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Urban coyote

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A coyote crossing the street in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California

Urban coyotes are coyotes that reside in North American metropolitan areas (major cities and their suburbs). Coyotes thrive in suburban settings and urban regions because of the availability of food and the lack of predators.[1][2] One report described them as "thriving" in U.S. cities,[3] and a 2013 report in The Economist suggested that urban coyotes were increasingly living in cities and suburbs.[4]

Adaptations to urban environments

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Wildlife ecologists at Ohio State University studied coyotes living in Chicago over a seven-year period (2000–2007) and found that coyotes have adapted well to living in densely populated urban environments while avoiding contact with humans. They found that urban coyotes tend to live longer than their rural counterparts, kill rodents and small pets, and live anywhere from parks to industrial areas. The researchers estimated that there are up to 2,000 coyotes living in the Chicago metropolitan area and that this circumstance may well apply to many other urban areas in North America.[5] [dead link‍]

In Washington, D.C.'s Rock Creek Park, coyotes den and raise their young, scavenge roadkill, and hunt rodents. "I don't see it as a bad thing for a park," the assigned National Park Service biologist told a reporter for Smithsonian Magazine. "I see it as good for keeping animal populations in control, like the squirrels and the mice."[6]

Coyote in a suburban Thousand Oaks, California, backyard

Unlike rural coyotes, urban ones have a longer lifespan and tend to live in higher densities but rarely attack humans and can be frightened away by arm waving or loud noises.[7] The animals generally are nocturnal and prey upon rabbits, rats, Canada geese, fruit, insects and family pets, especially small dogs and domestic cats.[8] Analysis of urban coyote scat found that the most common food source of Southern California coyotes came from anthropogenic sources, namely edible plantings cultivated by humans (particularly figs, palm fruit and grapes), litter/refuse, and domestic cats. They also consumed gophers, ground squirrels (but rarely rats or mice), rabbits and birds.[9] Meanwhile, the diet of suburban coyotes included a much higher proportion of native mammals, primarily rabbits.[9] Urban coyotes in Southern California have a lower genetic diversity than their suburban counterparts.[10] Urbanization also leads to reduced gene flow between adjacent populations.[10]

Coyotes in all Canadian provinces can be attracted to food left out for birds, or prey upon stray cats, and tend to live between apartment buildings and in industrial parks throughout major cities from Vancouver through Toronto and all the way to St. John's.

”We rarely think about storm drains, power line rights of way, or railroad tracks, but these are coyote highways, linking one habitat to another,” note the authors of Wild L.A.: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles.[11]

One study in Tucson, Arizona found that urban coyotes had similar antibodies and pathogens to coyotes in general, and had a survival rate in the city of 72% for any given year, on average.[12] A study in 2007 suggested that coyotes were "successful in adjusting to an urbanized landscape" with high survival rates, and are frequently in "close proximity" to people. [13]

Both studies suggested that a major cause of deaths of urban coyotes was collisions with motorized vehicles.[5][12]

Management

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A researcher studying the impact of coyotes in the city of Austin, Texas found that urban coyote management techniques, including steps to trap and remove coyotes who were exhibiting bold or aggressive behavior, as well as efforts to educate the public about not feeding the animals, had had a positive effect in lessening possible risk to humans or to pets.[14] Urban coyotes are more bold and exploratory than suburban coyotes.[15] These traits are believed to be caused by positive interactions with urban human populations in the past several decades.[15]

California and Vermont ban coyote hunting contests.[16]

In order to ensure that urban coyotes remain afraid of humans, Edmonton, Canada announced that volunteers would "make a ruckus" if coyotes do not run away when initially approached.[17]

Coyotes are a common sight in major urban parks in Canada and the U.S.

Specific urban coyotes

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A coyote nicknamed "Hal" made his way to New York City's Central Park in March 2006, wandering about the park for at least two days before being captured by officials. New York City parks commissioner Adrian Benepe noted this coyote had to be very adventurous and curious to get so far into the city.[18] In 2015, there were reports of coyotes howling at night in Central Park.[19]

An incident occurred in April 2007 in the Chicago Loop district, where a coyote, later nicknamed "Adrian", quietly entered a Quiznos restaurant during the lunch hours; he was later captured and released at a wildlife rehabilitation center near Barrington, Illinois.[20][21] In February 2010, up to three coyotes were spotted on the Columbia University campus in New York City, and another coyote sighting occurred in Central Park.[22] Up to ten coyotes have also been living and breeding in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.[23]

The first successful coyote den reported on Long Island was recorded in May 2016. The Port Authority of New York attempted to relocate that coyote family in August of the same year as the coyotes had become too friendly and people were attempting to feed them. The Port Authority was unsuccessful in relocating the coyote family and eventually the USDA Wildlife services euthanized all but one.[24]

Attacks and fatalities

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Main articles: Coyote attack, Animal–human conflict, and Wildland–urban interface

