West Seattle, Washington
22 Friday
For a while last year, coyote-sighting reports were coming in almost daily. Then – either the coyotes started keeping a low profile, or else people started getting used to them. At any rate, we got a sighting report tonight, so we’re sharing what Kim sent:
Hello, We live on 51st Place west of Edmunds St above Beach Drive [map]. Our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (a small one, just 12 lbs) went crazy barking this morning. As I looked out the window I saw a coyote. He/she (was) about the size of a German Shepherd. I had only let our dog in from being outside a few minutes before. Very scary, therefore I told the family Prince must go in his pen when outside. He has gotten used to a pen because of a close encounter with a raccoon last summer.
Previous WSB’er coyote reports (many with photos) are archived here, newest to oldest. State-collected info on coexisting with coyotes can be found here.
A wild time at Camp Long tonight, as the “Living With Wildlife” presentation offered info about how to do just that – particularly so far as our two biggest wild neighbors are concerned, coyotes and raccoons. Both smart, both requiring specific behavior from all of us so that we can co-exist with as little trouble as possible. Read on for some facts and advice that might surprise you!Read More
Just added another lost cat to the WSB Pets page. It’s a page you probably wouldn’t pay attention to until and unless you lost or found a pet; it still features some 
very-long-lost pets, like Sacha the cat (left), who’s been gone almost a year and also stars in a new Seattle Weekly story by West Seattle-residing Mike Seely, “The Lost Cats of Poverty Gulch.” It’s not just about cats and West Seattle – it’s also about greenspaces and coyotes, among other things. Which gives us another excuse to remind you that one of the excellent “Living With Wildlife” presentations is coming to West Seattle later this month – we hope it’s a full house, as the one we covered in Magnolia earlier this year was laden with helpful information. Be at the Camp Long Lodge, 7 pm, Tuesday 10/21.
Jessica wanted people in the area to know, so she sent this tonight:
Just saw a coyote crossing the street, 41st ave SW, a block from Metropolitan Market. Feeling afraid for kitties we spotted out.
Previous West Seattle coyote-sighting reports published on WSB are archived here. ADDED 11:56 PM: In comments on this post, Jenny mentioned a Lincoln Park sighting – she then sent us this photo:
ADDED THURSDAY AFTERNOON: Big Old Daddy sends word of another sighting:
Didn’t think to report this when it happened, but my son and I were at the kitchen table about 9 AM on Tuesday, Sep 2, when he spotted a coyote ambling down the neighbor’s driveway on SW Cloverdale near Fauntleroy Place SW. The coyote strolled up Cloverdale where another neighbor tried to scare it away with some pebbles. Last night yet another neighbor came over to ask if we had seen one of their cats – one who never misses a meal and may have become one. I’m pretty sure this is the same critter we saw lounging in a neighbor’s yard a couple of months ago.
From Stephanie, southeast of The Junction:
So I was taking my dog out to do her business about midnight tonight and was waiting for a while. Then looked across the street and saw something moving in the dark. Looked a little closer and saw that it was a Coyote walking up the sidewalk. Knowing that my 4 lb. Yorkie was no match I quietly whispered for her let’s go. As I hurried up the stairs it took off. I was relieved it was not aggressive. Seemed to be spooked by us. I am located at 41st and Dawson. (map) I had seen the pictures on the blog before and it looked identical. Went back inside to get my camera and waited for a while but he was gone.
Just thought I would share it since I did not think anyone saw them in my neighborhood. But it seemed more scared of me then I was of it. I don’t think he was out to harm anyone. Clearly not hostile.
This post was officially the tipping point … we just went back and created a category for all posts about coyotes (which required adding the label to each previous one) … maybe someday we’ll finally get to that West Seattle coyote map! Find the coyote archive here.
