Thanks again for sending your coyote-sighting reports. Got another one this morning, from Steph, who emailed to say, “saw a Coyote this morning on Atlas Pl SW around 6:45 a.m.” That street on the slope between Beach Drive and Seaview is in a greenbelt area, but they can roam far from greenbelts too. Wherever you are, here’s info about coexistence – including encouraging them to keep their distance by not providing food (from pet food to unaccompanied pets), They otherwise will find food such as rodents, small wildlife, and fruit.

The photo is from Abigail G., who spotted two coyotes – including that one – around 1:30 am today. She first saw them at 34th and 102nd and “followed them for a block before I could get a good photo. They were both in the middle of the road when I turned the corner and one took off down 102nd and the other one went into a yard.” This continues the recent resurgence in sightings (you can scroll through our archives here). So it’s a good time to learn about coexistence – including encouraging them to keep their distance by not providing food (from pet food to unaccompanied pets) – they can live just find by foraging for everything from fruit to rodents.

Continuing to chronicle the resurgence of coyotes in our area, we received this report from Yma in Gatewood: “Big, healthy-looking coyote trotting up the sidewalk tonight – about 10:20. Gatewood: Portland St between California & 41st.” Remember that you can best support a keep-our/their-distance coexistence by not providing food – from pet food to unaccompanied pets.

That’s video sent by Kevin showing what he believed was the same coyote in Seaview noted by Steph in our previou report on readers’ sightings; he saw it last Saturday morning on 48th SW between SW Juneau and SW Raymond. We have two more, as coyotes’ apparent resurgence in our area continues: Leslie emailed today to report, “I spotted a coyote this morning around 6:00 am entering the woods that line the Riverview Playfield, just north of the tennis court.” And Gregg reported that last Saturday night, “At 11:10 pm while walking my dog, I spotted two coyotes running on 55th Ave SW and SW Dakota Street. They took a right on SW Dakota street from 55th Ave SW then a left on 56th Ave SW and continued south on Hillcrest Ave SW. I am guessing they were making their way toward Me-Kwa-Mooks Park and probably looking for rabbits.” Gregg added, “It’s been a few years since I have seen a coyote in the Genesee Hill area.” Since many people have moved here since the days of frequent sightings, we’re reminding you about advice on how to co-exist – especially avoiding providing food sources (from pet food to unaccompanied small pets) – from rabbits to rats, the coyotes can find plenty on their own.

10:22 AM: We’ve had a resurgence of coyote sightings lately, and we’re publishing the reports because it’s important to understand how to co-exist with them. This morning, Steph and her dogs encountered one in Seaview: “Cayote sighting this morning at 7 a.m. at corner Juneau and 49th. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera. Not sure if it is newsworthy, but sure took me by surprise as I was walking my dogs.” And on the High Point side of SW Juneau, Zac reported this sighting Tuesday night: “Didn’t get a pic but saw a coyote trot down SW Juneau St from 35th toward the P-patch … 11:30-ish pm.” The state’s “co-existing with coyotes” advice is here. Biggest advice is to not inadvertently leave food out for them (and that includes unaccompanied small pets) – they can find plenty on their own, such as rodents.

NOON: Since publishing that, we received this from Kari:

This coyote ran right behind us on 50th and Spokane Thursday night, just after nine. I did let my neighbors know to spread the word.

ADDED SATURDAY EVENING: We also received this today:

My name is Matt and I live near the Whole Foods in the Junction. This morning I saw a coyote on 40 Ave SW at 4:30 am; it went toward Hudson and turned heading to Fauntleroy.

Thanks to Kevin Freitas for sending the video and photo. He reports, “Yesterday morning while on a run, my partner recorded this brief video showing the area coyote out and about. This was shot at 36th/Graham about 7 am. Control that bunny population, friend!”

This is the fourth coyote report we’ve received in a month, after a year without any (which of course doesn’t mean they haven’t been around). As we always note, we don’t publish these as a warning, but rather an educational FYI. As Kevin’s comment suggests, they eat a lot of small wildlife, but small domestic animals left alone are susceptible too, so take that into consideration. Advice on how to coexist with coyotes by keeping them at a distance is part of this state-produced Living With Wildlife guide.

