Coyotes on the beach? North Carolina coastal towns struggle to manage them
Coyotes have been spreading across North Carolina for years, and it was only a matter of time before they started reaching the furthest flung beach peninsulas and barrier islands in the east.
The Town of Kure Beach is the latest to take up a debate on the wild canines. The mayor and Town Commissioner John Ellen said the town is looking at options to manage coyotes as sightings increase in on the peninsula south of Wilmington, according to a recording of the meeting shared by the town.
Last month, a woman in Carolina Beach, the town next to Kure Beach, a woman said coyotes killed her cat and injured another, according to WWAY.
Coyotes are found in all 100 counties in North Carolina, according to the Wildlife Resources Commission.
Just off Kure Beach on Bald Head Island, the village council is considering a coyote cull in January, according to the State Port Pilot.
The newspaper reports: “Coyotes disturbed 57 of the island’s 170 (sea turtle) nests and were blamed for destroying 2,088 eggs – about 12-percent of the total, according to the Bald Head Island Conservancy.”
Other coastal communities are trying to manage coyote populations with trapping programs. On Emerald Isle, “Residents and property owners are now authorized to utilize licensed trappers to trap coyotes in Emerald Isle. The authorized trapping season begins December 1 and extends through February 28,” the town said.
The town said it hopes to capture all coyotes on the island with traps on public land and opened the program to private landowners. “Ultimately, any coyotes trapped in Emerald Isle will be removed from Emerald Isle and will either be euthanized off-site or sold to a legal hunting dog training facility.”
Fall is typically the time when young coyotes set out on their own to find new territory, according to state wildlife officials. “Young coyotes often travel with their siblings during this time and can travel long distances — upward of 300 miles before settling down into their own territories,” according to the Wildlife Resources Commission.
“Coyotes rarely attack humans,” the commission’s Falyn Owens said in a press release last month. “Coyotes are curious, but wary whenever they are near humans; however, they can become bold and habituated to humans if people feed them, either purposely or unintentionally.
“Because coyotes view outdoor cats and small, unleashed dogs as a potential food source, people should keep their pets inside, leashed or inside a dog-proof fence at all times,” according to the commission.
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 2:31 PM.
