Our program is designed to assist municipalities in monitoring coyote populations in their village. Unfortunately, when coyotes get diseased or habituated to humans they need to be removed. We are not interested in the removal of healthy coyotes. Our goals are to protect both domestic pets and humans from coyotes that have crossed the line, either because their health is compromised or have been habituated and have lost their fear of humans. Studies have shown that a coyote with Sarcoptic Mange is 5 times more likely to have a conflict with a human or domestic pet. When you fill out our sightings page, there are certain questions, and pictures that will help us decide if and when a coyote warrants removal. If your village is part of our network, they have shown that they are proactive in protecting both your public safety and that of your pets. We send a monthly report to all our villages so they too can see areas that might be of concern. At that point we discuss weather action is warranted or not. This is not a population reduction program and will never be. Our interest and that of your village is to keep the population healthy but still wild. We work with State, County and Federal biologists to document each coyote that needs to be removed. This data is stored for future use when needed, giving us a larger picture of Urban coyote behavior and the health of the species.
On our sightings page you will see a series of pictures of coyotes in different stages of Sarcoptic Mange. Please take a careful look and click on the picture that resembles the coyote that you saw. Times and direction of travel are very important. You can also leave any further information in the comment section to better explain your encounter.
Thank you. Rob Erickson.