A state wildlife biologist has bad news for those concerned about the prevalence of coyotes in the Lowcountry and elsewhere across the state: They're here to stay.
The good news is that they pose little threat to human safety, according to Charles Ruth of the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, although coyotes are likely to treat any cats, small dogs and other household pets they encounter as prey.
That's exactly what has riled some in Mount Pleasant, where some residents of the Wakendaw Lakes say they suspect the predators killed their cats. Crystal Colgin, one of the worried residents, said she learned that at least eight cats have disappeared from her neighborhood.
'We have a huge problem,' she said in an email to The (Charleston) Post and Courier.
Colgin said she placed a newspaper ad and put up signs in the neighborhood seeking information about her missing feline, Snickers, who was not one to wander. The family keeps its new dog and cat indoors because Snickers is gone, she said.
Several years ago, some in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island reported similar concerns -- as well as coyote sightings and coyote scat along the community's bike pathways.
Carlos Chacon of the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head said coyotes appear to be abundant on Pinckney Island, as well.
'You hardly ever see them because they're nocturnal,' Chacon said. 'But if you walk on Pinckney Island, you see (their scat) everywhere. It's very distinct because it's full of hair because of what they eat.'
Actually, Ruth said, that includes some plant matter, like berries and fruit. However, coyotes mostly chow on small animals, such as rabbits, rodents and fawns.
Occasionally, coyotes will eat adult deer, Chacon said, adding that probably helps manage the deer population, which has no other natural predators in this area.
And yes, coyotes will eat pets -- particularly cats and small dogs -- given the opportunity, according to Ruth.
Moving pet food inside and keeping areas around homes free of garbage is one way to reduce coyotes' attraction to residential areas, according to the DNR website. Keeping such animals inside at night will help prevent such killings, as well Ruth said.
According to Chacon, even that precaution is not usually necessary for larger dogs or for those who do not live near heavily wooded areas, where coyotes typically hunt.
But make no mistake, coyotes are all around.
'Historically, the Mississippi River was a natural boundary,' Ruth said. 'They are primarily a western species. ... But 60 to 80 years ago, they made it across, and once that happened, there was nothing to stop them from going all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, and over time that's what happened.'
The first reported coyote sightings in South Carolina were in 1978 in Pickens and Oconee counties. Since then, they have been spotted in every county in the state. Hunters started illegally importing them for hunts in the late 1980s, speeding up their proliferation through South Carolina by several years, according to DNR.
Coyotes will never be eliminated, but their numbers may be lowered through trapping and shooting, according to the DNR website.
Ruth, whose primary work is with turkeys and deer, added a question in the late 1990s to an annual survey sent to all licensed deer hunters. It asked if hunters had killed coyotes incidental to their deer hunting during the past season and, if so, where and how many.
Based on questionnaire responses, coyote populations rose dramatically in the years after the question was first asked -- hunters reported killing 5,000 to 6,000 in the first year and about 30,000 a decade later. However, Ruth said the populations seem to have leveled out in recent years. A similar trend is suggested by data from DNR's annual statewide counts of fur-bearing creatures, which are identified by their tracks after being baited by scent to strategically placed stations.
'The thing about it is they are here now. They're ubiquitous in all counties,' Ruth said. '... I know it's novel to some folks, but it's getting to be old news.'
Even development isn't likely to stem their population dramatically, Ruth said.
'Coyotes are a lot like deer in the sense that unless you flat pave it over, they're going to do fine,' he said. '... That's where you start getting the curiosity, the human social dynamic.'
In Mount Pleasant, discussion of the coyote problem regularly tops the agenda for civic association meetings, according to Rob Duren, president of the Wakendaw Lakes Civic Association.
Duren said his cat is missing, too, and he suspects one or more coyotes killed it. A coyote has been seen chasing a cat. A resident driving a truck also reported chasing coyotes out of the neighborhood late at night, he said.
Mount Pleasant has placed signs in Memorial Waterfront Park warning of the presence of coyotes and advising people to stay away from them and never feed them.
'There are a lot of coyotes here,' said Mayor Linda Page.
'I don't know that there's anything that our municipality can do,' she added.
Hunting coyotes on private lands during the day is allowed year-round. Night hunting is permitted with certain weapons restrictions. In both cases, a hunting license is required, according to DNR.
No hunting license is required to shoot coyotes within 100 yards of a personal residence. However, in all situations, local laws and firearms ordinances apply.
Trapping season for coyotes is from Dec. 1 to March 1.
Prentiss Findlay of The (Charleston) Post and Courier contributed to this report.Follow managing editor Jeff Kidd on Twitter at twitter.com/InsidePages.Related content:
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