Thanks to Bruce for that photo of what neighbors apparently know as the “local” coyote, which showed up last night in their back yard “just above the ravine in the North Admiral area on the 2100 block of 41st Ave. SW.” (map) His note landed in the WSB inbox right on the heels of a Delridge sighting — Dorothy lives at the sprawling West Ridge Park complex (map) and says she saw a coyote Saturday morning and again this morning. She added, “I’m concerned because many residents here have pets and small children” and wondered where to “report” it. As we’ve discussed here before, aside from this type of report, which we publish as part of the general WSB community info-sharing, there’s really no place to “report” coyotes under normal circumstances – they’re considered just part of the landscape – and just one of many reasons not to let small animals (cats etc.) roam alone (certainly there are many other threats to them) … local wildlife experts have a lot of advice about peaceful coexistence (don’t feed them, etc.) and you can find much of it, with handy links, in this WSB report from earlier this year.
We suppose photos like that MIGHT bore us someday when coyotes are in residence at all hours in all front yards, back yards, parking spaces … but that’s probably a ways off. At least a week. Vanessa sent the photos a few days back, saying she’d taken them at 46th/Willow (map) a few weeks earlier (believed to be the same coyote shown here). We’d been looking for a timely excuse to run her pix, and got one this morning when another sighting report came in, this time from Pat in Fauntlee Hills:
Late last night my wife and I saw a coyote trotting down 39th Avenue SW near Henderson St. [map] walking south. A good reminder to keep your pets safe!
(video no longer available due to blip.tv shutdown)
Just before the site’s semi-surprise outage, we happened to be out checking out another fire call that didn’t turn out to be news. On the way back, headed up the hill from Lincoln Park – didn’t catch whether this was Thistle or Rose St. – we spotted a coyote poking around a house, pulled over, and whipped out the camera to capture the above-viewable video — low quality but kind of interesting just to watch the way the critter moves. (And the frames where it passes by the fake duck.)
Kayle sent that photo and this note:
6:30 am Sunday. We live in the ravine above Salty’s, up near Walnut in North Admiral. We’ve been hearing three coyote pups and mom at night … now they have been waltzing around our deck in the mornings! The pups look healthy, well fed and are bold. Watch your pets!
Then this afternoon, JC sent this:
Not sure that this is particularly newsworthy, but it certainly made my jaw drop: I was just driving up the north end of California Avenue, coming up from Harbor Drive at 2:43 pm. A little more than halfway up the hill, I had to stop for an otter which was loping across the road towards bay side of the street. There was a white pick-up truck coming down the hill who also had to stop. The driver and I exchanged astonished shrugs as the otter disappeared into the bushes.
In the previous reader-report wildlife post (which coincidentally mentioned coyotes and an otter), we noted you’ve got a chance tomorrow night to hear various experts talk about “coexistence with coyotes,” though you’ll have to go to Rainier Beach to do it. ADDED EARLY TUESDAY: Maybe you’ll see City Councilmember Sally Clark there. One of the newer entries to her official blog mentions her first-ever coyote sighting (she lives near Seward Park).
(Photo of the one and only coyote sighted so far near WSB HQ, from April 2007)
It’s been a while since anyone’s e-mailed about coyote sightings. In the past 24-ish hours, though, we’ve received word of two, and that also provides a reason for a reminder about the citywide “coexisting with coyotes” forum next week. First, the sightings. Dale reports one early Friday morning “on the hill over Thriftway“:
They looked comfortable and well-fed, and our cat came home later. So all is good. They seem to like our pond. We’re a few blocks north of 39th SW ravine, (6700 block of 39th SW; map), and have a heavily wooded yard, as do our neighbors. Main point of the post is to let people with outdoor cats know, so they can respond accordingly.
