{"id":23649,"date":"2009-05-02T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-02T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/news\/meet-kents-other-residents-coyotes\/"},"modified":"2009-05-02T02:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-05-02T09:00:00","slug":"meet-kents-other-residents-coyotes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/news\/meet-kents-other-residents-coyotes\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Kent\u2019s other residents: Coyotes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kent resident Pat Walsh can no longer scare away the coyotes<\/a> she spots near The Lakes neighborhood. And that worries her.<\/p>\n

Walsh, who takes daily walks through her neighborhood north of James Street, west of 64th Avenue and south of South 228th Street, wants residents to know that about two weeks ago she saw the aggressive side of a coyote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t really concerned until I yelled and clapped for them to take off, and the last few months that has not happened,\u201d Walsh said Tuesday at her home. \u201cI had one that showed its teeth, stood and watched me go by.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been no reports of coyote attacks against people in Kent that have been made through the Kent Police or the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. But Walsh wants people to be aware of the coyotes, to help avoid any potential incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe worst thing is they are not scared of me anymore,\u201d said Walsh, who also has spotted the crafty carnivores near the popular Green River Trail.<\/p>\n

Residents who see coyotes can call the Mill Creek regional office of the Department of Fish and Wildlife<\/a> at 425-775-1311 to report the sightings, said Craig Bartlett, public information officer for the department.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get about two dozen calls of sightings a day from King County to the (Canadian) border,\u201d Bartlett said. \u201cBut those are all just sightings.\u201d<\/p>\n

State officials only send out Wildlife officers if pets are being preyed upon or a person is bitten.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t respond to sightings because they are so many of them,\u201d Bartlett said. \u201cAttacks are quite rare. We had one incident in 2006 in the region where a couple of kids were bit in Bellevue. But we haven\u2019t had any biting incidents since.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fish and Wildlife officers euthanized two coyotes after that Bellevue incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not normally aggressive toward humans but they are toward pets,\u201d Bartlett said of coyotes.<\/p>\n

The coyote is a medium-sized canine with pointed ears, a bushy tail and a slender body with brownish and gray coloring. An average adult male weighs 25 to 40 pounds. There are an estimated 50,000 coyotes in the state.<\/p>\n

Kent city workers<\/a> do not respond to wildlife complaints.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe refer people to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife,\u201d said Michelle Witham, city public affairs manager. \u201cThey handle coyotes. But we know coyotes are around.\u201d<\/p>\n

When city park maintenance crews cut the grass at Clark Lake Park on the East Hill, they have seen coyotes run behind the mowers to catch the mice that are exposed because of the cut grass, Witham said.<\/p>\n

King County Animal Care and Control handles only domestic animals, such as cats, dogs and livestock. Any calls from residents about deer, raccoons, coyotes, cougars and bears would be referred to the state wildlife department.<\/p>\n

Walsh, who has lived in The Lakes for 12 years, first saw coyotes about five years ago. She usually spots them in the early morning, but recently saw one in a small wooded area near Russell Woods Park along the Green River Trail, just south of the Jackson Bridge on South 228th Street.<\/p>\n

About a month ago, Walsh saw a coyote start to chase a group of ducks crossing the street near her home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI yelled, and he turned around and the ducks took off,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cBut then I heard three or four coyotes howling. They didn\u2019t like that I stole their breakfast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paul Petersen, Kent Police spokesman, said police will respond if a coyote acts aggressively toward someone. But he said most 911 calls about wildlife are dispatched to Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t recall in my 20 years a case of a coyote being aggressive,\u201d Petersen said.<\/p>\n

When told the coyotes seem to have less fear of people, Petersen wasn\u2019t surprised.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of that might be the animals are getting used to us,\u201d he said. State officials advise residents to make sure pet food or loose garbage isn\u2019t placed outside, because that attracts coyotes.<\/p>\n

Coyotes are treated as nuisance animals by the state, similar to raccoons or skunks. That means officers are unlikely to respond to a call about a coyote unless it is behaving aggressively toward someone or attacking pets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they have a cougar or bear in the backyard, we respond with an officer because they are considered dangerous animals,\u201d Bartlett said.<\/p>\n

And if residents want coyotes removed from their neighborhoods, private companies can be hired to remove the animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in the neighborhood would have to make that decision,\u201d Bartlett said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Web site: www.wdfw.wa.gov\/wlm\/living\/coyotes<\/a><\/p>\n

Phone: State Department of Fish and Wildlife, 425-775-1311<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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