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January 7, 2003
Wealthy suburb plagued by 'rogue bunch' of coyotes
LADUE, Mo. (AP) -- Coyotes are proving to be more than a nuisance in this tony St. Louis suburb, killing not only their normal fare of rabbit, but dogs and cats as well.
"Seems like the Ladue coyotes are real pet killers," Gene Jezek, owner of Critter Control, a wildlife control company, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "They are kind of a rogue bunch."
So residents have been turning to Critter Control or other companies to catch the coyotes -- and that's no easy feat.
Sally Scott first spotted the coyotes about two years ago, when she saw four on her property. She and her husband, Sanford, returned home one night shortly thereafter to find their 8-month-old West Highland terrier puppy, Cayleigh, in the back yard, with a snapped neck.
The pack grew to six. One recently came up to the Scotts' patio when their 11-year-old daughter was getting firewood. That prompted the Scotts to call Jezek. They have an 8-year-old as well.
Within the past 31Ú2 weeks, Jezek has caught five coyotes on the Scotts' 3-acre property.
Jezek said he got about 50 calls last year from people reporting their pet had been attacked by a coyote. He doesn't keep statistics, he said, but most of those came from Ladue.
Although urban coyotes are not as fearful around humans as rural ones, coyotes have never attacked a human in Missouri, said Daryl Damron, urban wildlife biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation's regional office.
Some attacks on humans have been reported in the Southwest and in the Northeast, Damron said, but most of them involve crying infants who were left unattended.
Damron said he received about 100 calls a year regarding coyotes -- second only to Canada geese. His office covers St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties.
Jezek uses foot traps -- he says the more humane cage traps are ineffective. After Jezek catches the coyotes, he shoots them. If he relocates the animals, he said, they will continue to kill pets. And it will be harder to catch them again.
Critter Control charges $500 a service call, which involves setting and checking the traps every day for two to three weeks. And for each coyote caught, the cost is $199.
In Missouri, a landowner or his representative can trap wildlife throughout the year without a permit if the landowner is experiencing damage "beyond a reasonable doubt." Landowners must contact the Department of Conservation within 24 hours if a coyote is killed.
So, are the coyotes in Ladue really meaner than elsewhere?
Damron said the animals are very territorial, sticking to an area of about 2 to 5 square miles. They are a loose-knit family group with up to eight coyotes in one territory. Coyotes typically eat rabbits and rodents, not pets.
One of the males in the Ladue area might have gotten a little meaner than the others, attacked a pet and learned he could get away with it, Damron said. The pups then do it, too. Coyotes attack dogs and cats not only for food but also because they are seen as competitors.
Other factors also are working against Ladue, Damron said. Because of their large properties, many of the residents don't have fences to protect their animals. Pets are not kept on a leash, and the city has a healthy population of squirrels and rabbits. It also has a mixture of green space, woods and homes that offers coyotes cover, habitat and shelter.
"You put all those things together ... and you have an issue," Damron said.
Wealthy suburb plagued by 'rogue bunch' of coyotes
LADUE, Mo. (AP) -- Coyotes are proving to be more than a nuisance in this tony St. Louis suburb, killing not only their normal fare of rabbit, but dogs and cats as well.
"Seems like the Ladue coyotes are real pet killers," Gene Jezek, owner of Critter Control, a wildlife control company, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "They are kind of a rogue bunch."
So residents have been turning to Critter Control or other companies to catch the coyotes -- and that's no easy feat.
Sally Scott first spotted the coyotes about two years ago, when she saw four on her property. She and her husband, Sanford, returned home one night shortly thereafter to find their 8-month-old West Highland terrier puppy, Cayleigh, in the back yard, with a snapped neck.
The pack grew to six. One recently came up to the Scotts' patio when their 11-year-old daughter was getting firewood. That prompted the Scotts to call Jezek. They have an 8-year-old as well.
Within the past 31Ú2 weeks, Jezek has caught five coyotes on the Scotts' 3-acre property.
Jezek said he got about 50 calls last year from people reporting their pet had been attacked by a coyote. He doesn't keep statistics, he said, but most of those came from Ladue.
Although urban coyotes are not as fearful around humans as rural ones, coyotes have never attacked a human in Missouri, said Daryl Damron, urban wildlife biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation's regional office.
Some attacks on humans have been reported in the Southwest and in the Northeast, Damron said, but most of them involve crying infants who were left unattended.
Damron said he received about 100 calls a year regarding coyotes -- second only to Canada geese. His office covers St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties.
Jezek uses foot traps -- he says the more humane cage traps are ineffective. After Jezek catches the coyotes, he shoots them. If he relocates the animals, he said, they will continue to kill pets. And it will be harder to catch them again.
Critter Control charges $500 a service call, which involves setting and checking the traps every day for two to three weeks. And for each coyote caught, the cost is $199.
In Missouri, a landowner or his representative can trap wildlife throughout the year without a permit if the landowner is experiencing damage "beyond a reasonable doubt." Landowners must contact the Department of Conservation within 24 hours if a coyote is killed.
So, are the coyotes in Ladue really meaner than elsewhere?
Damron said the animals are very territorial, sticking to an area of about 2 to 5 square miles. They are a loose-knit family group with up to eight coyotes in one territory. Coyotes typically eat rabbits and rodents, not pets.
One of the males in the Ladue area might have gotten a little meaner than the others, attacked a pet and learned he could get away with it, Damron said. The pups then do it, too. Coyotes attack dogs and cats not only for food but also because they are seen as competitors.
Other factors also are working against Ladue, Damron said. Because of their large properties, many of the residents don't have fences to protect their animals. Pets are not kept on a leash, and the city has a healthy population of squirrels and rabbits. It also has a mixture of green space, woods and homes that offers coyotes cover, habitat and shelter.
"You put all those things together ... and you have an issue," Damron said.
