Vashon Islanders have learned to live with the island’s resident wildlife. We watch for deer on the roads and put fences around our gardens to keep them out. We know an unprotected flock of chickens or trash left out overnight could draw raccoons. Now it appears we’ll have to adapt to another animal: coyotes.
When The Beachcomber did a feature on coyotes about three years ago, they had been scarce on Vashon, but islanders were beginning to spot them. Now, coyotes have clearly made a comeback, with reported families of coyotes living around the island. One wildlife official with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said he believes coyotes, with populations that have expanded across the country, are on Vashon stay.
It’s good for the island to have coyotes. Before it did, the island’s deer and rodents had no true predators. Their populations have become large and possibly unhealthy, experts say. Predators such as coyotes, however, feed on rodents and small or sick deer, providing the type of natural balance found in other places.
We’re already learning that coyotes will bring problems as well. As highly adaptable creatures, they can live in many places and prey on many different animals — rodents, small deer, livestock, even small pets. Like raccoons, they’ve been known to get into garbage, pet food and gardens. Last month coyotes killed three sheep at the sheepdog trials, and the animals believed to be responsible were killed by USDA officials, a measure meant not to eradicate them, but to deter the rest of the family from killing sheep. However you feel about the coyotes’ death under these circumstances, most islanders likely hope farmers won’t have to continue resorting to this measure to protect their flocks as the coyote population grows. We want coyotes here to thrive, and if we’re intentional, coyotes can live quietly alongside humans and our pets and livestock.
Luckily, you don’t have to be a biologist to know how to best share space with coyotes. As is the case with other animals, outcomes will be best if coyotes are afraid of humans. Animals that are afraid of humans are less likely to approach homes or yards and less likely to turn to pets or livestock as food. You can help coyotes stay afraid by scaring them from a distance — making noise and throwing things — whenever they are seen. And if you don’t already, secure your trash and don’t leave pet food outside. Those who have problems with coyotes have options, and every case is different. For instance Maggi McClure, director of the sheepdog trials, is trying to keep llamas to deter coyotes at her Maury Island home. The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife website also has detailed and helpful information, and consider consulting an expert before taking action. Killing coyotes may seem like an effective short-term measure, but to live peacefully with any wild animal, we need to help keep them wild.
