Coyotes in the City: Adaptation and Survival

Coyotes are incredibly adaptable animals that have successfully made urban areas their home. Their presence in cities across North America is growing, intriguing scientists and residents alike.

This article explores how coyotes manage to survive and thrive in densely populated areas, their diets, interactions with humans, wildlife rehabilitation, and how you and your pets can stay safe around coyotes.

In addition, I will talk about the research being done in Madison Wisconsin and Chicago, Illinois and look at three studies showing what coyotes are eating. Is it cats?

Urban Survival: Masters of Adaptation

Cities offer abundant resources and relative safety compared to wild environments, where coyotes face more natural predators and harsher survival conditions. Urban coyotes have learned to navigate roads, utilize green spaces, and adjust their behavior to minimize human contact.

They typically establish territories within parks, cemeteries, golf courses, vacant lots, and suburban neighborhoods—any area that offers a blend of shelter, food, and limited disturbance.

Coyotes tend to be nocturnal or crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) in urban settings, effectively reducing their encounters with humans. They typically have a territory of two-miles or less square radius.

Coyote pups along a roadway

Diverse and Opportunistic Diets

Coyotes in cities have a varied and flexible diet. They primarily consume small mammals such as rodents and rabbits, which helps manage urban pest populations.

However, their diet often expands to include birds, insects, fruits, and vegetables. Scavenging is common, with coyotes utilizing food sources like garbage, compost bins, pet food left outdoors, and occasionally roadkill. We will address them eating cats below.

Coyote Studies In Chicago, Illinois

There are an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 coyotes living in the Chicago area (Cook County).

Urban coyotes are increasingly the subject of scientific studies due to their unique adaptation skills and rising interactions with human populations. For instance, research by the Urban Coyote Research Project based in Chicago has provided significant insights:

• Territorial Behavior: Studies using GPS collar tracking reveal that coyotes form stable territories even within densely populated urban areas, often overlapping with human neighborhoods yet remaining mostly unseen.

• Dietary Adaptability: Research examining coyote scat shows significant dietary diversity, highlighting their role in controlling urban pests while also exposing potential sources of human-wildlife conflict such as unsecured garbage or outdoor pet food.

• Behavioral Changes: Urban coyotes demonstrate behavioral plasticity—changing their activity patterns from diurnal (daytime) in rural settings to predominantly nocturnal in cities to avoid human activities.

A fabulous read about urban coyotes is Coyotes Among Us: Secrets of the City’s Top Predator by Dr. Gehrt

My Madison, WI neighborhood is next to a wooded area and blessed with a few coyotes. I took this picture from my front porch. This coyote hung out, took a nap, chased a squirrel and then went back into the woods.

Coyotes in Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin, has become a fascinating case study in urban wildlife ecology, particularly concerning how coyotes adapt to and thrive within city environments. The UW Urban Canid Project (UWUCP) was founded in 2014 by Dr. David Drake at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Coyotes in Madison have demonstrated remarkable adaptability. Utilizing a combination of natural and human-made corridors—such as green spaces, railroad tracks, and stormwater channels.

GPS tracking has revealed that these animals often establish territories in areas like the UW Arboretum, Pheasant Branch Conservancy, and Owen Conservation Park, favoring locations that offer cover and reduced human activity .

In urban Madison, coyotes maintain a diverse diet. While they continue to hunt traditional prey like rabbits and rodents, they've also been observed scavenging on roadkill and occasionally consuming fruits and other available food sources. This opportunistic feeding behavior not only aids their survival but also positions them as natural pest controllers, helping to manage populations of small mammals that might otherwise become nuisances .

Intervention When Necessary

Generally, urban coyotes are elusive, primarily active during dawn and dusk to avoid human encounters. However, instances of increased daytime activity have been documented, often linked to factors like illness or habituation to human presence.

