Predictable Features Attract Urban Coyotes to Residential Yards

Several species of urban-adapted carnivores, including coyotes (Canis latrans), use anthropogenic resources in residential areas, which may increase rates of encounters and conflict with people. These negative interactions might be reduced with more understanding of individual variation in the use of residential areas and if attractants were better predicted by residents and targeted for securement or removal. We fitted 19 urban coyotes with global positioning system (GPS) collars (11 healthy, 8 with sarcoptic mange [Sarcoptes scabiei]) and compared their selection for residential areas at different times of day. We also identified 173 clusters of GPS locations (representing foraging and bedding sites) and paired them with available sites to measure selection for anthropogenic food, shelter, and visual cover. Seventeen of 19 coyotes avoided residential areas in general, but lesser avoidance of residential areas occurred in animals that used these areas during the day. Backyards selected by coyotes were 66.7 times less likely to have fences, 22.2 times more likely to contain anthropogenic food, and had 3.3 times as much visual cover than available yards. Diseased coyotes were 9 times more likely than healthy animals to select for yards with anthropogenic food. Our results suggest that coarse measurements of habitat selection via land cover classes may underestimate the attraction to wildlife of particular features in residential areas. Greater management of these features by municipal governments, residents, and communities might reduce animal use, disease transmission, and human-wildlife conflict for diverse species in urban areas.