We’ve all come to realize that we must co-exist with other creatures to maintain a sustainable world. One type of wildlife commonly dwelling in close proximity to humans are coyotes. Coyotes are now spread all over the US, except Hawaii. Due to lack of education on humans, and learned behavior on the coyotes, coyote encounters turn into conflicts. This session aims to debunk myths, provide facts, and offer tips and guidelines on how to manage living alongside wildlife and resolve conflicts humanely.
Back on the Justice Clearinghouse is Lynsey White from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Lynsey is HSUS’ Director of Humane Wildlife Conflict Resolution where she leads research, programs and other efforts to ensure communities employ effective and humane solutions to resolve conflicts with wildlife.
Topics Lynsey covered on this course are:
- Understanding the basics of coyotes.
- Where they’re found geographically, their characteristics, and physical identifying features.
- Recognizing signs of a coyote by looking into their droppings, tracks, and the sounds they typically produce.
- Their habitat, their proximity to humans, and the expanse of their home ranges.
- The make-up of a coyote’s omnivorous diet and how humans unintentionally feed them.
- The social structures of coyotes that determine the way they live and roam.
- Familiarizing with coyotes’ seasons, and how these affect their behaviors and potential for human sightings.
- A look into their life, mortality, and causes of death.
- Conflicts with coyotes that are merely coyote sightings.
- The concept of habituation where coyotes lose fear of humans through learned behavior.
- Coyote attacks on pets and tips on how to protect pets and prevent attacks.
- Attacks on livestock and preventing these through guard animals, coyote-proof fencing, and housing smaller livestock at night.
- Rare attacks on people, the likely reasons for these, and tips on how to stay safe.
- The importance of educating humans on basic coyote behavior, pet care and safety, and awareness of human practices that cause coyotes to be habituated.
- Common methods employed to address coyote conflict plus studies and case examples that establish each approach’s success and shortcomings.
- Removal that is proven to be ineffective in both targeted and large-scale cases as it is very resource-intensive and can only temporarily ease the issue and even aggravates the problem in the long run.
- Relocation that likewise was proven to be not effective as coyotes come back to their home range, especially if there are pups left behind which can put them in danger of disputing with local coyotes or killed by hunters or cars.
- Coyote hazing which maximizes coyotes’ ability to learn behavior to reshape their habits and reestablish fear of humans and the techniques used.
- Plans, ordinances and other resources that animal control and law enforcement may put into place to better address conflict with coyotes.
Points tackled during the Q&A are:
- Specifics on coyote diet.
- What Coy-Wolves are and are not.
- Best practices to treat mange in coyotes.
- Coyotes’ tendency to lure or trap prey.
- Conflicts between coyotes and larger animals as donkeys.
- Coyote vests for small pets and its effectiveness.
- Why snares are ineffective to address conflicts with coyotes.
- Using pepper spray to defend a small pet being attacked by a coyote.
Resources Mentioned During Webinar:
Audience Comments
- “I loved the fact that she cleared up a lot of information and myths regarding Coyotes that I have heard from people. I was unable to make this webinar on time and would love another as well as more information and education on Coyotes.” — Awbrei
- “It was valuable to learn about how successful hazing has been. I loved the examples which I can use for my educational programs. Our organization is a part of the Wild Neighbors program and we are proud to teach about coexisting with all wildlife. Thank you for providing this webinar”! — Carly
- “Very informative. I did not know the hazing would be so successful and that the coyote would have to see you and continue until the coyote was off the property.” — Donald
- “Wow – I thought I was savvy on coyote conflict but I learned so much! Speaker was outstanding and knew her topic well. Thank you.” — Janette
- “It was varied and well-presented. I run into issues with wildlife questions all the time, and the more information gets out there, the least harm comes to these beautiful animals. Giving tools to law enforcement and people at large to help educate community members is the best way to provide accurate information. Thank you so much!” — Nathalie
View our Animal Welfare Webinar Schedule and Recordings
This webinar has been certified by the National Animal Care & Control Association and is approved for 1 Continuing Education Unit. Please refer to your NACA membership portal for current CEU submission process. Current NACA Members who attend the live presentation or watch the recording will be able to download a jointly issued attendance certificate that includes the National Animal Care & Control Association logo. Visit the NACA training page for a complete list of future trainings.
