02-19-2022
Feel free to skip the story and go to the summary…
Story:
The recent sightings of coyotes in our subdivision reminds me of a true story that happened about 20ish years ago. Up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin by St. Germain, we have a family cottage. My mother and stepfather spent a lot of time up there enjoying the peace and tranquility of nature. One crisp Fall day, as summer is definitely over by Labor Day, this true story unfolded. My mother put on her walking shoes, grabbed her fly-swatter and went out for her morning walk in the woods. She was enjoying the beautiful colors of autumn and getting her daily exercise at the same time, who could ask for more? Then… all of a sudden she spots a black bear in the woods, he was foraging for berries or whatever they forage for… This black bear looks fierce and menacing, as normally you see them in their cages at Brookfield Zoo where they look sad and bored. The bear spots her and maybe snares, maybe winks, (we are not sure about that detail) as he pads through the terrain always eyeing her movements. She is very careful and decides to take a different path back to the cottage as to not upset the bear. She makes it back to the safety of the cottage and quickly tells my step-father of her alarming encounter. After some intense deliberation and careful thought, she picks up the phone and dials the Vilas County Wildlife Department (probably with one of those vicious rotary phones that hurts your index finger). She is connected to the supervisor who probably just came back from cleaning a couple of Walleye after her early morning fishing trip. After my mother details her hair-raising encounter with the black bear, she asks “what can you do about it?”. After the supervisor finishes her donut and washes it down with a swig of morning coffee, she politely responds “Well… that’s where they live, honey”. My mother, speechless for a brief moment, thanked her for the information and went on to have a wonderful day. The bear was seen from time to time, always looking happy and content, but he always watching out for those unpredictable humans, as you never know what they are going to do next…
Summary:
Having said that, I called and talked to the Bolingbrook Animal Control person and here is the summary of the conversation:
- Coyotes are protected (like it or not)
- They hang around with family members, not packs
- We cohabitate (like it or not)
- Haze them, yell at them, call them names, stump your feet, spit at them
- Act big, they are afraid of big, act like you are in charge, do not show fear, do not act like prey
- Act crazy… they don’t like crazy, however they still may keep an eye on you from a distance
- Buy/use a Blowhorn, get one at Lowes or Home Depot or Amazon or your nearest Blowhorn store
- DO NOT FEED THEM (they love the small animals that hang around your bird feeders!)