Continuing our resurgence in coyote sightings – a texter reported just after 10 pm, ‘Just spotted a cute coyote on Belvidere Ave SW and SW Lander Street. Had my dogs with me so was a bit nervous, but he ran off in the other direction.” Earlier this week, we received a report we didn’t publish at the time – Ted reported, early Tuesday morning, “I just heard a coyote barking pretty close to my house near 37th/97th in Arbor Heights.” That was five days after this Upper Fauntleroy sighting, with photos. A reminder – this isn’t cause for panic, just an FYI; this state-produced Living With Wildlife guide has lots of info on co-existing with them.

We haven’t received a coyote-sighting report in quite some time, but this one came in tonight via text – seen in Seaview. Coyote reports have dwindled in the past few years; we still don’t know whether that’s because they’ve dwindled in numbers, or are just keeping themselves out of sight. A sighting report is meant as an FYI, not a warning; if you’re not familiar with how to co-exist with coyotes, these state-published recommendations can help.

Just three days after our first coyote-sighting report in a long time, we received another one today, from Ann: “I wanted to let you know that my husband was up late last night and spotted a coyote in our yard around midnight. We live in the Fauntlee Hills neighborhood. He did not get a photo but we are not far from the sighting last week.” We’ve long published coyote sightings not as warnings, but as FYIs that we share our peninsula with them – learn about coexisting with coyotes here.

(2016 photo by Trileigh Tucker)

Here on WSB, our wildlife coverage used to include coyote reports (archived here) – not as warnings, but to raise awareness that they share the peninsula with us. Or – shared. It’s been a long time since we’ve received a coyote report, and despite living near multiple greenbelts, we haven’t heard or seen any lately either. We’ve wondered from time to time if they’ve truly dwindled here, or whether we’re just not hearing (about) them. Then we got a note from researcher Sam Kreling, a UW Ph.D. student, who is leading a study of Seattle’s coyote population. Kreling not only noticed our lack of recent coyote reports but added, “I’ve been attempting to find coyote scat in West Seattle for my research and haven’t really had any luck over the last couple of months.” The research is a collaboration between UW and the Woodland Park Zoo, “studying Seattle’s coyote population through non-invasive methods, aimed at understanding their diet, limit conflict, and their population demographics,” because “there have only been really limited insights to Seattle’s coyotes and much is still unknown about urban carnivores in general, so this study aims to help understand urban carnivores as a whole, and Seattle’s specific population of coyotes.” They’ve been working on it for almost a year, and when complete, they hppe the study will “inform Seattle management decisions on coyotes, identify regions that may be more prone to human-coyote conflict than others, and increase the general scientific knowledge surrounding urban wildlife.” So if you have any West Seattle leads for researchers, email seattlecoyotestudy@gmail.com.

Steve emailed to report, “A few coyotes near 23rd and Andover (Pigeon Point) I heard 2, maybe 3, I think. Please give a warning for people to keep their pets indoors.” (We used to get coyote reports often, but haven’t for quite some time – not sure if that means they’re more scarce, or if people are just used to them.)

Thanks to the texter who shared that photo of a Saturday morning coyote sighting in Upper Alki. After a long time without sighting reports, we’ve had an uptick lately – including one featured in our second gallery of photos taken during the recent snow. We feature them not as warnings but as FYIs, opportunities to remind people that they live among us. This infosheet from state Fish and Wildlife includes helpful info such as how to scare them away if you see one (which is considered to be the best way to react, so they maintain their wariness and keep their distance).

One more wildlife sighting before we move on to other news: David Spry shared the clip, reporting, “I managed to get some footage of a coyote this morning. It was just outside of my fence in Fauntleroy Park.” We used to get and publish relatively frequent coyote reports, but haven’t heard much about them for a while, and we get the occasional reader note saying the same thing. Nobody officially tracks them, though a new Woodland Park Zoo/Seattle University project is aiming to do so.

P.S. If you’re new – here’s info on coexisting with coyotes.

For the first time in a long time, today we received a reader report about a coyote sighting:

Last night: a pack of coyote pups heard and spotted at 46th and Edmunds in West Seattle at 1:25 am. About eight of them, running wildly around houses looking for food.

