If you close your eyes and imagine a coyote, you might see images of the wild west, dried red clay stretching for miles and howling coyotes on the prairie at night. Or maybe a two-dimensional cartoon figure standing on air before looking down into the precipice below, but even that coyote is still in the middle of nowhere. Doubtful, then, that you would visualize a coyote settling down for coffee at Third Place or hopping on the merry-go-round at Pullen park. Well do we have news for you! Coyotes can, indeed, be found in the Raleigh area.

Just ask Sharon Mixon, whom a coyote followed home as she was walking her dog in west Raleigh. “It was pretty scary. The coyote just kept following us,” Mixon said. “We stood up on the picnic table, and every time I started yelling at it, it would bark back at me.” Fortunately, Mixon and her dog managed to get back home incident free. “I could not turn my back on it. I just kept walking backwards,” she said.

Bad News, Good News

The “bad” news is that more and more wild animal sightings and interactions can be expected as Raleigh continues to expand and urbanize what was once land owned exclusively by wildlife. Just ask Chris Moorman, a professor at NC State who specializes in wildlife habitat management and forest and urban wildlife ecology. “Coyotes are very adaptable to urban environments, [and] if you live near a greenway or parks, I think your chance of seeing a coyote or fox are going to be greater than if you live in the inner city.” He said, though he also noted that people who live downtown shouldn’t be surprised to see a coyote. “The urban environments offer protection from hunting. They definitely offer more food.”

So what’s the good news for Raleigh residents when coyotes can be found in all 100 counties in our great state? The good news is that there is not a single report of an unprovoked coyote attack on humans. Moore recommends avoiding wildlife if possible, and standing your ground if you encounter a coyote or a fox, since most are skittish of humans and will avoid them if seen.

If you’ve got coyotes on the brain – or in your backyard – and want to be sure your home is protected from wildlife, give Critter Control a call at 919-382-0651 or visit our contact portal on our website.