Urban coyotes are among the large carnivores known to prey on humans.[25][26] There have been two recorded human fatalities attributed to coyote attacks in North America, including that of Taylor Mitchell in 2009 at Cape Breton Highlands National Park.[27][28]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Julie Feinstein, Field Guide to Urban Wildlife, 2011, ISBN 0811705854, pp. 86–92.
  2. ^ Stanley D. Gehrt and Seth P. D. Riley, "Coyotes (Canis latrans)" in Urban Carnivores: Ecology, Conflict, and Conservation, Stanley D. Gehrt, Seth P. D. Riley, and Brian L. Cypher eds., JHU Press, 2010, ISBN 0801893895, pp. 79–96.
  3. ^ "Coyotes thriving in U.S. cities". UPI. January 4, 2006.
  4. ^ The Economist, March 9, 2013, Urban coyotes: Dogged persistence -- The coyote is quietly conquering urban America, Accessed March 13, 2013
  5. ^ a b "Thriving under our noses, stealthily: coyotes" URL accessed on January 9, 2006.
  6. ^ Dell'Amore, Christine. "City Slinkers." Smithsonian 36.12 (2006): 36-38. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 June 2013.
  7. ^ "St. Paul seeing increase in coyote sightings". Twin Cities. July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Garthwaite, Josie (October 24, 2012). "Learning to Live With Urban Coyotes". The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Larson, Rachel N.; Brown, Justin L.; Karels, Tim; Riley, Seth P. D. (February 5, 2020). Apollonio, Marco (ed.). "Effects of urbanization on resource use and individual specialization in coyotes (Canis latrans) in southern California". PLOS ONE. 15 (2): e0228881. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1528881L. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0228881. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 7001990. PMID 32023321.
  10. ^ a b Adducci, Anthony; Jasperse, Jeremy; Riley, Seth; Brown, Justin; Honeycutt, Rodney; Monzón, Javier (January 1, 2020). "Urban coyotes are genetically distinct from coyotes in natural habitats". Journal of Urban Ecology. 6 (1). doi:10.1093/jue/juaa010. ISSN 2058-5543.
  11. ^ Higgins, Lila; Pauly, Gregory B. M (2019). Wild L.A.: Explore the Amazing Nature in and Around Los Angeles. Timber Press. ISBN 978-1604697100.
  12. ^ a b Morbidity-mortality factors and survival of an urban coyote population in Arizona, M Grinder and PR Krausmanm, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, jwildlifedis April 1, 2001 vol. 37 no. 2 312-317, Accessed March 14, 2013
  13. ^ Stanley D. Gehrt, 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference (D.L. Nolte, W.M. Arjo, D.H. Stalman, Eds). 2007. ECOLOGY OF COYOTES IN URBAN LANDSCAPES April 2007, Accessed March 14, 2013
  14. ^ Proceedings of the 12th Wildlife Damage Management Conference (D.L. Nolte, W.M. Arjo, D.H. Stalman, Eds). 2007; Randy O. Farrar, ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF URBAN COYOTE ON PEOPLE AND PETS IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS April 2007, Accessed March 14, 2013
  15. ^ a b Breck, Stewart W.; Poessel, Sharon A.; Mahoney, Peter; Young, Julie K. (February 14, 2019). "The intrepid urban coyote: a comparison of bold and exploratory behavior in coyotes from urban and rural environments". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 2104. Bibcode:2019NatSR...9.2104B. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-38543-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 6376053. PMID 30765777.
  16. ^ Montero, David (March 25, 2019). "Reviled predator, often a target of 'coyote whacking,' is gaining a flicker of respect". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  17. ^ "Cruel to be kind: New citizen patrols will scare Edmonton coyotes with sticks and tennis balls | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  18. ^ Newman, Maria, and Janon Fisher. "Elusive Coyote Is Captured in Central Park." New York Times March 22, 2006. November 7, 2009.
  19. ^ Lisa Foderaro, MARCH 6, 2015, The New York Times, That Howling? Just New York’s Neighborhood Coyotes, Retrieved March 7, 2015
  20. ^ "And the coyote shall lie down with the SoBes ..." Associated Press. April 4, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
  21. ^ Meincke, Paul (April 4, 2007). "Coyote captured in Loop to be set free". WLS-TV. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
  22. ^ » Three Coyotes Spotted on Columbia’s Campus Archived March 31, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Myupperwest.com (2010-02-08). Retrieved on May 10, 2011.
  23. ^ "In City Where Dogs Outnumber Children, Finding a Way for Coyotes to Coexist", The New York Times, May 14, 2012
  24. ^ Nagy, Christopher; Weckel, Mark; Monzón, Javier; Duncan, Neil; Rosenthal, Michael R. (January 12, 2017). "Initial colonization of Long Island, New York by the eastern coyote, Canis latrans (Carnivora, Canidae), including first record of breeding". Check List. 13 (6): 901–907. doi:10.15560/13.6.901. ISSN 1809-127X.
  25. ^ Gehrt, Stanley D.; Muntz, Erich M.; Wilson, Evan C.; Power, Jason W. B.; Newsome, Seth D. (February 2023). "Severe environmental conditions create severe conflicts: A novel ecological pathway to extreme coyote attacks on humans". Journal of Applied Ecology. 60 (2): 353–364. Bibcode:2023JApEc..60..353G. doi:10.1111/1365-2664.14333. ISSN 0021-8901. S2CID 253872509.
  26. ^ "Proceedings of the Tenth Vertebrate Pest Conference (1982) | Vertebrate Pest Conference Proceedings collection | University of Nebraska - Lincoln". digitalcommons.unl.edu. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  27. ^ "A Decade-Old Coyote Attack Mystery May Be Solved". Gizmodo. December 12, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  28. ^ "Canadian folk singer killed by coyotes, park official says". CNN. October 30, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
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