This is a photo Spot took of our very local coyote, better known to this household as "the invisible creek monster," as he or she enjoys a meal of rabbit in our neighbor's backyard. (I cut the rabbit out of the picture).
People have had a variety of reactions to our story and photos of the coyote, mostly negative: fear and repulsion. I have a mixed reaction. I think it's super cool and I'm very happy to share my home with such a neat co-habitant, and at the same time I am cautious about not giving her any good reasons to stick around.
According the Living with Wildlife, by Russell Link, coyotes will generally leave you alone unless they get used to eating human handouts, easily accessible garbage or food, or pets. We don't leave food outside or exposed garbage, and ever since we saw the coyote, we don't let the dogs out of our sight in the backyard at night anymore. I'm happy to say that the dogs bark a good game, but when they know they can't win, they high-tail it back in to the house.
I think it's a good sign that the coyote was eating a rabbit -- it probably means that she still relies wild food sources instead of pets or garbage. We may take an extra precaution and add a "coyote roller" to the top of our fence so that she doesn't get interested in the berries that we plant.
I respect the coyote, and though I am cautious and will watch for signs that she is becoming too comfortable around our home and reliant on non-wild food sources, I have no intention of fearing her without cause.
I also think it's good for us humans to have a little fear of wildlife that reminds us of our place, and it's good for us to be reminded whose homes and food we're messing with when we interfere with the ecosystem. Link says that coyotes have proliferated throughout North America from the SW deserts because of the decline of the grey wolf. We caused that decline with extermination programs and by depleting the wolves' food resources. Coyotes don't fill me with revulsion, but what we did to the wolves does.
When I volunteered at the wildlife rehabilitation shelter a few years ago, I won a drawing to help transport some rehabilitated coyotes back to eastern Washington and set them free. Watching them find their way in to the forest is one of my favorite memories. I had a dream a couple of years later that one of the coyotes had pups and lived a full life out there. Nice dream.
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2 comments:
Jojo, I am always mystified when I see coyotes. Even though they are fairly common in Central Oregon, I always think of it as a treat when I see one. I also think it's a sign of a healthy eco-system in an urban environment.
Yay. :)
There is something mystical about their eyes. I find them alluring.
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