Coyote 'problem' in Colorado

Coyotes seem to be the whipping boy of suburbanites these days.
Greenwood Village, a suburb of Denver, has hired a contractor to monitor its coyotes and shoot them if 'necessary.'
Nicole Rosmarino, wildlife program director of WildEarth Guardians doesn't approve of this approach, and neither do I. The trapper/shooter/tracker in question, Jay Stewart seems to be annoyed that people are trying to chase the coyotes away, meanwhile past efforts made by the city to control the coyote population have included trapping....which means that someone had to BAIT the coyotes into the traps. Baited traps can only lead to more opportunistic coyotes in the area. Placing signs around coyote denning sites to keep people away is a good way to keep the people from getting hurt, but it's basically enabling the coyotes. By giving them their space, the village is actually encouraging them to take root and move on in.
"Scientists tell us the best way to address problems with coyotes is to enforce leash laws and wildlife feeding ordinances and reinstill a wariness of humans in them," Rosmarino said.
So basically, don't blame the coyotes for your problem. Blame yourselves. Click Here to read WildEarth Guardians take on the 'problem.'

More Coyote 'problems' in Washington State

From the Seattle Times:
Coyote Presence Concerns Neighbors: Animals prowling North Spokane kill pet cat.

Get a load of this quote: "[the owners] The Wichtermans got Sylvester, a 12-year-old long-haired black-and-white cat, when he was a kitten. Tricia Wichterman said Sylvester was a tomcat who liked to be outside at night."

I'm sorry. You leave your cat out at night, I consider you to be completely at fault for his demise. Its sad, yes. But if you took proper care to make sure your cat was INDOORS in a SAFE ENVIRONMENT he would still be alive. Oh yeah, and get your pets neutered, you denizens of the land of dumbassery. Maybe it's the fact that there are little Sylvesters running around all over the neighborhood ripe for the picking that attracts the coyotes!

I also like how the cat owners stated that they were worried because the coyotes are so 'bold'. Coyotes are like that. If you knew anything about coyotes you would know this. Of course they hung around and kept coming back to where they had killed the cat, you basically took their dinner away from them and they were looking for it. Coyotes are opportunist who will eat just about anything, including Fluffy Tinkletoes, the family Persian. This does not make them evil. This makes them wild animals. So keep your pets indoors, and start making an actual concerted effort to coyote/skunk/raccoon proof your trash cans, don't leave pet food outside, and stop calling the POLICE for god's sake when you see a coyote in your yard. The police have better things to do. Rant over, and out.

Oregon Police shoot to kill Coyotes

Police given order to shoot-to-kill Coyotes.

First of all, I like how in the article a Sherwood, Oregon police officer states that they don't want to give the impression that coyotes are 'on the rampage' and yet if you look at the full url title of the article it uses the word 'terrorizing'. Nice. Trust journalists to try to sensationalize anything they can.
According to the article coyote sightings in Sherwood were rare until the 1980's, and have been on the increase ever since. Surely it has occurred to the Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider the cause of this increase? Coyotes are extremely adaptable and opportunistic animals, who adjust well to life near or among humans, much as raccoons and skunks do. Certainly suburban neighborhoods provide a boon for hungry animals who can easily obtain a meal from cat food left out (or even your cat if he isn't wily) or garbage cans left on the street. But is that really all that is drawing coyotes to the cities and causing such a staggering population increase? Research in other areas, such as Yellowstone Park have shown that coyote numbers typically increase when other wildlife numbers, such as big game and larger predators, are down. Hopefully DFW is looking into this imbalance to find a way to rectify the situation without putting out 'Wanted: DEAD' posters on the local coyotes. Also, I'm curious as to why this matter is being handled by the police department, and not by Fish and Wildlife? How is the kill program being regulated? What keeps someone from just going out and machinegunning a whole pile of coyotes?
Though there is certainly no shortage of coyotes in North America, I still find it offensive that they are allowed to be shot simply for poking their noses into what human beings have come to consider their private space.
A note to the people of Sherwood, Oregon: The environment does not belong to you. You're just borrowing it for a while. Think of it as a holiday share. Don't repaint the walls and leave a mess in the kitchen when you leave. Leave it exactly as you found it, maybe even a little tidier. Gaia thanks you.