Conroe coyote hotline aims to protect pets
A Conroe neighborhood is banding together by establishing a hotline to protect pets after a coyote took a family’s small dog and killed it earlier this month.
Ana Nichole Cochran lives in Dominion Ridge off League Line Road. On the weekend of Jan. 6, their family dog, Grizzly, was taken by a coyote. The dog’s body was found after neighbors volunteered to search for the miniature American Shepherd.
Cochran said development near Dominion Ridge has forced wildlife, including coyotes, into her neighborhood.
“There are multiple packs of coyotes surrounding Teaswood, Dominion Ridge, Panorama, White Oak Landing, Madioso bend, all off Longmire Street,” Cochran said. “So many pets have been taken and horribly killed. We see the coyotes in the day and at night.”
As the number of coyotes in her neighborhood increases, Cochran said the neighborhood hotline is helping save pets.
“We named it the Grizzly Emergency Hotline,” Cochran said. “We can send a mass text message to all our neighbors so
everyone can get their dogs inside.”
Coyotes are native to Texas and common in Montgomery County, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife. Coyotes have adapted to the expansion of human communities into their habitat and can occasionally be found in urban and suburban neighborhoods.
Along with sightings in the
Conroe area, coyotes have been reported in more populated areas, including The Woodlands.
Coyotes may live alone or in small packs of up to six individuals. They hunt at all hours of the day and night but may be seen more often in the early morning or just before sunset.
Coyotes are opportunistic feeders and will eat almost anything,
alive or dead, garbage, meat, fish, vegetables, berries or whatever they can find. Their natural diet consists mostly of rabbits, rodents and carrion. They are wary of humans and don’t pose a threat to livestock. However, a hungry coyote will occasionally take small domestic animals and poultry.
Game warden Brannon Meinkowsky
said calls about coyotes are common but said there has not been an increase in calls in the county. Coyotes, he said, are considered a nuisance animal and not protected under Texas law.
“You are allowed to put them down or hire a nuisance trapper to put them down,” Meinkowsky said.
Meinkowsky said city and county ordinances make discharging a firearm in certain areas illegal, but that doesn’t apply to every situation.
“None of it prohibits you from protecting yourself or your animals,” Meinkowsky said.
There are things residents can do to help minimize coyotes in their neighborhoods.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, it is important not to feed coyotes. Residents should keep food and water inside and secure garbage and compost piles. Avoid feeding feral cats as well.
Keep pets inside or in a fenced yard and make sure to supervise them, especially at night. Also, walk pets on a leash.
While it is important not to feed coyotes, avoid feeding other wildlife on the ground. Keep wild bird seed in elevated feeders and keep fruit trees fenced or pick up fruit that falls to the ground.