Over the years, we’ve published coyote reports when we received them, to help people remain aware that we and these wild neighbors are co-existing. If you don’t know much about coyotes, or what to do if you see one or more, this state webpage can help.

Thanks to Joan for the photo and report this afternoon:

I finally got a picture of a coyote in the Longfellow Creek Holding Basin, south side, located just east of 24th SW between Holden & Webster [map]. He saw me and jumped back so this is the best I could get.

This coyote is scrawny and thin. I saw another that looked young and healthy last week.

People are still letting their dogs run loose here so this is a heads up – go to the offleash park instead and keep your dog safe.

If you’re not sure what a coyote looks like, you can browse our archive of coyote sightings and see other, larger photos from past sightings. You’ll also want to read the state’s advice about coexisting with coyotes.

Thanks to the texter who sent word of a late-night double coyote sighting: Two in the 5600 block of 35th SW [map]. They wanted to be sure people in the area knew about it before letting their pets roam outdoors; researchers say coyotes’ diets actually includes more wild small animals – rodents, in particular – than domesticated ones. The sightings reports we’ve received over the years are archived here; state experts’ advice on coexisting with coyotes is here.

From Ina:

Just wanted to alert people that we just saw a coyote walking down our street on 37th between Willow and Myrtle. [map] It’s a busy walking area but fortunately no one was out at that specific moment. It was walking southward and into someone’s driveway towards the greenbelt area.

If you see a coyote, best thing to do, for your sake and the animal’s sake, is to do your best to frighten it away. Authorities advise yelling, waving your arms, even throwing rocks. They live among us (and vice versa); you can read the state Department of Fish and Wildlife‘s “Living with Coyotes” advice here.

Thanks to Jake for the report: “I spotted a coyote this morning at 35th and Hinds [map] around 7:30 am. It jumped into a bush before I could get a pic. It appeared to be in good health and didn’t seem to be in a big hurry or especially skittish. It looked to weigh about 45 lbs.”

For more than eight years now, we’ve published coyote-sighting reports when we get them as a reminder that they live among us – (especially with new people arriving, not everyone knows that!). This one-sheet from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has info on what to do if you see one (in short: scare it away) and how else to foster coexistence.

Second coyote photo of the week – thanks again! Just keeping track of our urban wildlife. This photo was texted this morning from the Fairmount Park/Playfield area, Fauntleroy Way and SW Dawson [map]. As always, heres the gold-standard advice from the state Fish and Wildlife Department – including what to do if you see one nearby – do your best to scare it away – coexistence for us, them, and the rest of the urban ecosystem depends on them wanting to keep their distance.

Thanks to Kevin for e-mailing (editor@westseattleblog.com) that photo of a coyote spotted near 50th SW and SW Walker [map], around 10 am today. Not far from greenbelts, but over the nine years we’ve been publishing sighting reports (all from WSB readers except this one), we’ve had many relatively far from greenbelts, too. We publish them as an informational reminder that they’re out there, and you should read up on experts’ advice for coexistence – making sure they have no reason to hang around too close or for too long. The best advice is here.

Change of seasons tends to bring out the coyote sightings. We have two to share:

NEAR LUNA PARK: Jason sent the photo and report:”I was walking up Andover from Avalon toward the Fauntleroy pedestrian bridge [map], and I spotted what looked like a good-sized coyote across the street from the east entrance to the bridge. It saw me and froze, sat on its haunches, and watched me for 3-4 minutes. I took this photo (blurry since it was zoomed in on my phone), and shortly after that it disappeared when I looked away. It did not seem very afraid of me.”

IN SEAVIEW: Deb saw one early Friday along 47th SW between Findlay and Erskine [map]: “I was out around 1:30 in the morning when a lanky coyote with a thin tail came trotting down 47th. When the animal spotted me he wheeled and ran down the alley. I promptly went back in the house.”

WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE ONE: Best thing to do is to scare it away, experts say. Other tips on coexisting with coyotes are in this fact sheet from the state Fish and Wildlife Department. Our off-and-on archive of West Seattle coyote sightings, meantime, is here.