2 Coyotes Seen at NE 45th Street And 46th Avenue NE Last Night

A neighbor reported hearing high pitched "wailing and crying" sounds for about 3 minutes last night around 11pm.

He told the Laurelhurst Blog:

It was a very disturbing type of cry. We thought it may have been a child, but figured out it was some type of animal being attacked by another animal. It was very loud. We went outside to see what it was and if we could help in any way. 

We saw 2 coyotes coming down the path on the north side of the park and walking out onto NE 45th Street and starting to walk down 46th Avenue NE near Laurelhurst Elementary School. 

Beware and keep your animals inside at night. We hope the animal either died instantly or managed to escape last night. We barely slept with that crying sound playing in our heads. Be vigilant.

In April of last year, the Laurelhurst Blog reported about a chihuahua dog taken from its front yard by coyotes while the owners were standing there. 

The owners told the Laurelhurst Blog:

We never thought this could happen in our yard and right on our walkway. Theyhave been spotted in other Laurelhurst yards. This is a reminder and example of how bold and stealthily coyotes can present. There were several rabbits in our yard at the time, but our dog was an easier target.  

I hope this will save another family from the trauma our little Bear has suffered. He was our child. Please report any coyote sightings to authorities and keep pets and children close. 

Neighbors have reported other coyote sightings in the neighborhood. One long time Laurelhurst resident sad he has seen coyotes regularly for four decades he has lived in the neighborhood, often late at night and early in the morning. He added that he can see them through his front entry camera.

One neighbor said "The coyotes are part of the urban and suburban landscape who naturally clean up the environment of rodents, rabbits and other animals. We remember this happening years ago when the Montlake Fill area, previously a dump, near where the Urban Horticulture Center was being shut down.


Another neighbor off of NE 39th reported that she has noticed that when rabbits are out, generally coyotes are out around the same time. She added "One evening walking my dog, we happened upon one suddenly and unexpectantly and the coyote didn't even move when he saw me.  He was probably hunting the large rabbit population in this area but he also probably viewed other small animals as fair game."

Other coyotes have been seen on on 48th Avenue NE just south of Laurelhurst park, corner of 46th Avenue NE and NE 38th Street early evening, 44th Avenue NE early morning, NE 41st at 48th Avenue NE around 10pm, NE 41st Street around midnight, intersection of NE 41st Street and the Boulevard (43rd Avenue NE), Laurelhurst Park about midnight.

In March of 2017, multiple sightings of coyotes were reported at the Union Bay Natural area.  In 3 months later, 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.

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.   

Here is a recent post from the Union Bay Watch Blog published by Larry Hubbell, long-time photographer and birder about coyotes at Union Bay.

Here is information the Laurelhurst Blog has posted about living with urban coyotes.