The coyote, Canis latrans, is a highly adaptable canine that has successfully expanded its range across North America, thriving even in dense urban environments. Their presence in parks, green spaces, and residential neighborhoods often prompts questions about their disposition toward people. Coyotes are not naturally aggressive toward humans, and direct attacks are exceptionally rare, but their adaptability means their behavior is heavily influenced by human activity. The perception of aggression typically arises when a coyote’s innate wariness is diminished, leading to concerning interactions that are often preventable.
Default Behavior: Wary, Not Aggressive
The typical coyote response to human presence is avoidance, rooted in an instinct for self-preservation. When encountering people, their default behavior is flight, immediately seeking cover or increasing distance. This natural shyness is a survival mechanism that keeps them out of conflict with larger predators and humans.
Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores whose diet primarily consists of small mammals, insects, and vegetation, including rodents, rabbits, and fruit. Their physical characteristics, such as a slender muzzle and smaller build compared to wolves, are suited for hunting small prey rather than engaging in confrontations with large animals or humans.
Their activity patterns often shift in response to human presence, with urban coyotes being most active during crepuscular hours, around dawn and dusk, or at night. Seeing a coyote during the day is not necessarily a sign of a problem, but rather a reflection of their need to forage for food for themselves or their pups.
Factors That Lead to Confrontation
A coyote’s natural avoidance of humans begins to erode when specific human-related factors provide a consistent reward. This loss of wariness, known as habituation, occurs when coyotes frequently encounter people without any negative consequence. The most significant factor driving this change is the availability of food sources inadvertently or intentionally provided by humans.
Intentional feeding or unintentional food conditioning, such as leaving pet food outside, failing to secure garbage cans, or allowing fallen fruit to accumulate, teaches the animals that human areas are reliable sources of sustenance. This association encourages them to approach human spaces, and in some cases, to exhibit demanding behavior when food is expected but not received.
A different category of confrontation arises from a natural, defensive instinct during the pupping season, which generally runs from late winter through early summer. Female coyotes become intensely protective of their pups and den sites, which may be located under sheds or dense brush. During this period, a coyote may react defensively to perceived threats, often directed at domestic dogs, which they view as competitors or potential predators to their young.
When coyotes target small pets, they are generally exhibiting a predatory behavior, viewing the animal as an accessible prey item rather than acting aggressively toward the pet’s owner. Small dogs and cats left unattended, especially during dawn and dusk, can be seen as easy targets.
Managing Encounters and Deterrence
Mitigating conflict relies on both actively discouraging proximity and eliminating attractants that draw coyotes into human spaces. The active response, known as “hazing,” involves using deterrents to restore a coyote’s natural fear of people.
Hazing
If a coyote is sighted nearby, a person should stand tall, wave their arms, and yell loudly in an authoritative voice to appear larger and threatening. Using noisemakers, such as air horns, whistles, or a can filled with coins, is recommended. Throwing small objects like sticks or tennis balls near the animal can startle it without causing harm. It is important to continue hazing until the coyote has completely left the area, and never to run away, which could trigger a chase response.
Prevention
Prevention focuses on eliminating all potential food sources and shelter that might attract a coyote to a yard.
Secure all trash in containers with locking lids and only place them out shortly before collection.
Feed pets indoors, and promptly remove any fallen fruit from the ground.
Restrict access to sheltered areas, such as the space under decks and sheds, to prevent den sites close to homes.