Bobcats, Bears, Coyotes and People - A Tail of Partnerships and Carnivores
By far one of the greatest joys of living, visiting, and working in the foothills of the Cascades is the closeness we get to have with nature - forests that trickle into our neighborhoods, rivers running through our backyards and downtown. With this close proximity to nature comes many benefits - but also unique challenges. As our urban areas extend into our natural spaces, we find ourselves interacting more not just with plants, but also wildlife. While raccoons and crows might be enjoying the urban life, this isn’t the case for all animals - especially the predators of our local environments, such as bobcats, cougars, and bears. Yet these carnivores are incredibly important to our local ecosystems and food chains, so it’s important that we learn to coexist with them.
Issaquah Alps Trails Club (IATC) has partnered with the Woodland Park Zoo’s Coexisting with Carnivores program. This community education and engagement program seeks to equip local residents with knowledge and resources about the large carnivores and other wildlife that are found in the area. The program also helps people learn how to coexist and have positive interactions with their neighboring wildlife!
The work of Coexisting with Carnivores includes educating students at local schools about large wildlife, supporting the students in developing scientific and leadership skills while discussing real-world environmental challenges and solutions. Additionally, there are a variety of community-led projects and events that focus on education and strategy-development around human-wildlife interactions, such as Carnivore Coexistence Action Teams and the Living Northwest Fest. So if you have a student at a local school, are looking to get involved in a citizen science program, or just want to help spread the word about healthy coexistence, you can find resources on the Coexisting with Carnivores webpage!
There’s even an ongoing scavenger hunt game entitled Crossing Paths with Carnivores in the Issaquah Highlands that you can download and play, with monthly prizes offered! You can learn more about the game and how to play here: https://www.westsideseattle.com/ballard-news-tribune/2021/04/05/start-scavenger-hunt-cross-paths-carnivores-win-prizes-and-protect
Even if you aren’t interested in playing a game or getting a yard sign about the program, you can still work on a healthy relationship with carnivores and other wildlife. The best way to start a journey of coexistence is to simply Know Your Neighbors!
Black Bear - Easy to identify and always exciting to see, black bears are common around Washington. Weighing between 100-300 pounds with black or brown fur, these chubby carnivores can be dangerous to humans. They don’t tend to wander too deep into urban areas, but you may come across one in your backyard if you live further from a city, or while on a hike in a natural area or forest. The best way to avoid conflict with a bear is to simply ensure you don’t come across one. Make noise when you’re outside to avoid surprising one, and minimize a bear’s access to your trash and food, by not feeding other wildlife or leaving out scraps near your home or campsite. When you do head out into the woods, it’s always a good idea to carry bear spray. If you do come across a black bear at some point, make a lot of noise to scare it away - this will be a good reminder to the bear that humans aren’t good to be around!
Bobcat - Known for being reclusive and having a stubby tail, this medium-sized member of the cat family is becoming increasingly common in urban areas. Bobcats weigh less than 30 pounds and only reach about 3 feet in length, and the tips of their tails and ears are black. They also have unique fur habits, with little tufts on their ears and furry “sideburns” on their faces. While bobcats don’t often eat domestic animals, they will still be opportunistic and go after a cat or poultry if presented with the opportunity. If a bobcat does appear in your area, you can do things like cleaning around your bird feeder and not feeding other wildlife - bobcats will follow their wild prey, and if other animals are often around your home, their predator may naturally follow!
Cougar - Also known as the mountain lion, cougars are typically stealthy animals and not often seen - though that doesn’t make them uncommon! These large cats can weigh between 110-140 pounds and range from red-brown to tan in color, with black tips on their long tails. They are active mostly at night but also during the day, and while they tend to hunt larger prey such as deer and elk, they may still go after livestock or pets. The good news is that cougar attacks on humans are rare, and there are things you can do to prevent cougars from coming near your home, such as trimming up trees and bushes to remove hiding spots, planting species that deer don’t prefer to eat, and feeding your pets indoors.
Coyote - This medium-sized predator is one of the most commonly-spotted carnivores, and far too often mistaken for a dog. They can weigh up to 35 pounds and have low, bushy tails and noticeably elongated snouts. They also often have lighter fur, though colors can still range from black to brown to tan. It’s worth noting that coyotes are urban adapters, meaning they do well in human-built environments, which isn’t surprising as they are known to be found in a wide variety of natural settings as well. Coyotes don’t typically attack humans, and the majority of conflicts with coyotes are around pets - these carnivores tend to eat smaller prey, which includes dogs and especially cats, so you shouldn’t leave pets outside alone, especially after dusk and in the early mornings. If you do spot or suspect a coyote in the area, make sure your home isn’t a welcoming place to them - don’t leave out garbage or compost, which may attract smaller animals the coyotes might prey on, feed your pets indoors, and if you see a coyote, shout at it to scare it away.
If you do catch glimpse of one of these carnivore companions, consider communicating your sighting on Carnivorespotter.org, a project launched by the Woodland Park Zoo and Seattle University to keep track of the wildlife spotted around the area. You can visit the site to see what other people have seen nearby, and share your own discoveries. It’s a great way to take part in a huge community science program.
If you’re interested in learning more about urban wildlife, check out the webinar “Environmental Justice and Wildlife in Our Urban Ecosystems”, run by Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Green Seattle Partnership, with speaker Dr. Chris Schell from the University of Washington.
So as spring carries on and we find ourselves outside more and more, take the time to learn about your local carnivores and how you can live peacefully with them as your neighbors - and if you do come across one, you’ll have a great tail to tell your community!