PORTLAND, Ore. -- Neighbors in Southwest Portland are seeing coyotes on the prowl, and they are concerned about the wily animals.
It is a tempting backyard for a hungry coyote with chickens and goats running around.
"I'm not blaming the coyote, but I want to do what I can to protect my animals," said Angela Paulsen of Southwest Portland.
She now has a skeleton dog decoration with glowing eyes. It barks when her fence is touched, and that is keeping coyotes on the other side, for now. But neighbors in Southwest Portland are seeing them everywhere.
"I've lost several animals. My neighbors have lost cats and a dog," Paulsen said. "I've lost three chickens in the last few months."
"They'll occasionally take a cat or small dog, but for the most part they're living and thriving in the urban environment without causing any problems at all," said Bob Sallinger, the conservation director at the Audubon Society. It partners with Portland State University for a project that tracks coyotes in the Portland area. They are in every neighborhood.
"There are no large predators for them in urban environments. They find plenty of food, plenty of cover, and they've been able to exploit these urban environments. They're now found in cities across North America. It's kind of the big bad wolf scenario, but really coyotes are fairly small animals," Sallinger said.
Still, they are big enough to kill and eat people's small pets. Sallinger's advice: do not let your pets wander, and if you see one -- shout!
"These are animals that are instinctively shy. It's very easy to tap into those fears and send them running."
For now, Angela Paulsen is going to rely on her early Halloween decoration.
"So far so good. It's been up for three weeks and we have not seen any coyotes."
ncG1vNJzZmihlJa1sLrEsKpnm5%2BifK%2Bx1qxmpaeTlrlwr86ypq2do2K9s7vWpWSsp6Wptbix0q1kqaeiqbmiusNmpZ6hl52vsL7HqKadq12jsqqzx5umq6tdpLturcueqa0%3D