WDFW warns: Don’t feed the coyotes

Earlier this year, WDFW officials had to euthanize a coyote that had become aggressive toward people in Seattle’s Discovery Park and the nearby Magnolia neighborhood. The animal’s bold behavior indicated it had learned to associate humans with food.

Coyotes, which live throughout the state in both rural and urban areas, breed in late winter and by early spring, are feeding pups. You may see coyotes almost anywhere in Washington, including in suburban and even urban areas.

Normally, coyotes avoid people, but they may become habituated to humans — and abnormally bold — if they are intentionally fed or find food near human residences. While most people don’t directly feed coyotes, many unwittingly leave food that draws these opportunistic omnivores.

Unsecured garbage or compost piles can be a food source for coyotes or for smaller animals that are prey for coyotes. Secure garbage and compost bins with tight fitting covers. Don’t let spilled seed pile up under bird feeders. Don’t leave pet food outside.

Protect cats and small dogs by keeping them indoors, especially from dusk to dawn. Coyote conflicts with off-leash dogs can increase in early spring when coyotes are more territorial and may have their pups in tow.

Although coyote sightings and attacks on pets occur periodically throughout the state, attacks on humans are extremely rare. Only two such attacks have been documented in Washington — in 2006, a coyote bit two young children in Bellevue and was later euthanized.

More information on living with coyotes can be found on the WDFW Web site at wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/coyotes.htm.