Myths and Truths About Coyotes by Carol Cartaino

Myths and Truths About Coyotes by Carol Cartaino

Author:Carol Cartaino
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: eBook ISBN: 9780897328722
Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press
Published: 2010-07-18T16:00:00+00:00


Urban and suburban coyotes cross many roads every day and night, and they do not always survive the experience. Courtesy of Colorado Division of Wildlife (Michael Seraphin)

Is it true that coyotes like airports?

Airports, with their nice, big, open spaces and expanses of grass, are one more urban and suburban landscape that attracts coyotes. There are not many competing predators out there, and plenty of rodents and rabbits. A pilot from Dallas in the 1980s reported that there were coyotes on the runway when he left Texas, and a coyote on the runway to greet him when he arrived in Dayton, Ohio! In 2010, when a coyote at Portland International Airport was chased off the runway, he darted under several trains and then boarded the light-rail train headed for downtown, taking a window seat. (Airport officials did manage to remove him peacefully to a more appropriate part of their property.)

Some smaller airports, such as the one in Middletown, Ohio, have actually welcomed coyotes on their premises, because they reduce or eliminate Canada geese, which endanger planes and make a big mess with their wet and slippery green droppings. But most airports have installed tall fences, when necessary, to keep coyotes out, because coyotes on the ground can be hit by the landing gear of small or large planes, and even occasionally be thrown into the air and sucked into a jet engine. They sometimes make other mischief, too, such as chewing through those ultra-expensive fiber-optic cables.

WHAT DO URBAN COYOTES EAT?

What are urban coyotes looking for in their nightly forays, which can take them through a number of adjoining towns? Rodents is one big answer—no one is unhappy to know that they spend much of their time catching mice of all kinds, and rats. It’s often been estimated that there are as many rats in the average city as there are people, and full-grown rats are too large and aggressive for many cats to take on. There are more squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, raccoons, and opossums per acre in the average suburb than in the same amount of space in the wilds, and groundhogs, muskrats, and deer can be found in suburban landscapes, too. Deer are often all too plentiful in urban areas, with no hunting pressure on them.



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