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Home > Media Room > Press Releases & Articles from WRR > Keeping the 'Barking Dog' at Bay:
Tips to keep coyotes out of your yard and away from your home.
 For
Immediate Release
Monday, November 20, 2006
Keeping the 'Barking Dog' at Bay
Tips to keep coyotes out of your yard
and away from your home.
Kendalia, TX – Monday, November 20,
2006 – They've been the recipients of millions upon
millions of federal and state dollars — but this is
anything but aid money. These dollars are doled out in steel
traps, poison pellets, and deadly bullets as part of "predator
control" programs, but for some reason the intelligent
coyotes haven't gotten the message.
While past federal policies have driven some
larger mammals to the brink of extinction, coyotes seem to
have adapted to become more a part of our urban, suburban,
and countrified lifestyles than ever before. They snoop around
our garbage cans, play and yelp in the night behind our homes,
and, from time to time, cart little Fifi away to an untimely
fate. They've even been spotted in New York City and L.A.
Over the past two weeks, about a dozen concerned
callers have dialed
the number to Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in
Kendalia with questions, complaints, and curiosities about
Canis latrans, or the "barking dog." Some
were missing pets. Others fretted for the pond ducks of their
newly-minted subdivisions. A few feared for their children.
While these nocturnal hunters are skilled
at catching ground squirrels, rats, and rabbits, they have
no interest in viewing humans as prey. However, there have
been times when coyotes have decided that small dogs and cats
left out at night were adequate meals.
"What we want people to remember is that
coyotes, like all species of wildlife, are doing their best
to survive in a human dominated world," said WRR founder
and director Lynn Cuny. "They are one of the few doing
so quite successfully despite our seemingly endless appetite
for gobbling up their green space."
While the resourceful canines, known to some
Native American tribes as "God's Dog," may prove
to be a nuisance to some homeowners, they serve invaluable
function as a top-tier predator, keeping rat, rabbit, opossum,
and even deer populations in check. In addition, they are
an integral and unique member of our environment — a
member by the way, who has been here for well over a million
years. This makes them a long-term resident of planet Earth
and one we should learn to appreciate and respect.
Most human-coyote conflict occurs when people
unintentionally provide the wild animals a food source. So
before you resort to traps or bullets yourself, try these
easy steps to keep your property coyote-free.
| • |
Do
not feed wildlife. Whether you are leaving
food out for your pets, wild cats, or even deer, whoever
finds these dishes first will likely be back. Among
our domestic and wild animals, you can bank on the coyote
getting first dibs. Also, remember to bring your pets
inside at night. |
| • |
Secure your
garbage. One of the reasons coyotes have
done so well in this ever-urbanizing world is their
ability to dine on what others consider trash. Take
yours out in the morning on trash collection days. Don't
leave it sitting out overnight. If it must stay outside,
use bungee cords, rope, or a chain to secure the lid. |
| • |
Create motion
commotion. Motion-activated outdoor lighting
and timed sprinkler systems will shake up nighttime
prowlers like coyotes. |
| • |
Practice
protective gardening. Put heavy-duty wire
around your vegetable garden. Yes, coyotes will feast
on fruits and veggies, too. Keep cat and dog waste,
meat, milk, and eggs out of your compost heap. |
| • |
Flush out
lush brush. Weedy areas around your house
provide a perfect habitat for rats, mice, and insects
that coyotes like to eat. Seal off crawl space beneath
porches, decks, and sheds so your unwelcome guests won't
decide to settle in and make a family. |
Remember, coyotes have been around a long
time. Even the most ruthless kill campaigns have proven to
be grandly-expensive failures. If you aren't having problems
with the coyote in your neighborhood — if they are suitably
wary of humans — put them out of your mind.
Trapping and removing such an animal only
opens up territory for a new one, one that may not have the
natural fear of people and their property that they should.
And don't immediately blame coyotes for your missing toy poodle.
There are many more likely hazards in today's suburbs and
exurbs: things named 'Ford' and 'Dodge' and 'Chevy.'
About Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation
Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation (WRR)
(www.wildlife-rescue.org)
was founded in 1977 in San Antonio by Lynn Cuny. Our mission
is to provide rescue, rehabilitation, and release of orphaned,
injured, and displaced wildlife, and provide sanctuary with
dignity for non-releasable and non-native wild animals who
have been the victims of the exotic pet trade, rescued from
roadside zoos, or used in research. Today WRR volunteers and
staff annually receive 5,000–6,000 animals at our 187-acre
sanctuary outside Kendalia, Texas. Over 600 wild and farmed
animals make their permanent home at WRR.
Contact Information
If you have concern about wildlife in your
yard, call the WRR
24-Hour Emergency
Hotline at (830) 336-2725.
For more information about Wildlife Rescue
& Rehabilitation's sanctuary operations or educational
programs visit www.wildlife-rescue.org
or call (830) 336-2725.
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