Extracted from the Colorado DOW "Insider"


A group of skiers at a southwestern Colorado ski resort learned a hard lesson a few years ago when a coyote they had been feeding out of kindness bit a woman before it had to be put down to ensure the safety of others. In another case, a coyote bit a 5-year-old boy at a Colorado Springs park last fall after the child approached the animal thinking it was a dog. Wildlife officials said people had been feeding that coyote as well.

Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) officers who helped investigate these cases are tapping into such anecdotal evidence as a public-service reminder that feeding coyotes and foxes is not only an act of misguided kindness, it is now illegal in Colorado. Under a regulation that went into effect on March 1, municipal, county and state law-enforcement officers can fine violators up to $68 for feeding coyotes or foxes.

“We view this as primarily a human safety issue,” said Denver Area Wildlife Manager Liza Moore. “We reviewed research and additional information from other states, and it clearly showed that most of the incidents where fox and coyotes injured people occurred after the animals had been regularly fed by people.

“We understand that people often feed wildlife because they think they’re helping the animals,” Moore said. “But the results are often bad for both humans and the animals that have been fed.”

Colorado has had laws prohibiting the feeding of big game wildlife for years. Wildlife officers can ticket people for inadvertently feeding wildlife by leaving out garbage, pet food and other food sources known to attract bears and other animals. Even bird food can attract larger wildlife to urban and suburban backyards, said western Colorado Springs District Wildlife Manager Trina Lynch.

“It can lead to attracting predators near your home,” Lynch said. “I have had that occur on more than one circumstance.”

Littleton District Wildlife Manager Suzanne Tracey suggested the regulation to prohibit feeding coyotes and foxes after she dealt with several incidents in which animals that had been regularly fed lost their normal wariness of people. Moore carried Tracey’s recommendation up the chain of command and the Colorado Wildlife Commission adopted the regulation in January.

Coyotes and foxes can turn up in just about any Colorado setting, from urban parks and suburban neighborhoods to mountain hamlets and ski resorts. Reports of coyotes and foxes appearing in and around suburban neighborhoods along the Front Range have surfaced for years. Citizens living in developments on the outer edges of the Denver metropolitan area have reported hearing packs of howling coyotes at night and seeing solitary coyotes or foxes wandering down residential streets. Foxes and coyotes have shown up in Washington Park, Sloan’s Lake and other Denver parks.

In the ski resort case, visitors apparently had been feeding human food to the coyote before the biting incident. Emboldened by previous encounters with people, the coyote approached the young female skier after she fell during a morning ski run with a friend. The victim rolled into a ball on the slope and the coyote bit her on the backside, said Melody Miller, a Durango-based district wildlife manager.

“It’s important for us as residents of Colorado to learn to coexist with wildlife, and that would entail not feeding wildlife and modifying our habits to reduce possible conflicts. It’s easier for us to learn to modify our lifestyles than to expect wildlife to do so. They are only doing what comes natural to them and don’t know any different,” Miller said. “We’ve got to keep the ‘wild’ in wildlife.”

In the Colorado Springs case, the coyote had been hanging around the Monument Valley Park ice rink when it bit the boy on the side of his abdomen. The child was treated for rabies as a precaution, though the coyote tested negative for the disease after it was put down, said Teller County District Wildlife Manager Tonya Sharp.

“The coyote was believed to have been fed by people and was regularly seen in the park,” Sharp said.

In Leadville, red foxes are causing problems for wildlife officials and citizens. District Wildlife Manager Tom Martin said the Leadville region has a large population of red foxes, and some animals survive on garbage and the kindness of local residents.

“Litters have been produced and raised in ‘dens’ under trailer homes. People seem to feel that the foxes are no threat, so they feed and almost tame some foxes. Although not confirmed, one guy would open his door at certain times of the day so that the fox could come into his house and be fed,” Martin said. “Almost always, the call to me comes from a neighbor of those doing the feeding. They are concerned with possible predation on cat and dog pets and the possibility of children being bitten.”

In the past, he said citizens were amazed to learn that feeding foxes was not illegal.

“I am pleased I can now tell them otherwise,” Martin said.

For more information about coyotes and foxes, please visit:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/education/livingwithwildlife/coyotecountry.asp and http://wildlife.state.co.us/education/mammalsguide/foxes.asp