Many Fox Island Residents have reported encounters with Coyotes recently.
Many people are missing family pets, cats, small dogs, and they are believed to have fallen victim to coyotes.
The best way to protect your pets is to keep them indoors between dusk and dawn. The coyotes like to hunt during the dark hours.
History of the Fox Island Coyote Problem
The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife states the following, regarding coyote feeding habits:
'Coyotes occasionally kill domestic dogs (and foxes) that they consider territorial intruders'.
The coyotes here on Fox Island do not 'occasionally' kill domestic dogs, they 'frequently' attack and kill cats, dogs and other small pets. This imbalance in their feeding habits is triggered by the overpopulation of coyotes caused by the release of a pair of 'Easter Bunnies' near the Tree Farm off 11th Avenue in the mid 2000's, which in turn multiplied into over 100 bunnies a few years later.
This temporarily abundant food source attracted coyotes that were not previously living on the island, and in 2011 when the bunnies were all gone, the coyotes turned to cats, dogs and other house pets for food.
I have lived on the Island for over 25 years, and been a property owner for 35 years, and during those 35 years, coyotes have only been a problem for the last 4 years. This is not 'Living in Harmony' with your wildlife, it is an imbalance in the natural order, caused by human manipulation of the coyote's food supply, and after 3 years, they are not 'going away' on their own.
The WDFW goes on to say:
'In suburban areas of southern California, trapping and euthanizing coyotes has been shown not only to remove the individual problem animal, but also to modify the behavior of the local coyote population. When humans remove a few coyotes, the local population may regain its fear of humans in areas where large numbers of humans are found. It’s neither necessary nor possible to eliminate the entire population of coyotes in a given area.'
The News Tribune, KIRO TV and KOMO News reported that the City of Tacoma initiated a similar program in Northeast Tacoma in January 2014.
University Place has also reported coyote activity in their community in 2013.
Post a Coyote Sighting or lost pet incident here
Thank you,
John Ohlson, Webmaster.
