Coyote sightings in our neighborhood: What to know

A coyote in Junius Heights. Photo courtesy Becca MacAskill.

Several coyotes have been spotted in our neighborhood recently.

While they can pose a threat to small pets, coyotes have also sparked more positive reactions from neighbors.

Last week a neighbor in Junius Heights saw a “tall, well-fed” neighbor near the 5700 block of Worth Street. She said the coyote didn’t seem intimidated by the two 130-pound dogs she was traveling with, and warned neighbors to be careful with their cats and small dogs outdoors.

Another neighbor reminded us that a “well-fed” coyote didn’t have to nibble on our furry friends. Common foods include rodents, snakes, bugs, squirrels, and more.

Several years ago, city biologist Brett Johnson spoke to The Advocate about coyotes and their place in East Dallas.

Johnson said coyotes and other predators like bobcats and wild boars are common in our neighborhood because of the green spaces within the White Rock Creek Corridor.

However, at the time, Johnson had been a Dallas biologist for 13 years and said he hadn’t seen any increase in coyote populations. It was just that frequent social media posts posting coyote sightings made it appear.

Here’s a safety tip: if a neighbor sees a coyote, they should yell, but don’t flinch.

Johnson also gave some insight into why some coyotes might stay around. When neighbors feed cats outdoors, they aren’t just feeding cats. Rodents and other smaller mammals that are the coyote’s prey are likely to nibble on this food as well.

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