Then from northern West Seattle, Burke e-mailed tonight: “Just met a coyote racing across the lower end of Fairmount. Looked like he had been pretty well spooked by something.” (Burke also mentioned seeing “the otter that finds it convenient to poop in the swimming pool at Harbor Park Condo. Just saw him ‘loping’ across the parking lot concealing himself under the parked cars as he went.”) Now, about that “coexistence” forum with info helpful for anyone in Seattle: It’s planned for Tuesday night at the Pritchard Beach Bathhouse in Rainier Beach (city news release here; map here). We covered the last one, in February in Magnolia (WSB article here).
From Bob and Bruce:
Overnight, about 3:45 a.m., coyotes were heard yipping and yodeling in the Eddy St. ravine JUST west of California Ave. (Basically behind the soon to be Morgan Junction Park. Owners of outdoor pets need to be aware that this is still a “shared environment” and quite near Lincoln Park’s wild spaces.
That would likely be not far from where this coyote photo/video report originated.
Still letting your cat(s) run around, confident you’re in a wildlife-free zone? If so, you’re the reason “Mac’s Mom” wanted us to share her e-mail:
We are in the 4100 block between 44th and 45th [map], an area not particularly close to any green spaces. One month ago we found the remains of our family cat who had met a very violent end (at about 4AM – he put up quite a fight). Last weekend, our neighbors experienced the same loss. [Yes, we had told our neighbors what happened] I’m not sure how large a Coyote’s territory is, but we are evidently within one and wanted to let other folks in the area know that this is happening. While we’ve seen all of the warnings here on the blog, we disregarded them as we are so far from what we would consider to be “Coyote Habitat”. Please don’t make the same mistake we did!
It’s been said 2,005,894 times, there are many other good reasons to keep pets indoors too … cars, humans, other cats, other types of wildlife among them. For more on “coexisting with coyotes,” check out the info in our coverage of a city-organized presentation earlier this year.
(video no longer available because of blip.tv shutdown)
Toward the end of that video clip sent by a reader who lives just west of Morgan Junction, you can clearly see that the coyote in the clip is limping. Here’s a photo with a closer look at the coyote as it rests:
The reader tried calling the state Fish and Wildlife Department but couldn’t get through to anyone; it so happens that another reader had written us earlier this week about an injured coyote in what she described as “the Fauntleroy greenbelt” — not sure if it’s the same one — and while she did get through to the state, here’s what she was told:
Of course the Washington Fish and Wildlife said there is nothing they can do, we have to let nature take its course. Sad to say that as much as I do not like them in my yard, I felt really bad for the coyote, if it is serious he will likely die a slow death by starvation.
The Fish/Wildlife Department has a page with tons of info about coyotes and coexisting with them, but nothing about policy for dealing with ones that are hurt. We did find some information at the PAWS site advising calling in a “licensed wildlife rehabilitator” – the ones in this region are listed here; none are based nearby, and there’s no coyote-specific information to be found.
Not quite as clear as the set of coyote photos published Friday night, but “Seacat,” who blogs at seacat.wordpress.com, added an interesting side note that made us want to share the pic:
This little coyote is a regular visitor in our yard; this picture was taken right outside my home office window. Since he’s been hanging around, we don’t have a problem with rats at the bird feeder–which also means the variety of birds has increased. That’s not just the coyote, of course, but he fills out a tiny eco-system in our backyard wildlife sanctuary and things are improved with his presence. We live over by Lincoln Park, and welcome our coyote co-habitants. It’s all good!
Haven’t had any coyote pictures in a couple weeks – till these pix taken by Pam at Fauntleroy/Mills (map). She writes:
On our way to work this morning, we saw a coyote roaming on Fauntleroy at the bottom of SW Mills St. I called Animal Control, thinking they might take some action – but they were totally unconcerned and said that coyotes are all over the place in Seattle. (Ironically, we had just seen a news story this morning about a coyote who had dragged a two-year-old around by her head…)
A neighbor said she’s seen coyotes in Lincoln Park on occasion – but it was still really interesting to see one roaming in people’s bushes in our neighborhood. Watch out for your kitties and little pups!