The City of Madison and their Park Service does monitor and intervene if necessary. For example, last January, a coyote that had been seen around Vilas Park and appeared injured and ill was captured and treated at the Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center. The coyote was dehydrated, exhausted, and parasite-ridden, and it was eventually deemed rehabilitated and released. 
More about coyote wildlife rehabilitation below

Coyote pup - part of a liter of three that were rehabbed at Fox Run

Do Coyotes Eat cats?

Pet predation causes the biggest human/coyote conflict. Cats do fall prey to coyotes and occasionally small dogs. However, these numbers are smaller than many pet websites lead us to believe. In fact many cats preyed on are feral or homeless cats.

Los Angeles had the largest number of cats preyed upon but they also have an estimated one million homeless cats. In contrast Chicago has an estimated 300,000 feral cats.

A chart of the studies I read.

Chicago Study

Dr. Gehrt has studied coyotes in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas and finds that they eat similar foods food to rural coyotes.

Research from Gehrt and the Urban Coyote Research Project in Chicago analyzed coyote diets and found that domestic cats appeared in only 1.3% of scat samples. The predominant food sources were small rodents (42%), fruit (23%), white-tailed deer (22%), and rabbits (18%).

Human-associated food items, including garbage and pet food, were found in just 1.9% (out of 1429) samples suggesting that Chicago's urban coyotes rely more on natural prey and less on domestic cats or human food sources.

This also shows that the city of Chicago is doing a good job of educating the public. Gehrt and fellow researcher Paul Morey noted it was interesting that the coyotes did not become habituated to eating trash which is a big problem with bear populations.

Los Angeles

A study done in Los Angeles, California showed a higher proportion of cats killed. The National Park Service compared suburban coyotes to urban coyotes and analyzed over 3,100 coyote scat samples from various neighborhoods in Los Angeles.

The findings indicated that domestic cats were present in 20% of urban coyote scat samples, compared to 4% in suburban areas. This suggests that urban coyotes in Los Angeles consume domestic cats more frequently than their suburban counterparts.

The study also noted that human food resources, including garbage and ornamental fruits, accounted for a significant portion of the urban coyote diet .They also found that city coyotes ate more garbage as well as fruits.

San Francisco

In contrast, research led by Tali Caspi at the University of California, Davis, examined 707 coyote scat samples collected throughout San Francisco between 2019 and 2022.

The study found that domestic cats were present in only 4.5% of the samples. The primary components of the coyote diet in San Francisco were human-provided foods, such as chicken (found in 72% of samples), and natural prey like pocket gophers (57%).

This indicates that, while coyotes in San Francisco do consume domestic cats, it constitutes a relatively small portion of their diet .

Coyotes may prey on free roaming cats, sometimes as a source of food or to reduce competition, according to the Urban Coyote Research Project. There presence can also lead to cats leaving an area, potentially benefiting some other wildlife like songbirds.

Keeping pet cats indoors or building them a catio is the best protection.

Check out my YouTube channel!

Coyote Encounters - What to do

Human-Coyote Interactions: Coexistence or Conflict?

Coyotes rarely attack people. Only a few incidents have been reported across the country, and most of them involve coyotes that are habituated to humans or have rabies.

Interactions between humans and coyotes range from curiosity and fascination to fear and conflict. Typically, coyotes avoid direct interaction with humans. However, habituation—where coyotes lose their natural fear due to regular exposure to humans or easy food sources—can lead to bolder behavior, occasionally resulting in conflicts such as attacks on pets or very rare aggressive encounters with humans.

What is Coyote Hazing?

Coyote hazing is a humane wildlife management technique used to discourage coyotes from becoming comfortable around humans. It involves using safe yet assertive actions to re-establish a healthy fear of humans in coyotes, teaching them to avoid areas where people live or frequent. They are dogs, they are smart, and they do learn.

Hazing doesn't harm coyotes. Instead, it communicates clearly that human areas aren’t welcoming, thus reducing potential conflicts.

Recommended Hazing Methods

Experts recommend simple, effective techniques:

• Noise Deterrents:

  • Shout firmly and loudly.

  • Blow whistles or air horns.

  • Bang pots, pans, or metal objects.

