Quit messing with the wildlife!

My office building is surrounded by a small wooded area (for now anyway, the land is slated for development). In early spring people started noticing a couple of adult coyotes in and around the parking lot. This clearly made some people uncomfortable because our receptionist(at the request of one of the managers) sent a message out to the entire building stating that coyotes were in the area, animal control (aka The Humane Society) has been notified and do not venture outside the parking lot until the "situation" was "resolved". Initially I was annoyed. I knew the message would alarm people unnecessarily. Coyotes are timid animals and generally do not pose a threat to adults. ** The message also set an unrealistic expectation that the situation was temporary, implying that the Humane Society would be removing the coyotes. Ummm that would be a no.

ODHS's mandate is to help wildlife in distress. Unless a wild animal is in distress ODHS can not send an officer to remove it. I also wonder if people give any thought to what would happen to an animal if it was removed. A facility must be specially licensed to care for or rehabilitate wildlife. ODHS is not, so the ugly reality is that unless arrangements can be made for the animal to go to a facility that is licensed for wildlife (which are usually full), the animal must be humanely euthanized. Call me crazy, but I don't think a coyote deserves to die because it was hanging out in a parking lot. And let's not lose sight of the fact that it was only in the parking lot because the parking lot was built on top of its habitat. I sent a message in response to let people know ODHS can not remove the coyotes, they really don't pose a threat to us and we just need to adapt to our coyote neighbours and they to us. It caused a bit of a shitstorm - I knew it would but I thought it was worth it to try and get the facts out there.

Then about a week ago a guy on my floor looked out the window, saw a coyote and her pups, and promptly called - who else - ODHS. He was again advised that healthy coyotes can not be removed and are best left alone to do what they need to do. I guess most people around here have since overcome their fear of the coyotes because they've started feeding them from the picnic tables. Out goes yet another message from management imploring people not to feed them (for obvious reasons). I can only shake my head.

I love predators. I do. Sharks, lions, coyotes, wolves, raptors - I can't get enough. It has nothing to do with bloodlust, though I do appreciate the primal way in which they hunt, stalk, chase, and take down prey. They just fascinate me. For me they inspire such awe and appreciation. Predators are critical to the health of any ecosystem, and because they generally reproduce in smaller numbers and take longer to reach sexual maturity than "prey" animals the life of each individual predator is very, very important. So it grieves me when I hear people are demanding that coyotes removed because they're having a knee-jerk reaction to something they aren't familiar with. I know not everyone will feel the way I do, even if the time is taken and the effort is made to educate oneself. Understanding a predator is not synonymous with loving it, but why can't it be respected for what it is and left alone? Why do we either have to be demanding its removal or feeding it from the picnic table? What is it about human nature that makes it so difficult for us to live and let live?


** It is important to remember that coyotes are wild animals. If you know there is a coyote in the vicinity I highly recommend small children or pets be supervised when they are outdoors.