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This is one of two coyotes, thought to be sisters, that have been acquired by Detroit's Belle Isle Zoo from the Dickerson Park Zoo in Missouri.More wily coyotes call suburbs home
Paul and Nancy Maitre hold a photo of their brown tabby cat, Ike, who was killed by a coyote last year in their Farmington Hills yard.Related links
About the animals:The animals are found throughout Michigan and are most abundant in the Upper and northern Lower Peninsulas. Their population, however, is growing in southern Michigan. Coyotes are members of the dog family and can be difficult to distinguish from a medium-sized German shepherd. The predators range in weight from 20-45 pounds. Coyotes have erect and pointed ears. They have bush tails, and body color ranges from yellow to gray to light brown. Coyotes can run almost 40 mph. Primarily nocturnal, coyotes usually shun humans. Their intelligence and adaptiveness allow them to coexist in suburbs. They originally ranged in the West, but sightings now are common across the United States. A pair was even found in New York City. Coyotes usually feed on small animals and fruit, but also eat sheep, dogs and cats. Attacks on small fawns occur, too. Coyotes mate for life, parenting two to 12 cubs each year. Only half survive.
Coyote images and movies
USDA Wildlife Services PDF on living with coyotes
What can you do:While there have been no reported coyote attacks on humans, state officials urge citizens to use common sense if they live in a coyote area. Coyotes are instinctively afraid of people. Never approach or touch a coyote. Never intentionally feed one. Don't allow pets or small children to roam free when coyotes are present. Put garbage out the morning of pickup day. Eliminate all outside food sources, including pet food. Clear wood and brush piles, which are good habitats for rats and mice, which attract coyotes. Spay or neuter dogs. Coyotes are attracted to and can mate with unspayed or unneutered domestic dogs. Previous coverage
Coyote sightings grow in Livonia
FARMINGTON -- Nancy Maitre was sipping coffee on her back porch one morning when she saw a coyote run through her yard carrying her cat Ike in its mouth.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing," said Maitre, who lives about a block south of busy Nine Mile in the heart of Metro Detroit's suburbs. "A coyote running through your yard with your cat's carcass dangling out of his mouth isn't exactly the kind of thing you see every day in this neighborhood."
Maitre is among a growing number of Metro Detroiters who report seeing wild animals like coyotes that are traditionally associated with rural areas. As subdivisions and strip malls replace the meadows and woods the coyotes once called home, they are increasingly finding homes in neighborhoods.
Although the Michigan Department of Natural Resources does not track coyotes in the state, the agency is getting more reports of coyote sightings in suburbia than ever, said Dave Bostick, a specialist in fur-bearing animals with the agency's Wildlife Division.
"It's a bit irritating, to tell the truth," Maitre said. "This is the city -- we didn't think we'd have to deal with this kind of thing here. We moved here from Pinckney, where you expect to see coyotes. But not in Farmington."
Coyotes are more prevalent in the suburbs than most other wild animals because they easily adapt to different environments, Bostick said.
"That translates into their populations doing well, which is why we're seeing more of them coming into suburbia," Bostick said.
In Livonia, coyotes have became so prevalent over the past few years, city officials decided to contract with Westland-based Varmint Police Inc. to trap them during the winter mating season. The company caught 13 coyotes the first year, and 15 last winter, said Brian Wilson, Livonia's assistant superintendent of public service.
"We were getting reports of coyotes boldly walking down the middle of residential streets," Wilson said. "And there were some instances of coyotes taking small pets."
"Because coyotes are so intelligent, it's easy for them to lose their natural fear of people," Bostick said. "That process tends to make them more prone to do things that might upset us, like taking a small dog or cat, or not being afraid when you shout and try to shoo them off."
Harold Flatt said he wasn't afraid when he spotted a coyote walking on the grass behind his Clawson home last year -- "and the coyote didn't appear to be too scared, either," he said.
"He was just strolling through the yard, calm as you please," Flatt said.
In addition to their lack of fear of humans, coyotes' eating and nesting habits allow them to easily adapt to life in the suburbs.
"Coyotes are what we call generalists, which means they will eat a lot of different things," Bostick said.
Coyotes aren't the only animals that are being pushed into Metro Detroit, Bostick said. Development is also forcing raccoons, deer, skunks and hawks out of their natural habitats.
"A few weeks ago, a huge hawk swooped down into our front yard and carried off a wild rabbit in its claws," Maitre said. "This hawk was huge, and it occurred to us that it could have easily taken (our cat) Ivan away. It's a good thing we keep him in the house.
"I have a neighbor who has a dachshund, and with all these coyotes and hawks around, I told her she better keep him in the house, too."
Coyotes are native to Michigan. Their numbers have increased because they have few remaining natural predators.
The state's coyote population would be even higher, experts say, but hunters kill about 20,000 per year, according to the agency. Coyote hunting season lasts from April 15 to July 15.
Last year, the agency estimates 9,000 people hunted or trapped more than 24,000 coyotes, which are valued for their fur.
Coyotes rarely attack humans, experts say.
"There have been a few isolated cases in California of coyotes attacking people, but as far as I know, it's never happened in Michigan," Bostick said.
Coyotes are members of the dog family, and can be difficult to distinguish from a medium-sized German shepherd from a distance.
When coyotes live near humans, they tend to be active early in the morning and late in the evening.
Coyotes often hunt for food in pairs, but they do not run in packs like wolves, Bostick said. They also do not howl like wolves -- they sound more like yelping dogs.
There are ways to minimize the number of coyotes in neighborhoods, Bostick said.
"Coyotes thrive on human garbage, and pet food that's left out overnight," he said. "And, along with the occasional small pet, those are all good food sources. And if the food is there, the coyotes will come. So, obviously, if you don't leave pet food out, and if you cover your garbage cans, they will be less likely to come in your neighborhood."
The state has put together coyote facts on its Web site, www.michigan.gov/dnr. Although coyotes present little danger to humans, people can be a threat to coyotes. It's dangerous for coyotes to live so close to people, because they're subject to being hit by vehicles, or killed by larger dogs, Bostick said. "But if the food reward is there, it's worth it to them."
You can reach George Hunter at (586) 468-7396 or ghunter@detnews.com.
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