Removing coyotes has its consequences

To many people coyotes are simply tenacious pursuers of road runners but, in Chicagoland, especially Wheaton, people have a much broader view of a coyote's activities. Deciding how to deal with increased coyote numbers in urban areas has evoked a gauntlet of emotions and highlights the tension we feel about our place in the natural world. It is also an opportunity for all of us to consider our relationship to and impact on wildlife.

We all participate in modifying habitats and moving organisms around for human benefit. No matter how much we change the world though, nature will still be with us and will always include both enjoyable and frustrating aspects, requiring us to be an integral part of maintaining ecological balance, especially in urban areas.

The medium-intensity culling suspended recently has slightly lowered the coyote population density in Wheaton and will likely result in the remaining individuals becoming more wary. Hopefully this will result in less conflict between human interests and the daily activities of the coyotes.

Despite this benefit, removing predators from an ecosystem has consequences. At some point, fewer coyotes will mean that squirrel and rabbit populations will grow and likely damage our gardens, and opossum, raccoon and feral cat populations will increase to eat more songbirds and eggs.

People's reactions to these consequences will differ based on personal perspectives and experiences and sometimes make it difficult to sympathize with one another but, if we can look past the emotion and consider the ecological consequences, we can usually find a place for consensus.

As a conservation biologist, it is my hope that we can work in our own yards and public places to utilize and conserve native species of all kinds so that we can maintain high biodiversity, even in our urban neighborhoods.

Steve Sullivan

Curator of Urban Ecology, Chicago Academy of Sciences