch down on large insects. A hungry coyote won't pass up a meal of road kill when other food sources are limited. If they can reach them, they will kill small pets, livestock or poultry.

Controlling coyotes isn't easy ... there are things you can do to ameliorate their effects.

n Never feed a coyote. No matter how well intended, feeding any wild animal will almost always have bad results. If a coyote finds you to be an easy mark, they will not only hang around, they'll tell their entire family about you.

n Never leave small pets outside unattended where they can be attacked.

n Put your trash in tightly sealed containers and don't leave any pet food out overnight. Even your bird feeders can attract a hungry coyote by attracting rodents. If you have any fruit trees, pick up any fallen fruit and dispose of them.

n If you run across a coyote, don't go anywhere near it. If they're too close when you come upon them, make loud noises. Coyotes are naturally fearful of us. However, constant association with people in urban and suburban sites can cause coyotes to lose that fear.

n If shouting doesn't work, try throwing something at them.

n If you are attacked by a coyote (and this does happen on very rare occasions), contact your local law enforcement agency.

Unlike Wile E. Coyote in those Warner Brothers cartoons, coyotes really are extremely cunning. So, if you seem to have a perpetual problem with them, you may want to contact a professional.

For the most part, coyotes are our allies. In town or out of town, they help to manage rats and mice.

-- Tim Lockley

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Experts: Best to leave Coyotes alone, if possible ."