Two more West Seattle coyote sightings to share. First, one texted to us tonight: “Wanted to report a coyote sighting in North Admiral going east at SW Walker St toward 41st Ave SW.” Second, one that was sent by Martine on Halloween night:

I live on 34th Ave SW, between Andover and Charlestown, and this morning I had an encounter with what I think was a coyote. It was 7am and I was walking my dog. The coyote was only 6 feet away, not scared at all, and looked incredibly healthy. He did not run when I tried to scare it away and stayed within my eye-sight until I decided to just go back home and walk my dog later. It was a little unnerving.

As always, we want to note that we publish these sightings for awareness, not alarm, and for education: Here’s the state’s advice on do’s and don’t’s for coexisting with coyotes. (For previous sightings, click on the coverage-category link – “coyotes” – under the headline above and scroll through our archive.)

Both of these sightings were reported Friday:

GATEWOOD: From Cathy:

As usual, it happened while walking the dogs early this morning. About 5:15, my dogs were suddenly very alert to another canine crossing 37th Ave SW ahead of us at Willow St. The coyote was also very alert to us, but even more so to the rabbit flushed between us. This coyote looked to be the same size as in the photo you posted previously from “Rob.” I thought it looked pretty skinny and it didn’t run very far away nor very fast. We entered our yard and it lingered in our neighbor’s bushes across the street. Our neighborhood is rife with wild rabbits and plenty of outdoor cats and fruit trees; it’s a wonder we don’t spot more of the pack.

BEACH DRIVE: From a texter:

Coyote spotted with middle-sized animal hanging out of its mouth, this AM at 6:30 on my way to work. It ran across the street from a house on the water on Beach Drive, toward Jacobson!

As always, we include a note that we publish these sightings for awareness, not alarm, and for education: Here’s the state’s advice on do’s and don’t’s for coexisting with coyotes. (If you’re interested in previous sightings, click on the coverage-category link – “coyotes” – under the headline above.)

No photos so far of either of these, but the reports came in via email:

LINCOLN PARK DEER: Lauren reports, “Spotted a young buck on the beach trail this morning in Lincoln Park. Also spotted a seal, bald eagle, and the barkiest dog in the whole wide world.” Lauren says she was not able to catch the deer on camera before he “hopped away.” The deer was first noted in this comment thread following yesterday’s humpback-whale sighting. (As one commenter notes, we’ve had scattered sightings in the past, including “Westley,” who spent a few weeks wandering the peninsula in 2016.)

TWO COYOTES: Sent by Nicole:

Our neighbor alerted us that she saw two coyotes at the end of her driveway at 11:00 pm when she let her small dog out. We live at the end of 32nd Ave SW, adjacent to Camp Long (32nd and Juneau).

The state’s advice on coexisting with coyotes includes NOT providing them with convenient food sources, from unaccompanied pets to unsecured garbage.

Thanks to George for emailing this report of a coyote sighting around 7 am today: “I just saw one heading north on 55th Ave SW / SW Charlestown St. Well fed, alone, 35-40 lbs. Not surprising considering all the rabbits around here!” We publish coyote sightings for awareness, not alarm; here’s a one-sheet on coexistence do’s and don’ts.

10:50 PM FRIDAY: Shankar reported this sighting around 9 pm: “While walking my dog, just saw one of the resident coyotes trotting down 36th quite purposefully, before turning west on Trenton.” Not a cause for alarm, but for awareness – especially so you can be sure you’re not providing a food source, from unsecured trash to unaccompanied small pets. Here’s a simple one-sheet on coexistence do’s and don’ts.

10:21 AM SATURDAY: Sent by Cathy this morning: “Two large coyotes spotted at 6:30 this morning in Cormorant Park on Beach Drive. They followed friend and dog up to Alki Point. They hunt in early morning. Please be aware if you have pets outside at this time.”

Just received from Vanessa: “I just spotted a coyote crossing SW Southern St. right off of California Ave. (a few blocks east of Lincoln Park). It went up into the backyard area of the house on the northwest corner of that intersection.” We publish sighting reports for awareness, not alarm; read this to learn about co-existence advice. (See past sighting reports by scrolling through this WSB archive.)

Reported by Sara: “I chased off a couple coyotes from 41st and Portland around 9:00 this evening. Both were skittish, thankfully! Another good reason to keep kitties inside.” Not sure what to do if you see one? Wondering what you can do to keep them at a distance? Read this. (See past sighting reports by scrolling through this WSB archive.)

Two of the latest reader-reported coyote sightings were pairs:

FAUNTLEROY: A texter reported tonight, “Coyote spotting…10:30 p.m. Two full-sized on Tillicum Rd across the street from Lincoln Park near Cloverdale.”

GENESEE HILL: Tim reported that on Tuesday night, “I believe I saw two coyotes crossing 55th Ave SW near Andover St about 9:30 PM … It appeared the coyotes were coming up the power line right of way that goes down the bank. That same night, in that same area, Rob saw this one, and sent us the photo via Twitter/X:

If you haven’t read up on coexisting with coyotes yet – especially how to avoid unintentionally feeding them – here’s the state Fish and Wildlife Department‘s advice.

First, one that came in late tonight, with photo, via text (206-293-6302 is our hotline):

Just wanted to share that a rather large coyote was spotted on 47th and Dakota around 9:30 pm.

This morning, Tom emailed about his sighting late Friday night: “I just wanted to report that last night I saw a coyote trotting down Jacobsen Road about 11:30. I’m not surprised given all the rabbits that have taken up residence around here.”

They do eat wildlife, but they also eat food that humans have provided, however inadvertently, as this study noted. So you can do your part to keep them at a distance by reducing those potential food sources.

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.)