Meet Your New Neighbor! The Coyote!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

by Travis Sabby

I have lived in the Twin Cities all of my life, and have never seen a coyote in the wild until the last few years. On Martin Luther King day 2011, a coyote ran right in front of my vehicle as I left my Shoreview Re/max office. I don't know who was suprised more, the coyote or myself. Luckily I had brought along my wife's new Nikon D7000 and had it next to me as I drove along. I was able to get some great shots of the coyote before he bounded off into the snowy wonderland. Let's be honest, he probably just went and hid under someone's deck!

I did check with the DNR, and they stated that coyote populations in Minnesota are growing. The coyote is Minnesota's most abundant large predator. Most coyotes live to be only 2 years old, but some have been known to live as long as 13 years. Coyotes do not like humans, and mostly keep to themselves. Their main food is small rodents, rabbits, some birds, and some deer. Most of the deer is road kill or just small fawns. According to Ohio State University, less than 1% of coyotes diet are cats or domesticated animals. The DNR encourages homeowners to keep pets close by to avoid interactions with Coyotes.

The DNR states that as the urban sprawl keeps spreading, we are uprooting the homes of wildlife including the coyote. Coyotes become very good at adapting to the new neighbors and settings, and are just like deer. They live amongst us. North Oaks is known to have a decent sized coyote population as is Lino Lakes. Coyotes tend to live in areas like golf courses and wooded areas along ponds,lakes, and streams.

The latest coyote sighting occured in Harbor Place in Shoreview. I have also spotted many coyotes in The Lakes development in Blaine.

The moral of this story is that yes, there are coyotes living next to you! Whether you live in the Lakes of Blaine, North Oaks, Shoreview, or Harbor Place, you just need to be aware of it and realize that the coyotes are there to stay.

Here is a link to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for information on coyotes.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/coyote.html