Coyote sightings continue all around Queen Anne

January 20th, 2010 · 16 Comments

Update 4:22 p.m.: This story has been updated since it was originally published. Scroll down to the bottom for the additions.

Since we reported yesterday that two coyotes were seen in Queen Anne over the holiday weekend, many more readers have emailed us with news of sightings. The coyotes are thought to be the same two that have been roaming around Magnolia over the last two months (one of which attacked a small dog just last week). But, as indicated by the map below, it seems the coyotes are moving freely around the neighborhood. Over the last two days the coyotes have been spotted in Magnolia, and the west, east and south slopes of Queen Anne hill.
View Coyote Sightings – Jan 2010 in a larger map

Four of the recent sightings in Queen Anne and Magnolia were just today. Katie says she saw one of the coyotes – she believes it was the female one – outside her apartment building on Taylor and Galer on the east side of the hill this morning at around 6:30 a.m. – the farthest sighting yet, assuming the coyotes came from Discovery Park. She wrote,

It just stood there looking at me and my dog. Didn’t do anything…It was going South, so down the hill towards the QFC…Just thought people on the eastern slope of Queen Anne should be warned.

Another reader, Patricia, wrote in to report a sighting back in Magnolia a little while later.

Neighbors sighted the Magnolia-Queen Anne coyote loping along the street in the 2500 block of 25th Avenue West about 8 am this morning (January 20). We have been alerting pet owners, activating phone trees and calling Fish and Wildlife for advice and assistance. The coyote was last seen cutting east down through the driveways, alleys and lots toward Gilman Avenue.

There also may have been a third sighting on Monday, in addition to the two we reported on, this time on the south side of the hill. Reader Justin said he spotted what could have been a coyote just a few blocks up from Mercer St. at around 6 p.m. on January 18.

I saw what looked like a dog with a short, blunt tail on W Aloha and 1st Ave W (behind Bayview Manor). It was dark out so hard to see. I though it was a raccoon or something, and tried to get a better look (I actually stopped the car out of curiosity), but it got away. I have never seen a coyote in person before, so can’t say for sure this was one — but it definitely was not a dog.

Our anonymous tipster who came across one of the coyotes Monday wrote that the police officer she spoke to said the department generally does not set bait traps for coyotes because there are too many of them to catch.

He also said that they hope to have it taken care of in the next couple of days. He didn’t say how they planned to do that. I asked him if coyotes go after children and he said usually not, but he mentioned the attack in Bellevue and he said that this male coyote was unusually aggressive.

Read more information on what to do if you come across a coyote here. If you see one of the coyotes, send details and pictures to tips@queenanneview.com, or post in the comments below so we can add the sighting to the map.

Update 4:22 p.m.: After publishing, two more readers wrote in with additional information of sightings, activity from the Department of Fish & Wildlife, and a picture of one of the coyotes.

Reader Dan Cabacungan managed to snap this picture of one of the coyotes with his phone this morning at approximately 7:30 a.m. on 4th Ave W, a block and a half south of McGraw. He wrote,

The coyote was walking in the middle of the sidewalk toward my dog and I, and cut across to the other side of the street when we were about 25 yards away…He didn’t make any aggressive moves or appear to be stalking/hunting, but that could have been because my dog is a 90 lb. German Shepherd. If I’d been walking a teacup poodle I might not have whistled to get the coyote’s attention for a photo. I’d estimate the coyote to be 50-60 lbs, but taller and lighter on his toes compared to how a similarly-sized dog would move. Oh, and the coyote clearly had no fear of being seen by humans (either that, or I’m very, very stealthy when I walk my dog). Like I said, he was just trotting down the middle of the sidewalk on a sunny morning. I think he moved to the other side of the street not out of fear, but just to be polite. Still, I wouldn’t leave Fluffy the Shih Tzu or Mittens the cat outside and unattended for too long knowing that this wily one is on the prowl.

Tipster Katie, who also came across a coyote this morning outside her east-slope building, wrote in to report that her apartment manager saw Fish and Wildlife representatives poking around the premises today, likely looking for the animals. She wrote,

Hopefully no one gets hurt. My apartment complex is posting up signs warning people, pet owners especially, of the coyotes.

Update 7:45 p.m.: Reader Ann Ciecko also spotted the coyote this morning, just before 6 a.m., a few blocks from Seattle Center on Roy St., before it headed north up the hill on 4th. She sent in this picture and noted that the animal seemed startled by the cars, one of which honked at it. She wrote,