Chicago Using Coyotes To Fight Rodents

Brad Block, a supervisor for the Chicago Commission on Animal Care and Control says a coyote recently spotted downtown is part of a program designed to monitor the rodent population. "The animal has the run of the Loop to help deal with rats and mice," He said no one has called today to complain. “He’s not a threat. He’s not going to pick up your children,” Block said. “His job is to deal with all of the nuisance problems, like mice, rats and rabbits.”

Me suspects many dead cats

[intellitech]

Should be interesting to see how many outdoor, domesticated cats get shredded by these guys.

Mongoose

[samullin]

Reminds me of introducing mongoose to the Hawaiian islands to eat the rats - now there are two invader species there. Coyotes may not be as much of an invader species in Chicago as mongoose are in Hawaii, but we as a species have a pretty poor track record of attempted ecological control.

Re:Me suspects many dead cats

[EllisDees]

Keep your cat inside and it won't be a problem.

Re:This is great

[dirty_ghost]

based on mass, yes.

Re:Stocks Up Doc !

[geekoid]

Based on production functionality, I assumed they were already owned by Haliburton.

Re:Advanced notice?

[joebagodonuts]

"Let" them? Part of being wild means they don't always follow instructions.

Re:Mongoose

[shadowofwind]

Are they native to an urban area like Chicago?

Yes, its the streets and buildings that are invasive.

Re:This is great

[adolf]

Feh.

I hit a good-sized doe at about 55MPH in a 1996 Pontiac Firebird with slightly lowered suspension. A car like that is about as low at the front end as anything that's not exotic.

It ruined the car (monetarily, at least, it was totaled) but everyone inside was unharmed and the windshield was intact.

It could've been worse, obviously. It also could've been better. (The same could be said of your own experience.)

*shrug*

I'd like to suggest that good brakes and a controllable vehicle go a lot further toward avoiding and minimizing accidents than simply throwing mass and height at the problem.

Before the 'yote haters/cat lovers get started...

[MushingBits]

Coyotes are endemic to most of the North American continent. They were here before long before there was a 'Public' to get hysterical about them. I would be willing to bet that animal control in nearly every major city in the lower 48 can tell you stories about coyotes making a living in urban areas- this is NOTHING NEW, but is probably noticed more frequently as fewer people in outlying areas are shooting them on sight these days.

Coyotes frequent my rural property, although I only find out about it when I find their tracks or scat or- more rarely- hear a nocturnal sing-along happening close by. Over the years I've picked apart quite bit of coyote poop with a stick, and as the article suggests there are a lot of obvious rodent bones usually included with a smattering of deer hair (I suspect they go back to road/winter/cougar kill and chew on the hide, which takes months to break down). Sometimes it's obvious they've been feasting on ripe native berries. If I happen to see one while hiking, mountain biking, driving, etc. it's usually just a flash and they're already gone, but a couple times I've been able to spot one out on a hay field obviously pouncing on mice. It's a rare treat to find "God's Dog" out and about doing it's thing, as under normal circumstances they are highly motivated to keep human interactions both infrequent and distant.

Feral cats on the other hand are NOT endemic to the North American ecosystem, and there is evidence to suggest that bird populations have been hit very hard by them. Even discounting that aspect, I can't even wrap my head around why any thoughtful person would advocate for exterminating a relatively harmless native scavenger-predator and replacing it with a non-native, domesticated scavenger-predator. This is just asking for unintended ecological consequences.

Re:Me suspects many dead cats

[Anonymous Coward]

Who the hell has an outdoor cat in the loop??

I'm in Chicago - saw a coyote last week. So what?

[head_dunce]

I live in Chicago, the city - not a suburb, around O'Hare. I saw a coyote on my way home from work last week. It was about 5:30 in the afternoon, the coyote was watching rush hour traffic roll by standing on the side of the road. I've seen them around here my whole life, I'm 32. The coyotes have been around here far longer than us humans have, it's native here - not like introducing some weird outside creature. They aren't that big, smaller than the pitbulls around here, I don't see what the big deal is?

Re:Advanced notice?

[ffreeloader]

Well, that's what you get for owning rat-dogs like chihuahuas, toy poodles, etc.... They are so small the coyotes get confused as to which species those little yappers belong to and think they're breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I can't say as I blame them, and I own a chihuahua/papillion cross. He would most definitely look like a snack to a predator such as a coyote and it's my responsibility to make sure a coyote doesn't get him, and I live on the outskirts of a small town where deer, coyotes, hawks, owls, skunks, etc... make common appearances as we are close to a game trail heading to a nearby river.

Coyotes hunt, not rob garbage cans if there is any of their natural food/prey available. It's born and bred into them. I'd much, much rather have a few coyotes around than be overrun by something like Norway or pack rats. Those buggers can kill your little dogs too, besides destroying your property and spreading disease.

Coyotes are clean, and naturally shy of human beings. They are as productive/helpful as owls, hawks, and many insects such as the preying mantis. There's a reason they are a part of the natural ecosystem.