Suspected Coyote Denning Area

Residents: Below is a map that highlights the coyote den area that has been on pchomail the past few days, as well as comments from Dr. Gehrt, who has been studying coyote behavior for many years. The solution to these encounters for us and for the coyotes is to avoid walking in the area, especially with a dog, for several weeks. Dr. Gehrt says, " My guess is the same as yours, which is the behavior is related to pups. Some coyotes get protective when dogs are near pups, so they may follow and watch dogs, and bark or stomp their feet or scratch the ground. Some of that is done as much to warn pups (which may not be seen) as anything else. The pups should be out of the den now, and are exploring their new world. So, parents have to teach their pups while at the same time protecting them. If this is correct, then they should lose their interest in dogs as the summer progresses. If they don't, then they may become a problem, especially if they increase their aggressiveness, and then they may have to be removed." Hope this helps, Stanley D. Gehrt Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology School of Environment and Natural Resources 210 Kottman Hall Ohio State University 2021 Coffey Road Columbus, Ohio 43210 Voice: 614-292-1930 Fax: 614-292-7432 http://senr.osu.edu/facview.asp?id=3256 Website: urbancoyoteresearch.com