After reading “Trickster moves to town,” I came to the conclusion that a lot of people who live in or near coyote country have little understanding of what it means to coexist with wild animals (HCN, 12/20/10). I lived in a subdivision southeast of Santa Fe, N.M., for more than 10 years and had numerous encounters with coyotes. They often came into my yard, or met me while I was out with my dog, but they never were a threat.
There were stories of neighbors letting their cats out at night and losing them to coyotes, or dogs getting into fights with coyotes and getting injured. But I don’t recall ever hearing any complaints about them. What was a problem, however, was dogs running loose in the neighborhood and posing a threat to humans. As housing developments encroach on animal habitats we owe them tolerance, not banishment.
Tom Thompson
Santa Fe, New Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Lessons from coyote country.
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