We have had several reports of increased coyote activity within the Wisconsin Avenue Park area recently. Reports include single and pairs of coyotes moving through the park during the day and occasional howling from nearby woodlots. This is not unusual behavior, but warrants awareness.

One of the primary goals of the Milwaukee County Coyote Watch is to learn how to proactively manage potential conflict with urban canids. Coyotes play an important role in our urban ecosystems by preying on small mammals such as rabbits, rats, squirrels, and mice. While we do not have any evidence of these coyotes displaying aggressive behavior, increased coyote activity provides a perfect opportunity for proactive management; therefore, we encourage residents in this area to take precautionary steps, especially with pets, including:

1. If you see a coyote, make an effort to scare the individual away by yelling, waving arms, or throwing small objects in the direction of the animal. It is important that coyotes associate humans with fear. A proper response for a coyote would be to run away. Hazing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlC8KTDiIRs&feature=youtu.be

April is around the corner, as is the denning and pup rearing season for coyotes in Wisconsin! During this time of year, residents and park users are encouraged to exercise caution around coyotes that are protective of their dens and/or newborn pups. Coyotes are very adaptable, timid and elusive animals that will build their dens in hard-to-find locations such as secluded parts of parks and golf courses, sometimes using abandoned woodchuck or fox den sites, and even denning in man-made culverts. Typically, a den is made up to two or more tunnels leading to a 3-4 foot deep hole in the ground, the entrance to the den is usually about 10 inches wide by 13 inches high (check out the photo below for reference!). One key preventative measure to avoid conflict is to keep dogs leashed during the denning period unless, you’re in an area you know to be “coyote-free”, such as the designated Milwaukee County Parks Dog Parks, which are fenced off. If you encounter a coyote near its den, or with its pups, do NOT attempt to haze, or scare, that animal as it will remain protective of its pups. Instead, calmly leave the area and report your coyote sighting to the Milwaukee County Coyote Watch page on iNaturalist.org (http://www.inaturalist.org/pr…/milwaukee-county-coyote-watch).

Pups are born with short, yellow-brown fur. After about 10 ten days, their eyes open and they start crawling around the den. The male brings food to the female while she stays with the pups for the first 2 months. Some of the food is regurgitated (barfed back up) to feed the pups. At about 3 weeks old, the pups head outside of the den to play. If you find a coyote pup that looks sick or injured, visit the DNR website and search keyword “Keep Wildlife Wild” to know what to do and who to call. You should never bring any wild animal into your home, as this is unsafe for the animal as well as for you and your family and pets. By the time the pups are 8-9 weeks old, they have been weaned (no longer need their mother's milk) and the den has been abandoned. Coyotes will use different den sites during this time. By the end of the summer, the pups usually move out of the parents' territories. Sometimes the young coyotes stay with the parents to form a hunting pack (WI DNR).