Thursday, October 25, 2012

Close Encounters Of The Coyote Kind

There've been many coyote sightings in Uptown, usually in the cemeteries, parks and other open spaces.  They're all over the city, and we've documented quite a few Uptown residents' encounters over the years.

A reader wrote us to tell of a rather startling encounter Wednesday morning:  "One of our neighbors saw a coyote on our property this morning at 42-- N. Kenmore, while out walking her dog. Thought other pet owners might want to know about it." 

According to this article in Chicago Magazine about urban coyotes, they almost never attack humans and rarely attack pets... but they're still wild creatures and you should keep your pets out of their way, and give them a lot of respect and a wide berth.  They mostly eat our garbage -- yet another reason to encourage your neighbors to chain their dumpsters closed and to not overload the corner trash cans with house trash.  It not only attracts rats, but coyotes as well.  If you have a smaller pet, like a cat, please don't let it run free!

5 comments:

  1. Lincoln Park Patch also had a very useful article on Oct. 10 article with tips from the Coyote Project on handling encounters (don't run!) and minimizing risk that your pet will be gobbled:
    http://lincolnpark.patch.com/articles/coyote-alert-stay-safe-after-urban-pup-population-explosion

    Lots of great info on the Cook County Coyote Project website: http://www.urbancoyoteresearch.com/index.htm

    Oft cited on EveryBlock is a 2010 NPR story on the Coyote Project: http://www.wbez.org/story/animals/60-wild-coyotes-patrol-chicago-and-occasionally-stop-convenience-stores

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  2. Also garbage attracts raccoons!

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  3. Yup, saw a big raccoon in the alley between Malden and Magnolia this week. I'm sure it didn't help that the week before I saw a woman dump a whole tray full of kitty litter in a dumpster, no bag, just dumped it in.

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  4. Old thread but just got back from the magic hedge area and saw a coyote walking around on Montrose Dr. It was right by the bait shop there. Fun times

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  5. Just saw a coyote in two out of the last three mornings! Looked out my window and it was darting across the street! It was about 10 am each time.

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