Fear of coyotes reignited among DI residents after four cats are killed in two weeks
The stories about Daniel Island coyotes seemed to start overnight at the beginning of the summer. After several cats were reported missing on the island, or found deceased, small pet owners in the community began swapping anecdotes, photos, and videos of coyotes via social media posts searching for answers. The wounds the felines sustained were similar in description to that of coyote attacks.
It’s been a relatively quiet two months for coyote sightings and attacks on small pets, but the June panic recently returned when the weeks of September 10 and 17 brought four dead cats to the attention of island residents.
It’s the same story as before. Cats are missing, coyotes are sighted, residents are worried, and confusion still stands about how to deal with the problem. As stated in a Daniel Island News article in June, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources believed the problem should first be reported to the Daniel Island Property Owners Association, the POA stated that the solution was to call Charleston Police Department’s Animal Control, and CPD urged residents to report coyote-related issues to DNR because the canids are considered wildlife.
But, for residents losing pets, a cycle of buck-passing wasn’t a solution and two months later, they’re trying to take matters into their own hands.
“People are starting to gather and a committee’s going to be formed,” said resident Terri Garvey.
Garvey recently lost her cat to a coyote attack and said that she didn’t report it to the POA.
“It doesn’t matter who I call because they’re not responding,” said Garvey. “I feel that a committee needs to be formed, a petition needs to be signed.”
The Property Owners Association Field Operations Manager Chris Hamil said “we have not received many calls related to coyotes lately.” But the POA is taking a more active role in monitoring the situation. POA Vice President of Community Services Jane Baker asked that residents work with them to report coyote sightings in a timely manner.
“The Daniel Island POA does not monitor social media,” she said. “We need residents to call or email our Field Operations Manager Chris Hamil if they see a coyote. That is the only way we can attempt to try and identify their den location for selective trapping. Additionally, the only way to eradicate the population is to minimize the food source so all pets and pet food should be inside homes.”
Daniel Island residents Rikke Fryman and Kristin Lysik have started two separate surveys to collect data on the coyote problems. As of Friday, September 21, Fryman’s Facebook survey had 15 residents claiming to have lost a cat to coyotes and 18 asserting that they have a friend not on Facebook that lost a cat to coyotes. A time frame was not specified in the questions, but Fryman guesses that most of the pets were killed some time over the last 12 months.
“We’ve been on the island for 12 years and I didn’t start hearing of anyone losing their cat until within the last year,” she said.
Fryman added that she is confident that coyotes are a threat that deserves as much attention as alligators.
“This isn’t a cat owner problem, this is a general safety issue for everyone,” Fryman stated.
Lysik said that she forced her outdoor cats to become indoor cats after her neighbor lost two pets in one week. She believes that the POA should involve themselves with the problem, but also says that residents need to do their part and stay informed.
“I think we all need to come together and make changes, and not just put it on the POA because it’s not that simple,” said Lysik. She suggested that the POA hire an expert to educate residents on how to manage coyotes.
The Daniel Island Neighborhood Association is also weighing in on the issue. The organization sent out a joint DINA/POA email announcement to members last week urging residents to report a coyote sighting or incident, along with its specific address or location, to the POA at (843) 971-9200 or chris.hamil@dicommunity.org, or to DINA at president@dineighborhoodassociation.org.
“It is extremely important that residents keep their pets and food inside at all times in order to reduce the coyotes’ food source and, thus, desire to stay around our community,” stated DINA President Marie Delcioppo. “Thank you for your assistance in this matter as our main goal is the safety of all our residents.”
As reported in a previous article in The Daniel Island News, lowering an area’s coyote population is an arduous task. Coyotes have evolved in a way that allows their numbers to increase if killed or relocated. Litter sizes will rise and new coyotes will wander into the region thanks to more prevalent resources, if either method is employed. The most effective approach to decreasing the coyote population, as described by the Human Society of the United States, is by hazing.
Coyotes are generally very fearful of people, so residents are encouraged to be mindful of that. Carry a noise maker or airhorn around, and if a coyote is spotted, create loud sounds to scare them away. Doing this regularly, as well as keeping food sources and small pets indoors, will make the area as unappealing to coyotes as possible.
Island citizens are obviously afraid for their pets, but the most striking concern brought up amongst residents is a fear that coyotes will go after children. DNR Wildlife Coordinator for Region 4 said that this is “extremely unlikely.”
Two commonly shared stories on Facebook feature children attacked by coyotes in North Carolina and New York, but Farrell wants everyone to be assured that this does not represent a rising trend in coyote attacks.
“We’ve seen those two [stories] in the past year—that’s how common they are,” she commented.
Only two fatalities from coyote attacks have ever been reported in the United States. When asked directly about the chances of a child being killed by a coyote on Daniel Island, she restated that it would be rare.
“Accidents and incidents always may occur. It would be unpredictable if it did happen, but it is so unlikely for it to happen.”