Submitted by AskScienceModerator t3_118wdoz in askscience
nationalgeographic t1_j9l5mzn wrote
Reply to comment by eye_spi in AskScience AMA Series: I'm Dr. Christine Wilkinson, National Geographic Explorer, carnivore ecologist, human-wildlife interactions specialist, and performer. Want to know why a coyote wanders through your city? What happens when hyenas chew your tires during research? How to get into SciComm? AMA! by AskScienceModerator
The coyotes are unlikely to pose a risk to you (humans). Depending on their boldness level (there's evidence that shows more boldness is usually influenced by unintentional or intentional human feeding of coyotes), they could pose a threat to, say, a small off-leash dog. The best thing you can do is make sure all of your trash/compost/other attractants are secured, keep dogs on leash (and cats indoors), and make sure to haze any coyotes that are coming too near. Hazing in this case would be making yourself big and loud, waving your arms, shaking a can of coins, yelling "Go away coyote!" etc., until the coyote completely leaves the area. Doing so consistently (and making sure your neighbors also know to do so) will help coyotes to maintain their natural wariness of people and not get into trouble.
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