Urban coyotes in Hot Springs and the Village

A week ago today I was out walking my big dog on the Cedar Creek trail in the Village early in the morning. A bold coyote was tracking us when we were at the furthermost point from our car. The coyote tracked us for quite a while, all the time my dog was displaying low throaty growls and I was brandishing a big stick. The coyote did not seem afraid. Harry and I hurried back to the car and have not returned to Cedar Creek again.

The concept of coyotes living within a municipal area is not new. Hot Springs, Arkansas encompasses city environs as well as the natural surroundings, including protected lands of the Ouachita National Forest, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Park Service. All of this natural beauty comes with its share of wildlife. Residents are most familiar with opossums and raccoons as neighborhood wildlife. There are other forms of wildlife in our area with which some are not familiar. Foxes, coyotes and bears are a part of our wildlife landscape. Most do not cause problems in our local neighborhoods unless something has caused them to be present in the area.

Urban sprawl (building and growth) causes wildlife to be dislocated from their normal range into areas where they have not normally been seen. Other factors, including the long, hot and dry summer, have driven some wildlife into areas of our community where we do not normally see them present. The compelling cause of this movement is to seek food and water. In reference to coyotes, studies show their major food source is small rodents, deer, fruit, rabbits, birds, raccoons and grass. They are also known to prey upon domestic cats and small domestic dogs.

Our current concern of their presence in and around the area bordered by Malvern Avenue, Shady Grove Road and Hollywood Avenue shows a suitable habitat for coyotes and their needs. Well-watered grass is plentiful. Rabbits, small rodents and other small wildlife are abundant in the area.

Therefore, the environment in this area is currently an optimum area for coyote activity, considering the current lack of local rainfall and the lack of an abundant food source for the coyotes elsewhere.

Recommendations

Residents who live on or around the specified area of concern should not allow their cats or small dogs outside without supervision.

Walking small dogs should always be done on a leash. Avoiding sunset or after-dark walks reduces the opportunity to interact with a coyote.

Removal/Relocation

Merely running these animals from the area will only result in moving the problem to another area. Removal of as many of the animals as possible is an approach that yields some positive results. However removal of all the coyotes from the area will be impossible, as they will enter and leave the area while removal activities take place.

It is quite likely that removal of a family of coyotes will simply result in the introduction of free-roaming single coyotes into the area. The use of humane capture traps is not a good option.

Beyond this, rain and lots of it will help ease these problems, and the animals will relocate to more suitable environments.