Coyotes near Waitsburg's fairgrounds raise safety concerns

WAITSBURG-A perk to living in a small town like Waitsburg is being able to walk your dog in safety. However, the downside to living in a farming community is the inevitable encounters with wildlife.

Recently, Waitsburg resident Laura Tolman has seen coyotes close to the Waitsburg Fairgrounds, where she brings Callie, her 80-pound Labrador/Malamute/Husky mix, to run off energy.

"One stalked my dog and got within 10, 15 feet. Really close-scary close!" said Tolman. "It looked at me and wasn't a bit afraid of my dog or me. When I started calling for my dog, the coyote simply side-stepped into tall weeds."

On another occasion, she said she saw a coyote on the dike that runs along the fairgrounds and a neighboring wheat field. After reviewing pictures of the event, she noted that a second coyote was just out of sight, lying down.

On Monday, August 9, Tolman observed what appeared to her as an adult male, female, and two pups in the same area. One of the coyotes came down the hill towards her dog and did not change course until she recalled Callie.

"The legend is: Coyotes are more afraid of us than we are of them," Tolman said. "But the day that coyote stalked my dog and got that close... it looked at me, and it wasn't a bit afraid of me."

Tolman said that she is worried about someone's dog or child being harmed by the coyotes. Attacks are rare, but they are not impossible as coyotes may see large dogs as threats to their territory or pups.

Tolman is concerned that someone else, their kids, or pets could be at risk if they get too close to the dike at the end of the fairgrounds.

Tolman said. "You don't know that there is a den there until it's too late. A small animal, a pet, or a child could be killed."

According to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), there were no recorded coyote attacks on humans until 2006, when two young children were bitten in Bellevue. Wildlife officers had to euthanize two coyotes and later dealt with adults being injured by coyotes in the same area. Officials believe that the attacks were the result of humans feeding the coyotes.

Tolman's story is not the first to surface from that area of town. In July, residents posted on Facebook, warning 4-H and FFA students that they had observed coyotes near the pig barns while walking. Others have posted hearing almost nightly howls and yips from coyotes in areas surrounding town.

Unfortunately, Tolman's story of bold coyotes approaching dogs is not unique. In February, Times reporter Beka Compton intervened when a coyote attempted to attack her dog, Mack, a 70-pound German wirehaired pointer, through her property's back fence. The next day, the coyote returned with a second coyote in tow, which stayed just barely out of sight, a common luring tactic the predators use.

City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said that the city would be placing warning signs up in the area. He shared that city employees have seen coyotes near the wastewater treatment plant recently, as well.