This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Once coyotes get a taste for city living, the call of the wild fades to a whisper. Food is abundant and predators are few.
Research indicates that coyotes enjoy the benefits of urban areas enough to put up with all the people, and Seattle is no exception. Over the past century, coyotes have colonized every major metropolitan area in North America. Chicago is home to an estimated 4,000 coyotes, and in Los Angeles, urban coyote density is at least seven times higher than in wild areas.
Coyotes are often spotted in parks and neighborhoods throughout Seattle, but the lack of formal data makes it difficult for researchers to track trends. "We observed a ninefold increase in coyote density in Seattle compared to more natural areas of the state," said lead author Laura Prugh, a UW professor of environmental and forest sciences. "That might surprise people who think of coyotes as afraid of humans, but I think it just shows how ideal the urban setting is for coyotes." The results were published Sept. 10 in Environmental Research: Ecology.
In the study, researchers analyzed coyote scats collected throughout Seattle and from wild study areas near Winthrop in north-central Washington and Chewelah in the northeastern part of the state. They calculated density based on how often they picked up a scat from the same animal, identifying 213 coyotes from 842 scats. Researchers were also curious about what factors influence density within the city, such as the luxury effect—where wealthier neighborhoods have more plant and animal diversity.
Researchers compared the coyote density maps with maps showing pollution levels, tree cover, buildings and roads, human population density and income level. Of those factors, only human density seemed to influence the coyotes. "In Seattle, human population density had a negative effect on coyote density.
But when you compare coyote abundance in Seattle to areas with far fewer people, the coyote population was much higher in the city," Prugh said. Although coyotes are wary of people, the conditions that dense human populations create favor their survival. Urban coyotes are less likely to be killed or go hungry than their wild counterparts.
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