As previously noted, the official government position is to promote coexistence, including avoiding behavior that will encourage coyotes to get too close to people for their good or ours; some tips are in this article we wrote in February. (The news story Pam mentions, by the way, is this one from the mountains east of L.A.)
For all the coyote sightings we’ve posted here, we’ve never seen one ourselves till five minutes ago – crossing California south of Thistle, heading toward the Thistle greenbelt/staircase. (Photos courtesy intrepid Patrick the Sales Guy, who grabbed the camera and headed outside while your editor here stood transfixed at the window.)
Reminder that the city provided tips on coexisting with coyotes and urban wildlife at a presentation earlier this year; WSB coverage here. (It’s breeding season, so sightings are likely to be more frequent; follow some of the advice in that report and your chances of an unwanted run-in will be reduced.)
“West Seattle 101” author Lori Hinton just saw one running down her Upper Fauntleroy street. “Right past a ‘Coyote Warning’ sign,” she adds. (By the way, we will add two more pages tomorrow to our new “West Seattle 101” section featuring selections from Lori’s book – including a spotlight on one of WSB readers’ favorite restaurants – look for the official announcement in the morning.)
If you’re wondering what the TV live truck is doing at Lincoln Park, channel 4 is following up on our report Monday about the “Coyote Warning” flyers papered throughout the hillside neighborhood over the central part of the park. Haven’t seen their story yet but the reporter told us they found the family who says a coyote snatched their dog. Meantime, we got a coyote-sighting report this morning from Dean, who wrote: “I live on the hill above La Rustica along the Me-Kwa-Mooks greenbelt and about 1 am today i was awakened by a howling coyote nearby. Very cool!” (Reminder, info you should know about coexisting with coyotes is in this WSB report about the recent citywide info meeting.)
Heading up the switchbacks from mid-Lincoln Park to WSB HQ, we spotted these flyers on two utility poles (this one was at Northrop/Southern; map). The bold-face text says “Multiple coyote are living in this forest. Many neighborhood cats are missing. Our small dog was grabbed by a coyote from our patio while I was standing nearby (2/20/08). They are bold, hungry, and crafty. Please beware!” This just a few weeks after a citywide presentation urging calm coexistence with coyotes and other wildlife, with some enlightening info on their preferred food and how to keep them away from your house; read our coverage here.
From the multi-agency event in Magnolia last night, there’s practical advice you can put to use right now. And ASAP might be a good time to do it, as we seem to be coming up on a critical time in the coyote calendar:Read More
For those keeping track (we will crunch the sightings onto a map sometime soon): Debra reports two coyotes seen running across the 5200 block of Jacobsen (just uphill from Beach Drive) today; Mary Ellen reported one Sunday morning at Juneau/46th.
You may recall, the city ended the furor over the Discovery Park coyote’s fate the other day by promising a meeting to educate people on co-existing with coyotes (and other urban wildlife). They moved quickly to set a date, time, and place, and even though it’s not in West Seattle, we thought you’d be interested (we plan to cover it, given how much wildlife we’re blessed with in WS, and the questions everyone seems to have so frequently about the appropriate way to deal with it):
Living with Wildlife: Open House – Thursday, Feb. 7, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
In light of the recent developments at Discovery Park regarding coyote encounters with humans, several state and local agencies have joined together to bring you helpful information designed to reduce conflicts with urban wildlife.
Partners at the Open House include:
· Seattle Parks and Recreation
· Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
· Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
· Woodland Park Zoo
· Seattle Animal ShelterThese agencies will be able to:
v answer questions about coyotes, including addressing your concerns
v discuss how to peacefully co-exist with many types of urban wildlife
v instruct you on how to humanely provide care for feral cats
v show you how to make your back yard a wildlife friendly environment
v and much moreLight snacks will be provided. Please join us!
Catharine Blaine K-8, 2550 34th Ave. W
That’s in Magnolia; here’s a map.
| 6 COMMENTS