  Visual Deterrents:

  • Wave your arms, hats, jackets, or sticks overhead.

  • Use bright flashlights or lasers at night to disrupt coyotes.

  Water Deterrent

• Spray water from hoses

When NOT to Haze

Hazing should not be used when a coyote:

• Appears sick, injured, or cornered.

• Is with pups or near a den.

• Is at a safe distance, moving naturally away from people and pets.

In these cases, maintain a safe distance and contact wildlife authorities or a licensed rehabilitator if necessary.

Tips To Avoid Coyote and Human Conflict

• Never feed coyotes. Secure trash cans from wildlife.

• Don’t leave pet food outside.

• Keep cats indoors. This also protects songbirds.

• If you feed feral cats, put them on a schedule, feed once per day, and then remove the dishes. Feed in an open area with an escape route.

• Monitor small dogs when they are outside and walk on a leash. Better yet go to a dog park.

• Clean up birdseed around feeders

• Don’t leave orchard fruits on the ground

• Clean grills and outdoor ovens after cooking outside

• Close off spaces under decks and outdoor sheds

• Fence your yard with a secure 6 feet tall fence. Ideally made of brick, wood or diamond mesh wire. Make sure it is secured at the bottom to prevent digging.

• Compost in containers

One of the coyotes that I rehabbed. This is Grace.

Coyotes in Wildlife Rehabilitation

Coyotes, often seen as resilient and adaptable animals, occasionally require assistance from wildlife rehabilitators. Despite their resourcefulness, circumstances can lead coyotes—especially those living close to urban environments—into situations where they need human intervention.

Coyotes come into wildlife rehabilitation facilities for various reasons, typically involving human-caused issues or environmental hazards. Common scenarios include:

• Vehicle Collisions: Urban coyotes frequently cross roads, making them vulnerable to accidents.

• Orphaned Pups: Pups lose their parents due to human-wildlife conflicts, hunting, trapping, or accidents, requiring human care to survive.

• Disease and Illness: Coyotes may suffer from mange, parasites, canine distemper, or poisoning from pesticides and rodenticides.

• Human Conflict: Injuries caused by traps, fences, or deliberate harm due to fear and misunderstanding of coyotes.

Wildlife rehabilitators often serve as the critical link between a compromised animal and its eventual safe return to the wild.

I have written three books on wildlife rehabilitation and have several wildlife kids activity books!

Why Is Rehabbing Coyotes Important?

Coyotes play an essential ecological role, even in urban areas, making their rehabilitation vital for healthy ecosystems:

• Pest Management: Coyotes naturally manage populations of rodents and small mammals, reducing reliance on chemical pest control.

• Disease Control: By managing populations of animals like rodents, coyotes indirectly reduce the spread of diseases such as Lyme disease and hantavirus.

• Maintaining Biodiversity: Healthy predators are a sign of balanced ecosystems, keeping prey populations in check and ecosystems diverse.

• Ethical Responsibility: Wildlife rehabilitators adhere to an ethical principle that human-caused harm should be mitigated whenever possible, restoring wild animals to their rightful place in nature.

Rehabilitating coyotes is about more than helping individual animals—it contributes significantly to conservation and healthy ecosystems. Wildlife rehabilitation embodies the human responsibility to care for nature, recognizing coyotes not as pests, but as integral wildlife deserving respect, care, and coexistence.

I have an article and a video you can check out if you are interested in becoming a wildlife rehabilitator.

Diseases/Zoonoses

Coyotes are a rabies vector species. Typically coyotes are not a common rabies vector species - raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes are the most common.

However, like any mammal coyotes can get rabies.

Read our article Why We Vaccinate Wildlife

Coyotes are a host along with other wild canids and domestic dogs of the zoonotic parasite “fox-tapeworm” (Echinococcus multilocularis). Voles are the intermediate host.

Humans can get these tapeworms if they unintentionally eat the eggs. Eggs may be present on the fur of the animals.

Author, Ame Vanorio, is the founder of Fox Run Environmental Education