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North Bay expert urges residents to remove attractants and use hazing to reduce coyote conflicts
Summary
At a North Bay town hall on May 29, 2025, Dr. David Drake of the UW Urban Canid Project described rising urban sightings of coyotes and foxes in Madison, WI, explained the project’s radio-collaring and disease-sampling methods, and urged residents to remove food attractants, supervise pets and use hazing to discourage habituation.
At the Village of North Bay town hall on May 29, 2025, guest speaker Dr. David Drake, lead researcher for the UW Urban Canid Project, briefed residents on why foxes and coyotes are increasingly seen in urban areas and offered steps to reduce conflicts.
Drake said the UW Urban Canid Project studies how these canids use the urban landscape and how their life histories change with urbanization. To gather data, researchers live-trap and radio-collar animals to monitor locations over time and collect blood, nasal and fecal samples to test for diseases that could affect wild and domestic animals.
"Understanding the health of these canines can have direct implications when it comes to the health of domestic animals," Drake said, explaining the rationale for disease surveillance and sample collection.
Drake described typical coyote characteristics and risks: adults generally weigh between 25 and 40 pounds (with some larger individuals up to about 50 pounds), wild coyotes’ average life expectancy is about three years, and the most common cause of death for urban coyotes is vehicle collisions. He said coyotes often move through developed areas at night and use corridors such as railroads or underpasses to avoid traffic.
The central public-safety guidance Drake emphasized was prevention. He said animals that associate people with food become more curious and dependent, losing their natural fear. He urged residents to feed pets indoors, secure trash, regularly collect spilled bird seed to avoid attracting rodents, keep dogs supervised (especially at night) and keep cats indoors.
When an animal behaves abnormally or approaches people, Drake recommended nonlethal "hazing" to restore the animal’s fear of humans. Recommended techniques include yelling, clapping and throwing objects near (but not at) the animal; he provided a link to a demonstration video used by the project.
Drake told the meeting that trapping or killing coyotes should be a last resort. He said removal is often ineffective because new animals move in to fill vacant territory and coyotes have reproductive responses that can offset declines in local numbers.
The presentation concluded with Drake stressing mutual respect and behavior changes by people as the best path to peaceful coexistence with urban canids; prevention by removing attractants and avoiding pet contact was presented as the most effective management approach moving forward.
The town hall record lists President Mark Schall as preparing the minutes and names several attendees; no formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript.
