Should i feed coyotes

Coyotes that are fed in residential neighborhoods can lose their fear of people and may eventually test humans and pets as possible prey. Intentional feeding, such as bait stations in yards or parks, should be strictly avoided. However, many people unintentionally feed coyotes by leaving pet food or garbage out at night or having large bird feeders.

Coyotes are usually not interested in bird food, but bird feeders often attract rodents, especially squirrels, which then attract coyotes. If you are seeing an increase in coyotes, you should additionally review your own actions to ensure compost piles and trash bins are not allowed to be a source of food. Coyotes probably live nearby, even if you don't know it, so do not let pets run loose. When hiking in parks, keep dogs on leashes. Pets left outside, even with fencing, remain at risk for predation and unnecessary conflict.

Do not leave your pets unattended outside, not even for a second. Remember, electric fences may keep your pets contained but do not keep other animals away. Free-ranging domestic cats and feral cat colonies may also serve to attract coyotes; it is important that domestic cats be kept indoors and that feral cats be spayed or neutered to control this population. Bringing food inside when outdoor cats are not feeding might alleviate part of this coyote attractant. When you encounter a coyote, shout or throw something in its direction.

Do not run away. Do not play victim if you can help it. If a coyote seems intent on defending a certain area, particularly around pupping season May , your best bet may be to alter your route to avoid conflict with a normally calm animal; understand that there may be seasonal patterns of behavioral changes and act accordingly see Coyote 's story.

About The Star. More News. Top Stories. About Contact Us Feedback. Start your day with the top stories you missed while you were sleeping. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Print Subscriptions.

Deseret News homepage. Filed under:. People who feed a coyote do it more harm than good. Share this story Share this on Facebook Share this on Twitter Share All sharing options Share All sharing options for: People who feed a coyote do it more harm than good. Reddit Pocket Email Linkedin. There's also a campaign on to teach humans to stop feeding the wildlife.

While coyotes passing through our areas are quite common, removing an active food source is one of the necessary components in keeping them at an ideal distance from humans. Available food — either intentional or unintentional — will attract many other wildlife species including coyotes and make them more comfortable around people.

Coyotes are omnivores: they eat small rodents as well as local vegetation berries, fruits, nuts. While they may not distinguish between a cat or one of their preferred prey species such as rabbits or voles , they do not utilize domestic dogs as a common food source.

A study in Chicago — and another in Canada — indicated that less than two per cent of their food source was domestic animals and it was undetermined whether the scat analysis included carrion — animals that had already died. Coyotes are extremely curious and intelligent animals — they often watch the events happening around them, just as a tourist in a new city would. Young coyotes are immature and very puppy-like: children and the toys they play with like balls can lead a juvenile coyote into play behaviour.

Never turn your back on any dog- domestic or wild and run. Maintain direct eye contact, use strong verbal cues such as yelling no screaming and slowly back away. A coyote will not see a human as potential food — considering their usual prey is a mouse, vole or fallen crab apple. However, like any other species of canid including your pet dog , they may chase something that runs from them. When a coyote has been food-conditioned, meaning people have directly fed a particular coyote, they may not immediately move away from an area when aversion conditioning is deployed.

It is critical to send consistent, firm messaging through voice and body gestures, that the coyote is not welcome.