Generally,
coyote are extremely shy and avoid contact with humans. In urban and
suburban areas, coyotes may be less likely to fear people and more
likely to associate them with an easy, dependable food source. Some
have been known to come up to the doors of homes if food is regularly
present. Pets, however, especially cats and small dogs, are seen by
coyote as a food source and should be protected.
Coyotes are well established throughout the state from the Berkshires to Cape Cod. They thrive in suburban and urban areas close to people. Coyotes eat many different foods, including small animals, fruits, vegetables, garbage, and pet food. Remember everything a coyote does is related to a potential meal. Here are a few suggestions to make your property less attractive to coyotes.
- Secure your garbage! Coyotes will raid open trash materials and compost piles. Secure your garbage in tough plastic containers with tight fitting lids and keep in secure buildings when possible. Take out trash the morning pick up is scheduled, not the previous night. Keep compost piles in containers designed to contain but vent the material.
- Don't feed or try to pet coyotes! Keep wild things wild! Feeding, whether direct or indirect, can cause coyotes to act tame and over time may lead to bold behavior. Coyotes that rely on natural food items remain wild and wary of humans.
- Keep your pets safe! Although free roaming pets are more likely to be killed by automobiles than by wild animals, coyotes do view cats and small dogs as potential food and larger dogs as competition. For the safety of your pets, keep them restrained at all times.
- Keep bird feeder areas clean! Use feeders designed to keep seed off the ground as the seed attracts many small mammals coyotes prey upon. Remove feeders if coyotes are regularly seen around your yard.
- Feed pets indoors! Outdoor feeding attracts many wild animals to your door!
- Close off crawl spaces under porches and sheds! Coyotes use such areas for resting and raising young.
- Don't let coyotes intimidate you! Don't hesitate to scare or threaten coyotes with loud noises, bright lights, or water.
- Cut back brushy edges in your yard! These areas provide cover for coyotes and their prey.
- Clear fallen fruit from around fruit trees. This is a potential food source for coyotes.
- Educate your neighbors! Pass this information along since your efforts will be futile if neighbors are providing food or shelter for coyotes.
About the Coyote
The
coyote is a member of the same family to which foxes, dogs and wolves
belong, the canids. Their name comes from the Aztec word for the
species, "coyoti" which loosely translated means trickster. The Eastern
Coyote is found in Massachusetts.
Size: Coyote
vary in size depending on location but generally are 4 to 4 1/2 feet
long including the tail and stand 18 - 25 inches tall at the shoulder
weighing 20 to 50 pounds. A coyote may be gray, brown or tan above and
whitish underneath with a straight, bushy tail.
Habitat: Coyote
are adaptable and can live in a wide range of climates and conditions
from suburbia to wilderness, from sea level to over 10,000 feet and are
now found in all states except Hawaii. Coyote are territorial, with the
males marking their boundaries, as many canids do, with urine
signposts. The size of the territory is directly related to the quality
of the habitat, and often it can take several square miles to support a
coyote family.
Diet: Coyote
ore omnivorous and make use of an astonishing variety of plant and
animal foods including meat, garbage, insects, rodents, rabbits, birds,
deer, carrion and even berries and fruits. Coyote play an important
part in controlling rodents.
Reproduction: Coyote
breed during February or March and give birth in April or May. The
litter size varies, depending, in part, upon environmental conditions
as well as coyote population density. The pups nurse for up to two
months, mature quickly and are fully independent at about nine months.
The male coyote provides protection and food for the mother and
offspring until the offspring are able to hunt for themselves.
Rabies: Like all warm-blooded animals, coyotes may contract rabies. You can learn more about rabies here.
