TPWD News Release — March 19, 2007 DALLAS, Texas — Seeing a
coyote in the countryside is a part of nature, but when you spot
one in your backyard, that’s a different story. As urban areas
continue to expand and develop the rangeland that was once
coyote habitat, sightings of the wild canine continue to grow,
and so do the problems. While injuries to people from coyotes
are extremely rare in Texas, domesticated animals don’t tend to
fare as well. Pet cats and small dogs left outside unattended
may become easy meals for hungry coyotes. While it is almost
impossible, as well as impractical, for suburbanites to get rid
of coyotes, it is possible to learn to live with and manage
coyote problems, according to Dallas County Urban Wildlife
Biologist Brett Johnson of the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department. At Texas’ first-ever Urban Wildlife Conference,
“Managing Urban Wildlife: Planning for Success,” Feb. 20,
Johnson explained that coyotes will not simply move out of an
area because development moves in. In fact, hu