Coyotes Recently Spotted At Union Bay Natural Area



The Laurelhurst Blog has received several reports and a picture of  coyotes in the Union Bay Natural Area,.  

On Wednesday, March 27, several neighbors saw the same coyote very early in the morning, around 7am.   

One neighbor said that the coyote was not scared, but just watched the activity and then walked into the woods.  .

Another Laurelhurst resident said he was about 20 feet away from the coyote when he was walking by and the coyote wasn't too spooked when he saw him.

An several residents said they could hear coyotes howling during the last few nights. 

In June of last year, a pack of coyotes was shot by the USDA APHIS wildlife services, supposedly initiated by a call from Talaris management who told a neighbor:

The Talaris team was informed that the Department of Agriculture received multiple inquiries from the surrounding community regarding the increasingly aggressive nature of the coyotes living in the area. Wildlife specialists visited the neighborhood on multiple occasions to assess the safety of residents, Talaris guests, and the coyotes

Jeanine Neskey, USDA:APHIS - Wildlife Services, commented at the time:

Wildlife services received a request to assist in the management of several coyotes near the Laurelhurst neighborhood in Seattle. The coyotes had become increasingly aggressive toward people and pets in the area. Operations were conducted for three nights and included the use of a call box, a device which mimics animal distress sounds and attracts coyotes. Three coyotes were lethally removed. One coyote ran into heavy brambles on an adjacent property making it difficult to retrieve the body, and was removed first thing the following morning. It is believed there are no remaining coyotes on the property at this time.

The Laurelhurst Blog contacted several property managers and representatives at Talaris asking for verification of the incident and where the coyote bodies are and if traps are on the property and there was no response. 

Here is the King5 story regarding the incident titled "Neighbors divided over 3 coyotes killed in Laurelhurst."

For quite some time, residents mostly living  and using the trails near the Center for Urban Horticulture (3501 NE 41st Street) have regularly report coyote sightings, especially, during the spring of last year.