'Misunderstood' Coyote Discussed At Northbrook Village Board Meeting

NORTHBROOK, IL — With a recent uptick in reports of coyote sightings in the area and around the state, the Northbrook Sustainability Commission took a few moments at Tuesday night's Village Board meeting to discuss an animal it describes as both "remarkable" and "misunderstood" at the same time.

"Coyotes are adaptable creatures, but have become an integral part of life in cities across the U.S., including right here in Cook County," said Bernadette Knight, a member of the commission.

Knight referenced the Cook County Coyote Project for its "groundbreaking" work about the animal, dating back 20 years. Also known as the Urban Coyote Research Program, the study was initiated in 2000 as a non-biased attempt to address shortcomings in urban coyote ecology information and management.

"Coyotes are fascinating in their social structure. They mate for life, and genetic testing shows they are faithful in their mated pair. Both parents raise the pup, born in the spring after a breeding season that peaks on Valentine's Day," Knight said. "They are territorial animals, and in urban environments, their boundaries often align with major roads or highways."

According to the Village, the Sustainability Commission's mission is to focus on issues including air pollution, solid waste disposal, resource recycling, and other environmental quality problems as well as advancing sustainability goals and programs within the Village's adopted Climate Action Plan.

In just the past week, there have been several incidents in the area involving coyotes. A United airplane hit a coyote over the weekend at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, according to the airline.

Additionally, Chicago police are searching for three suspects who witnesses say abused and killed a coyote Saturday afternoon on Chicago's Southwest Side.

A video viewed millions of times captured an officer pulling a coyote by its tail through the shelves of the refrigerated food section of a Chicago Aldi Monday before the animal escapes and darts back between the shelves.

Knight said that despite misconceptions, most urban coyotes rely entirely on wild and natural prey that they hunt. This includes voles, mice, rabbits, squirrels, Canada goose eggs and young deer fawns. She said this diet of wild prey has eco-benefits, including:

• effective predator for an overabundance of Canada geese
• help manage deer populations
• benefit songbird populations as they deter feral cats
• predate over-abundant animals like rabbits that can be garden "pests"

RELATED:

• United Plane Hits Coyote At O'Hare
• Chicago Police Seek Group Who Abused, Killed Coyote In Mt. Greenwood
• Officer Yanks Coyote By Tail Through Shelves At Aldi In Chicago — Video
• Uptick In Coyote Sightings Reported In Arlington Heights Area — Police