Our friend Stan Gehrt has headed up the CHICAGO URBAN COYOTE STUDY for well over a decade and at this time estimates that there are a minimum of 2000 "SONGDOGS" calling the WINDY CITY" home................Stan always reaffirms that (Coyotes)------ "When they encounter a human, they just want to get away"......... "It depends on how people act"............ "If an animal has no other choice, it will try to defend itself"..............Unfortunately, "relocating a coyote makes people feel better but usually is harmful to the animal"..............."Coyotes have a highly structured social system"............ "There are no places where you can release a coyote that don't have a resident pack already there".......... "They(the resident family group) will attack strange coyotes moving through".............. "The relocated coyote will try to get back home, and now it is vulnerable to getting shot or hit by a car"................ "It usually gets killed along the way.".........................."The key to living harmoniously with coyotes is removing their food sources"

Take care to keep

 coyotes at bay

Coyotes are mostly nocturnal but will move about in daylight to find food.

Pamela Dittmer McKuenCommunity Living

Whether your community association is a sprawling suburban complex or an urban high-rise, coyotes are nearby. You might not see or hear them, but they are there.

"Coyotes are very adaptable and can use various types of habitats," said Dan Thompson, an ecologist with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. "People think they live in the forest preserves, but that's not necessarily true. Some of them never touch foot in a forest preserve. They are just living among the neighborhoods and industrial facilities."

About 2,000 of the animals call Cook County home, said Stanley Gehrt, a wildlife biologist at Ohio State University who heads a research study of coyotes in the metropolitan Chicago area. "That's a conservative estimate, and it doesn't include the pups born this year," he said.

The Urban Coyote Project, as the study is known, has been monitoring coyote population, behavior and health since 2000. It is funded by the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, and Cook County Animal and Rabies Control.

Coyotes faintly resemble German shepherds but with pointier snouts and bushier tails. Their choice habitat is a mix of grasses and shrubs, not dense forest. They prefer to dine on small mammals, although birds, fish and fruit will do. They are mostly nocturnal but will move about during daylight hours to find food.

Whether seen or not, coyotes evoke strong emotions in humans. Some people are terrified for themselves, their children and their pets. Others want to befriend them. Neither position is entirely valid, Thompson said.

Like any wild animal, coyotes can be unpredictable, but attacks on humans are rare, he said.

"When they encounter a human, they just want to get away," he said. "It depends on how people act. If an animal has no other choice, it will try to defend itself."

Coyotes occasionally kill smaller dogs and cats that are unattended; so do red-tailed hawks, he said.

If a coyote becomes a nuisance, strong measures don't come easy. Trapping and killing generally require a permit and a professional exterminator. It's not a do-it-yourself endeavor.

Relocating a coyote makes people feel better but usually is harmful to the animal, Gehrt said."Coyotes have a highly structured social system," he said. "There are no places where you can release a coyote that don't have a resident pack already there. They will attack strange coyotes moving through. The relocated coyote will try to get back home, and now it is vulnerable to getting shot or hit by a car. It usually gets killed along the way."

"It's important that we have coyotes," Thompson said. "They help maintain the ecological balance."

The key to living harmoniously with coyotes is removing their food sources, he said.

"I can appreciate people who have good intentions, but there are negative consequences," he said. "Unfortunately, wildlife always loses when there are problems with humans."

Michael Baum, president of Baum Property Management in Aurora, said many of his client associations discourage feeding all wildlife, not just coyotes. Some levy fines against residents who do.

"Feeding wild animals in general is a bad idea," he said. "It's not good for the animal and not good for the association. Even feeding squirrels may attract bigger predators."

He said another common policy is that when residents report nuisance wildlife, an inspector responds and photographs the grounds. If evidence shows residents are feeding animals outdoors, they are charged for the calls.

Here are more rules and policies to consider:

Keep control of pets when outdoors. "It should be on a leash, if possible, so you can pull it back," Thompson said.

"If you're on the deck, and he runs to the far end of the lot, the coyote sees a separation between you and says, 'This is a good time.'"

Build high fences. Few fences are coyote-proof, but a 51/2-foot fence might deter a coyote 90 percent of the time, Gehrt said.

Clean up after the birds. You don't have to outlaw bird feeders, but don't allow excess food to spill and pile up on the ground. You'll attract rodents, which attract coyotes, Thompson said.

Keep a lid on compost. "If your composting area isn't secured, you are setting up a buffet," Thompson said.