RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE
Are All Coyotes Threats to People?
What Creates Nuisance Coyotes?
Managing Nuisance Coyotes
For many reasons, the
popular media focuses on conflicts between coyotes
and people within cities.
Even so, most incidents are difficult for the
public to interpret and place into the proper
Most people have little idea as to what the
appropriate response is to coyote incidents, and
inappropriate responses can aggravate the situation.
Coyote conflicts can
range from relatively benign sightings of the
occasional animal without additional incidents, to
pet killings, to the most extreme cases of coyotes
Alpha male from Big Hill pack in
2000, with a tractor-trailer
passing by in the background.
Coyotes differ from most
other wildlife species in cities in that they can be
considered a nuisance without any evidence of
damage, but simply by being seen.
Perhaps because of their role as a large
predator, people are sensitive to the real or
perceived threat to pets or children. Indeed, most
complaints regarding coyotes are that they occur
near people, regardless of whether any damage has
More extreme are the cases where coyotes
attack and, sometimes, kill pets.
As coyotes move into
metropolitan areas, there is undoubtedly an increase
in the loss of free ranging domestic cats.
Coyotes sometimes take
as food, or simply to remove a possible competing
predator from their territory (much like they do
Less commonly, they may
small dogs or, even less frequently,
Usually dogs are
attacked when they are not accompanied by people,
but in some rare cases, small dogs have been taken
in the presence of an owner.
Small dogs may be taken
at any time of year, but attacks on larger dogs are
usually associated with the mating or breeding
season, when coyotes are most territorial. In some
cases, small dogs have been taken while the dog was
on a lead, or coyotes have jumped fences to attack a
dog in a yard.
Most metropolitan areas in the Midwest and
eastern United States have reported an
apparent increase in the number of attacks on pets.
Most extreme, and
relatively rare, are cases where coyotes attack
people. The majority of cases involve younger
Most attacks have occurred in the Southwest,
especially southern California, where coyotes have lived in
suburbs for decades.
Prior to 2009, the only fatal case of a coyote attack
in recent history occurred in 1981 in a Los Angeles suburb. However, in October 2009 a
19-year old woman was fatally attacked by eastern
coyotes while hiking alone in
Cape Breton Highlands National Park,
Taylor Mitchell for more information about
In Midwestern metropolitan areas where coyotes are a
relatively recent phenomenon, coyote attacks on
people are still isolated and rare.
Coyote Attacks for more information.
ARE ALL COYOTES A THREAT TO PEOPLE?
We were surprised to find so many coyotes living near
County, and yet relatively
few conflicts have been reported.
We assumed that with an average of 350 coyotes
removed each year from the area as nuisances, most
urban coyotes would create problems. In contrast,
only five of 175 radio-collared coyotes have been
removed as nuisances (as defined by the local
Apparently, few coyotes have become nuisances
Cook County, and it is likely that this is
true of other metropolitan areas. It remains to be
seen if conflicts will remain relatively rare or if
they become more common as coyotes adjust to living
For perspective, it is worth considering that no
documented case of a coyote biting a human has been
reported for Cook
Contrast that result with domestic dogs, in
Cook County often records 2,000 to 3,000 dog
bites each year (including some fatalities).
In 2005, there were no recorded bites on
people by coyotes in Cook
County, but 3,043 bites
were recorded for domestic dogs (data from Cook
County Animal and Rabies Control).
WHAT CREATES NUISANCE COYOTES?
Those coyotes that became nuisances during our study
typically became habituated through feeding by
people. In other words, people were feeding wildlife
and either intentionally, or unintentionally, fed
Only 4% of coyotes that we have studied in
Cook County have developed into nuisances and
there have been no attacks on people.
Once coyotes associate
human buildings or yards with food, they increase
daytime activities and thus are seen more easily by
people. In those areas in southern
where attacks have been more common, researchers
have reported a higher frequency of human-related
food in the diet of nuisance coyotes. This was
indicative of feeding by people, or coyotes seeking
food in garbage. In either case, it is becoming
apparent that feeding of coyotes should be
A common pattern for many human attacks has
been feeding prior to the incident — in many cases
See the case of the
Coyote (Coyote #434) for an example of how
intentional feeding of wildlife led to the creation
of a nuisance coyote.
Our experience has been that most nuisance calls are
in response to coyotes being seen or heard by
Coyotes are unique among
urban wildlife in that they are often considered a
nuisance before any damage occurs; simply their
presence alone is considered a nuisance. People are
uncomfortable with the idea that a relatively large
predator is living near them, regardless of any
signs of conflict.
MANAGING NUISANCE COYOTES
The graph below reflects
the number of coyotes captured and removed each year
by professional nuisance control operators in the
The state of Illinois requires those professionals to
report summaries of animals they remove during the
The numbers you see come from those reports for the
section of northeastern
Illinois that is primarily composed of
One can see the dramatic increase in the number of
coyotes removed each year during the 1990’s. Prior
to the 1990’s, the number of coyotes detected and
removed was quite small, as the species was
relatively rare in the
I report these numbers because it is rare to have a
systematic reporting system that was in place during
the expansion of coyotes throughout a metropolitan
area, and it is a nice illustration of the relative
level of conflict between people and coyotes that
accompanies that expansion. However, while it
presents a fascinating story, I do not take the
numbers literally with regard to the number of
nuisance coyotes in the area because the numbers are
not verified and identifying ‘nuisance’ coyotes is
There was obviously a tremendous increase in
the number of coyotes removed each year, but the
actual numbers of coyotes becoming nuisances are
Problems with the numbers include:
These totals do not discriminate between coyotes that
were actually causing the conflict and others
removed during the attempts to catch the bad guys.
Because of the difficulties with identifying
true ‘nuisance’ coyotes, control operators usually
remove multiple coyotes to insure the troublesome
coyote is removed.
These numbers also include general removal programs
where coyotes are removed as a general protocol,
rather than a response to problem animals.
This would include airports and cities with a
zero tolerance toward the presence of coyotes.
The numbers reported by control operators are
self-reported, and may be subject to inaccuracies.
Although most operators keep careful records, some