DENVER — Coyote encounters are on the rise in Colorado, making it even more important to be prepared for what to do if you spot one of these wild animals.
Recently, both the Eire Police Department and the Wheat Ridge Police Department sent out alerts about coyote sightings, encouraging community members to be informed and know the steps to minimize conflict.
Specifically, the Wheat Ridge Police Department posted pictures of a coyote by a playground, urging the community to be aware of wildlife wandering into neighborhoods. Alex Rose, Public Information Officer for the department, said one of their Community Services Officers had three coyote calls in the span of thirty minutes on December 16.
"I think this is always the time of year where we generally see more reports of them, but this season in particular, we've certainly gotten more community concern, more questions, and more sightings in our community," Rose said.
He added that, along with increased sightings, the department has responded to two pet fatalities so far. While coyote activity is suspected, he emphasized that they cannot definitely confirm the cause. Rose encourages pet owners to be vigilant amid increased coyote presence and to keep dogs on a leash.
"We want to talk people through those kinds of things and let them know there are things within their control where they can limit the coyote activity," said Rose. "There are a lot of larger properties out here in Wheat Ridge, and we just want to make sure we're empowering our community with the knowledge to kind of prevent those interactions from happening."
In a message to community members, the Erie Police Department acknowledged the concerns with coyotes, explaining they have one dedicated Animal Control Officer and "it is important to understand that the Erie Police Department is not equipped to handle wildlife, including coyotes."
Kara Van Hoose, CPW spokesperson, explained the agency does not track coyote attacks as closely as they monitor big game incidents, but acknowledged they're aware of the rising number of pet attacks.
"In Erie, we've seen probably ten interactions, both sightings and attacks between coyotes and dogs since September, and that is more than what we saw last year," Van Hoose said.
Van Hoose highlighted the need for community education about coyote encounters and best safety tips. Some of her recommendations included keeping a pet close by and on a leash, along with being loud to help scare it off.
"It's good to just practice really good wildlife safety principles, both with children, with your pets, with yourself," said Van Hoose. "So when you're letting pets out into the backyard at night, you can have motion-activated lights that will kind of scare anything that might be in your backyard. You can just make noise before you let them outside, yelling, banging on pots and pans, playing loud music, that will kind of scare any sort of predators that might be there."
Heading into the new year, this serves as an important reminder to stay alert. Van Hoose noted that coyote mating season in January and February means coyotes will be more active in the weeks ahead.
