Coyotes Living Among Us

Coyotes live among us and most of the time you don’t even know it.

In the city the animal likes to make its home in vacant fields, abandoned buildings and storm sewers, living off rats and mice. An Education and Wildlife Specialist for the Muskingum Soil Water Conservation District said usually they’ll never cause a problem, but it’s the exceptions that can throw this living arrangement off balance.

“They’re a really interesting animal. We kind of want people to understand them but also if you do have an issue with them and some farmers do, how to address that problem effectively,” explained Nicole Hafer Education/Wildlife Specialist for Muskingum SWCD

Hafer said part of her job is to inspect animals believed to have been killed by coyotes. She said part of the time it’s not coyotes doing the damage but dogs.

“More than half of the kills that we look at are not coyote kills they’re dog and those are dogs that either belong to people and are allowed to run loose or they’re a pack of feral dogs and how they kill and animal is completely different then how a coyote kills an animal,” said Hafer.

To understand these creatures more fully the Muskingum SWCD is holding a coyote clinic free of charge. During the event those in attendance will learn about the coyotes history, legal issues with nuisance wildlife and both lethal and humane ways of dealing with coyotes.

The clinic takes place Thursday, January 29 from 6pm-8pm at the Rural Services Building at 225 Underwood Street in Zanesville.