Coyotes found roaming near South Mountain

Scott Gabehart walks his orange tabby cat Jordy on a leash every day because he doesn’t want him to die.

In his neighborhood around the South Mountain Park/Preserve, cats make a tempting meal for wildlife in the area, something Gabehart learned the hard way: Two years ago his cat Goldy was killed by coyotes while roaming the neighborhood around 48th Street and Guadalupe Road.

“I cried like a baby for three days when I knew he was really gone,” he said.

Frequent sightings of coyotes are a concern for residents, especially when their small pets are vulnerable to attacks.

“I think if they’re hungry enough, they’ll do whatever it takes,” Gabehart said. “They really just cause a lot of heartbreak.”

That heartbreak keeps Jordy the cat indoors except for his daily walk on a leash.

“I would never have another cat that was an outdoor cat here,” Gabehart said. “It’s just a matter of time.”

Nearby, Sandra Goebel works at the Starbucks inside Safeway at 48th Street and Elliot Road and for the past two weeks has seen the same pack of coyotes in the parking lot when she arrives at work in the morning.

Goebel, who lost her own cat to coyotes two years ago, fears how close they come to humans.

The animals run around sniffing the parking lot while cars are parking. Goebel once threw rocks at them and shooed them away, but they returned after a few days.

“It’s out of control - that’s really scary,” she said. “Why would they be on 48th and Elliot for God’s sake?”

Darren Julian of the Arizona Game and Fish Department explained that coyotes don’t always live in preserve areas and could be found anywhere in the Phoenix metro area.

“They’re animals that have lived their whole lives in urban areas,” he said. “They know where their next meal is coming from.”

Scavenging is normal coyote behavior, and they eat almost anything: fruit, nuts, birdseed, garbage, pet food and even small pets.

Julian, an urban wildlife specialist, said coyotes enter neighborhoods like Gabehart’s because something attracts them.

“When you look at golf courses, they have everything they need to survive: food, water, shelter, space,” he said.

While food and water sources may initially attract the animals to an area, they will stay when they don’t feel threatened by people.

“It’s human behavior that has led to this problem,” he said.

A wildlife control business can be hired to catch and release animals for a fee, but Julian warned that removal of wildlife should be used as a last resort. Once coyotes are removed from an area, “other coyotes will move right in.”

Arizona Game and Fish Department will remove animals that are aggressive, attack someone or pose an immediate threat but, at that point, they will almost certainly be euthanized.

“Sometimes people think we’re going to take them to some 'happy coyote area’ and everything’s going to be fine,” Julian said.

Eliminating those factors that attract wildlife, such as food and water sources, is the first step to discourage coyotes.

Pets roaming outside, especially cats and small dogs, are an enticing, easy target for coyotes and other predators, such as owls and hawks.

While no one has ever been killed or seriously injured by a coyote, Julian said, parents should never leave their children outside alone.

The rare times people have been bitten resulted from coyotes feeling comfortable around humans, usually because someone tried to feed them.

“You’re more likely to get bitten by your neighbor’s dog,” he said.

To discourage them from returning, neighborhoods need to collaborate to remove what is attracting the coyotes.

“If a community is working together and if everyone is chasing these animals around, that comfort level will lessen,” Julian said. “It does take an active approach.”