Although the photo is blurry, it's still worth a thousand words. A coyote perched atop a parked vehicle with the vast desert landscape as a backdrop encapsulates the Sonoran Desert life.
Coyotes (Canis latrans) are one of the most widespread urban species in North America. They're in every United State except for one: Hawaii. (It's an island; they can't walk there themselves!)
This highly adaptable species gets a bad rap because they are opportunistic hunters. This means that if there's an opportunity for a meal, they will seize it. In suburban neighborhoods around Arizona, unfortunately the opportunity that presents itself can sometimes be an unattended small dog or an outdoor house cat.
Never fear! There are many things you can do to discourage coyotes from hanging around your property and create an environment of safety for your four-legged family members. This week, we're listing out "normal" coyote behaviors so you are equipped to better understand what's going on in case you encounter a coyote in your neighborhood.
One of the trickiest parts of coexisting with wildlife is learning to understand their behavior. What exactly is normal? The awesome folks at Project Coyote put together a handy list that we're excited to share. Click the link below to download our infographic and share to your social media channels. Make sure to tag us @southwestwildlife and @projectcoyoteorg.
Click Here For a Shareable Infographic on Coyote Behavior!
Coyotes will hang out wherever there's food, water, and shelter. Luckily for humans, they eat a lot of things we don't want hanging around our houses: rats, mice, packrats, rabbits, squirrels, snakes...you get the picture. These canines are excellent pest control.
To keep your furry family members safe, make sure your dogs are on a leash when they're outside and do your best to keep house cats indoors. If you take away the opportunity, the coyote will realize your house does not equal food, and they'll move on.
What are your burning coyote questions? Email us: education@southwestwildlife.org. All Arizona inhabitants deserve to enjoy the great outdoors, and we want to help clear up any uncertainty however we can.
