Residents express unease about coyote sightings

Betsy Burkhart has lived in Mountain Brook’s Crestline neighborhood for the past 18 years. Until this summer, she had never seen a coyote near her home.

That changed in late June, when her newly purchased Ring doorbell camera captured a startling scene. Two coyotes approached one of Burkhart’s cats as it sat on her front porch around 11:30 p.m. Confronted by predators, the feline bolted for safety.

“Thankfully, the cat got away,” Burkhart said.

Fear hasn’t been quite as fleeting. Since the incident, Burkhart has made a habit of bringing her cats inside at night. She said she hasn’t ever lost a cat to an attack and would like to keep it that way. She’s not alone.

Over the past few months, Mountain Brook residents have expressed their concerns about recent coyote sightings in the city. Many fear for the safety of their animals, which can be preyed upon easily.

“As a pet owner, I would obviously love not to see them in my yard,” Burkhart said of coyotes.

Kimberly Kuhn has taken steps to protect her two dogs. She said that she carries a walking stick with her when she is out with her animals in the Mill Springs Road area and doesn’t allow them in the lower part of her fenced backyard unless she is with them.

Kuhn said there have been numerous coyote sightings nearby, along with reports of attacks on small dogs, cats and other animals.

“I believe the numbers have grown and they’ve become more bold about cruising around the neighborhoods,” Kuhn said.

Jackie Siegelman shares that belief. She said she worries that increased coyote sightings around the city indicate growing populations and reduced fear of humans.

“And with the wildlife food supply being so stretched, I worry that people as well as pets are more in danger of attack than ever,” she said.

One solution that Burkhart and other residents have proposed is trapping and relocating the coyotes. But that is only legal if a landowner is willing to accept them on his or her property. In 2018, the city of Vestavia Hills hired a trapper to catch and kill coyotes after residents complained about them. The trapper netted 14 coyotes, but it only mitigated the issue temporarily.

Vestavia Hills animal control officer Jimmy Coleman told the Vestavia Voice, Village Living’s sister publication, that coyotes present a “never-ending” challenge because of how quickly they repopulate.

Mountain Brook Police Chief Ted Cook reinforced that point.

“There is no literature that I’ve seen anywhere that says that’s a long-term, effective solution,” Cook said of the trap-and-kill approach. “The coyotes adjust their breeding cycles with a loss of members in their dens.”

Cook has worked in Mountain Brook for eight years and has heard coyote concerns annually. He said that all of the United States, Alabama included, has become “coyote country” because of the animal’s adaptability.

To diminish coyotes’ impact, Cook suggests not leaving pets or small children outside unattended, bringing animal food indoors, keeping trash containers closed, eliminating outdoor water sources and trimming shrubbery in which coyotes can hide.

“If you see them, most everybody recommends you haze them. Holler at them,” Cook said. “Don’t let the coyotes feel comfortable hanging around.”