The following information is from an email sent out by Diane Hettrick (Secretary of the Echo Lake Neighborhood Association)
There have been coyotes in the Echo Lake neighborhood long before there were houses and like many wild animals, they have learned to live around humans. Diane says she lived here for 20 years before learning about the coyotes in her part of the Echo Lake neighborhood (NE section).
It appears that there are new coyotes who have set up shop in the area near the lake and farther south. Diane says it's the right time of year for the spring pups to be setting out on their own.
Normally, coyotes are mostly beneficial, keeping down the rodent population. However, they are not beyond the occasional too-trusting cat or even small dog.
Recent sightings over the past couple of months:
--a coyote who got a cat in the 197th block of Ashworth - this was at 6:30 a.m.
--a small dog killed in its yard at 188th & Wallingford - no witnesses so it's not certain that coyotes were to blame, but it seems likely
--185th block of Densmore, a man was startled to open his door at 11 p.m. and find two coyotes in his front yard
Diane says she's looking for an article published by Lake Forest Park about how to keep coyotes out of your yard - when she finds it she'll put it in the Echo Lake Neighborhood Association (ELNA) newsletter. Basically, says Diane, it said to make sure that you did not leave food or water outside your house and that small animals were kept inside as much as possible.
With some exceptions, coyotes operate in the dark. Supposedly they hunt at dawn and dusk but these ones seem to have thrown out the rule book. If you see one, you are supposed to make a lot of noise to scare it off - but also note that they have no fear of humans, so don't get between them and the dog food!
Thanks for the info, Diane!
