You may be seeing more coyotes roaming the streets of Milwaukee, but they aren’t new neighbors. Native to Wisconsin, coyotes have adapted to urban living, and their activity increases between December and March.
Coyotes can be found in nearly all major cities in the United States. While they don’t pose much of a threat to humans, it is advised to keep an eye on household pets.
"Occasionally coyotes will attack domestic dogs or eat domestic cats, and things like that," says David Drake, a UW-Madison professor and extension wildlife specialist. "That typically happens this time of the year because right now between December and March, coyotes are starting to breed."
If you have a dog under 20 pounds and you spot a coyote, Drake recommends picking up your dog to keep it safe. For larger breeds, the dog should be held closely on a leash. Coyotes' aggression towards pets is mainly due to their territorial nature.
Coyotes have been living with in Milwaukee for decades. If you do spot them, it can be an opportunity to teach kids about wildlife.
"If you've got kids with you, use that as a teachable moment," says Drake. "Coyotes are in the canid family, so they're related to our domestic dogs. Maybe make some comparisons between what you see that coyote doing and what you see your domestic dog doing."
While coyotes are not typically aggressive towards humans, it is important to keep them at a distance.
Drake says a process called hazing helps keep coyotes at bay. This can include shouting loudly and waving your arms, honking at them while in your car, or lightly tossing stones or sticks in their direction, but not directly at them.
"As long as those coyotes are fearful of us, when they see us on the landscape, primarily in cities, they may not necessarily run away from us," says Drake. "But as long as they don't continue to advance on us, or they maybe will stop and observe us to study us, and then they might just casually walk off in a different direction — that's the proper response that we want to see from coyotes."
If a coyote is spotted it is encouraged to report the sightings to help keep track of the city's population.
