Coyote Encounter at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge
Story + Photography by Sara Montour Lewis
We had been driving all day and needed a spot where we could walk a little bit, smell the fresh air, stretch our legs and enjoy the setting sun so I found the closest spot I could find that would allow all of those things to happen, which happened to be the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, right on the shore of Puget Sound.
Within 2 minutes of getting out of the car (no exaggeration) I saw something moving down the path, way in the distance. At first I thought it was a deer, but quickly realized it was actually a coyote, so I got into the best position to just wait, let it do its thing and see what happened.
Little did I know that “letting it do its thing” meant that it would walk directly to us, getting within inches, before finally turning and carrying on.
Coyotes get a bad rap for a whole host of reasons, but they’re fascinating creatures and when you dive into their ecology you see that they can play a crucial role in the ecosystem around them. There are several interesting studies showing that areas with high coyote populations have more diversity in the types of native wild birds and that big cat predators, like cougars and bobcats, tend to avoid areas where coyotes roam.
There are some great organizations doing a lot of work in studying these creatures, so if you’re interested in learning more I highly recommend checking out the work being done by Project Coyote and the Urban Coyote Research Project.
