It's peak season for coyotes in Charlotte
It's peak season for coyotes in Charlotte
This article originally appeared in the October 18, 2021, edition of The Charlotte Ledger. Sign up and have smart and essential local news delivered to your inbox. Details here.
What’s up with all the doggone coyotes? This time of year, they’re ‘really out in full-force’; Tips if you see one
(Photo by Mario Losereit/Unsplash)
by Cristina Bolling
If it seems like people are a little more creeped out by coyote sightings — and nighttime coyote howlings — lately, there’s a reason for that.
October is one of the peak months for “urban coyote” sightings, because this is the time of year when juvenile coyotes leave their parents and go searching for territories of their own.
N.C. wildlife biologist Rupert Medford, whose 10-county district includes Mecklenburg, Union and Cabarrus, said that now that the young coyotes who were born back in the spring have hit about 7 months old, they’re “really out in full-force.”
So-called urban coyotes (meaning ones whose territory is in developed areas like suburban neighborhoods — not necessarily roaming uptown) are likely to be aloof and perhaps not as afraid of humans as ones who live in rural areas, Medford said. And right now, they may be wandering around during the day, as they roam to seek a territory to call their own.
Lest you think the region’s fast-growing development is to blame for bringing coyotes out of the wilderness and into our subdivisions, Medford said that’s really not the case.
Coyotes don’t tend to dwell in thick forests, because they prefer to be in the midst of humans, who are associated with seasoned food and small pets — two things coyotes love to eat.
But Medford said people don’t need to be afraid of the canids. Most coyotes are scared of people and will walk away when they see a human, even a human with a small dog.
However, if you have cats or small dogs, it’s a good idea not to let them out by themselves, especially at night. Coyotes are smart and will stalk small animals and even entice a small dog into a game of chase in an effort to lure it away for a kill.
This graph from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission shows the number of reported coyote sightings over the course of a year. Falyn Owens, a N.C. extension wildlife biologist, says 2021 is shaping up to be a pretty typical year in the number of calls they’ve received about coyote sightings.
Charlotte-area resident Bill Crowder and his wife, Bonnie, became something of coyote experts after their cat Hootie was killed by a coyote just outside their bedroom window in August 2019.
Bill Crowder, who is retired from a career in IT, read every piece of coyote research he could get his hands on and learned to spot tracks and scat and to monitor the pattern and behavior of coyotes.
The pair started a “Coyotes in the Carolinas” page on Nextdoor that now has about 1,460 members, and they regularly volunteer their time to help Charlotte-area residents who have had animals go missing to try to determine if a coyote could have been to blame.
They strive to educate people about how to protect their outdoor pets, so they advise residents on lighting that will scare coyotes away (it must be at the coyotes’ eye-level, they say), what fences to install (they should ideally be at least 8 feet tall, because coyotes can jump over fences as high as 6 feet) and what kind of noises to make to scare coyotes off before letting pets out into the yard (banging pots and pans works well).
Don’t bother calling county animal control if you see a coyote — that’s out of the department’s domain, unless a coyote is acting abnormal or aggressive. But you can do these things if you see a coyote on your property or in your path:
Make noise. Crowder tells people, especially those with small dogs, to carry an air horn on walks to scare away coyotes they may see. He also tells small-pet owners to bang pots and pans in the yard before letting pets out to scare away coyotes that may be in the area.
Keep dogs on leashes. Coyotes will typically avoid people, so pets tend to be safe a leash-length away.
Don’t turn and run. Coyotes are typically not aggressive toward humans, but it’s best to calmly walk backwards away from them. (This is true for any canine who may become aggressive.)
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Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire, CXN Advisory; Contributing photographer/videographer: Kevin Young, The 5 and 2 Project