Coyotes, adaptable canids found across North America, often spark concern regarding human interactions. Despite popular fears, instances of coyotes consuming humans are extremely rare. Scientific understanding of their behavior and diet consistently shows humans are not a typical food source, and fatal attacks are uncommon.
Understanding Coyote Diet and Behavior
Coyotes are highly adaptable omnivores, consuming a wide variety of available foods. Their primary diet consists of small mammals like rabbits, rodents, and ground squirrels, along with insects, fruits, and carrion. This flexible approach allows them to thrive in diverse habitats, from natural landscapes to urban areas. In urban settings, they may also scavenge on human-provided food sources such as trash or pet food left outdoors.
Coyotes are primarily crepuscular or nocturnal, active during dusk, dawn, and night, helping them avoid larger predators. Urban coyotes can adapt their activity patterns and may be seen during the day, especially in areas with fewer disturbances. Despite their adaptability, coyotes exhibit a natural wariness of humans and flee when encountered. They communicate through various vocalizations, including howls, barks, and yips, to communicate location and warn of threats.
Are Coyotes a Threat to Humans?
Coyote attacks on humans are rare, seldom resulting in serious injury or fatalities. From 1977 through 2015, 367 attacks on humans by coyotes were documented across the U.S. and Canada, with only two confirmed fatal incidents: one in California in 1981 and another in Nova Scotia, Canada, in 2009. To put this in perspective, dog bites are millions of times more common, and dozens of fatal dog attacks occur annually in the United States.
Attacks often happen under specific, unusual circumstances that alter a coyote’s natural wariness. One primary factor is habituation, where coyotes lose their fear of humans, often due to intentional or unintentional feeding. This can lead coyotes to associate humans with food, making them bolder and potentially more aggressive. Attacks may also occur if a coyote is rabid, or if provoked, such as when defending its pups or a den, particularly during breeding and pup-rearing seasons from March through August. Coyotes may target pets, and humans can be bitten while trying to intervene and protect their animals.
Minimizing Coyote Encounters
Preventing conflicts with coyotes involves modifying human behavior to discourage their presence and maintain natural wariness. Eliminate all food sources that attract coyotes to residential areas. This includes securing garbage in bins with tight-fitting lids, avoiding leaving pet food outdoors, and cleaning up fallen fruit from trees. Large bird feeders can also indirectly attract coyotes by drawing rodents.
If a coyote is encountered, employ hazing techniques to reinforce its fear of humans. Make oneself appear large and loud by waving arms, yelling, and stomping feet. Throwing small objects toward the coyote, like sticks or rocks, can also be effective. Carrying a whistle, air horn, or a can filled with pennies can provide additional noisemakers.
Protecting pets is important for minimizing coyote encounters. Dogs should always be kept on a leash, especially during early morning and evening hours when coyotes are more active. Small pets should not be left unattended outdoors, even in fenced yards, as coyotes are capable climbers and diggers. Indoor cats are safer, and outdoor pet food should be brought inside. Coyote rollers, metal tubes installed on top of fences, can make it difficult for coyotes to climb over, and motion-activated lights or sprinklers can also deter them.