A Galveston man appeared before the city council recently and demanded the city start eradicating the island’s coyote population. If not, he said, he’d start shooting them.
“Y’all need to come up with a solution, not be part of the problem, because the city of Galveston is part of the problem,” Greg West said on Jan. 23.
“He kind of yelled at us,” one bemused council member said.
Our first thought — it’s a good thing the coyotes don’t have guns.
The animals were here first, long before European settlers arrived and began to destroy their habitat.
Coyotes never needed us to survive, and the animals have proved even more adaptable than most of humankind. They exist in almost every corner of the United States — including New York’s Central Park — and efforts to eradicate them have invariably failed.
The suggestion to begin a wholesale slaughter of the animals, or to round them up and ship them across the causeway to the Galveston County mainland, is a very bad idea.
Galveston has worked hard in recent years to establish itself as a welcoming habitat for all kinds of wildlife. The city has received state and national recognition for its efforts to develop and nurture an animal friendly environment. Eco-tourism on the island is growing rapidly.
Galveston should do more, not less, to create a safe space for all kinds of wildlife — sandhill cranes and other birds, opossums, alligators and so on. These creatures enhance life on Galveston Island.
The main argument from people who want the coyotes killed or deported is they are a threat to domestic pets. That’s true. They will eat cats and dogs.
But what’s really the problem if that happens? A natural predator or a negligent pet owner?
A responsibility of pet ownership is to provide a safe space for pets.
That means several things — build an adequate fence, don’t leave pet food outside, be sure refuse containers are properly stored and covered.
If you live in bear country, you wouldn’t just shoot the bears. You’d adapt.
Also, there is local law that makes it illegal to fire guns in the city limits.
Coyote experts say slaughtering the animals might even backfire and cause more brazen encounters between the animals and humans.
Killing individual adults that are old enough to hunt and go near civilization creates an environment where coyotes are born and must learn to hunt and avoid the public without older coyotes to teach them.
City staff members know this because they trapped and killed dozens of the animals between 2013 and 2015 when the program ended, Galveston Island Humane Society Director Josh Henderson said.
“At the same time that we had success in killing individual coyotes, we immediately saw a population boom,” Henderson said. “They did remarkably well re-adapting. We then saw much more negative encounters with the public.”
A final thought — the coyotes are beautiful, and like all things of beauty, care should be taken to preserve them, not destroy them.
The animals on Galveston Island carry traces of the nearly extinct red wolf. They are rare, and they are a connection to this region’s past.
Their cry on a moonlit night on the island is cherished by many. It haunts this place as does the warbling cry of sandhill cranes or the sudden flash of bright pink of a roseate spoonbill.
Again, it’s a good thing coyotes don’t own guns.
• Dolph Tillotson
Dolph Tillotson lives in Galveston and is a member of The Daily News editorial board.
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I explore one of Galveston's lost wharves that helped build the Republic of Texas and spur investment in Galveston Island in the 1840s and 1850s. Kuhn's Wharf and the long wooden piers that adorned the young port of Galveston attracted a population and commerce to Galveston Island, making it…
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(12) comments
It's like living on a busy street - if you don't protect your pets, they're going to get hurt.
Dolph: on the west end where nature tourism and wildlife are holding on with their fingertips as a result of absurd development, it’s not the buildings as much as the folks who occupy those buildings.
Folks buy here for the beautiful and peaceful ambience then immediately start to show the peaceful environment to look like what they bought here to escape.
That includes letting their cats and dogs out for awhile to do whatever cats and dogs need to do. Sometimes they don’t return. Duh!
Not too long ago we he’d a feral cat problem that caused havoc on the bird population especially during the winter months and migrations. I haven’t seen any feral cats lurking around in a couple of years. I’m grateful to our coyotes for the favor. It saved me from a job I disliked. I now have a bit more time in my hands to watch our lovely new property owners but an expensive house because of the peaceful island environment, put bright lights next to their new swimming pool, loose a pet or two the first year, complain loudly to council that council doesn’t work like Houston’s commissioners court, return back on every Monday for a couple of years and finally turn their retreat home into a BnB court. He’d they succeeded in killing off our coyotes, they would have done exactly the same thing and never looked back. Don’t believe me? Go to HAR and count the number of Galveston home for sale in the 77550 vs 77554 zips. 77554 has three times as much and dips more than an iHop pancake.
So sorry for all the typos. I should stop trying to post from a cell phone I guess
I agree with your, column Mr. TILLOTSON.
I was very upset by the resident, that said he was going to shoot Coyotes ( on the front of the paper) That seems cruel & irresponsible.
I don't know a lot about the Ghost Wolves, but they are God's creatures. Something special..
I absolutely agree with you!
Under Section 7-15(d) of the City Code, a stray dog or cat is "declared to be a public nuisance," impounded for 72 hours, and if not retrieved by an owner it is transferred to a shelter for "humane disposition." Separately owners must vaccinate their dog and cats; the failure to do so is unlawful. Why do these laws exist? They exist in order to protect the public from disease and unprovoked attacks.
Why don't those same principles apply to coyotes? They are just as capable of carrying disease - which might be passed along to other animals or humans as they are from dogs and cats. Moreover, coyotes are aggressive predators and are much more aggressive during their spring "mating season."
Perhaps these problems are no longer serious risks. If so, the City should dismantle the Marshal's Animal Service Division. If not, their services should apply to ALL animals posing the risks from which they are supposed to protect the public.
Wow, Tony, you truly are a walking encyclopedia on all things Galveston, from the port and school district to now even coyotes! Here's a question for you: does it ever get tricky between the school district and the port regarding tax obligations? Who pays taxes to whom? Or do you just sit this one out? Just curious.
Hey Alex, why don’t you run for the School Board. I bet Tony Brown would gladly give you the Chairmanship and buy you a coffee, a bottle of fine Kentucky Bourbon and a Costco size bottle of Excedrin and go merrily on his way. Trust me, that jobs is a horrible one - no way to win or satisfy even 50% of the people. I don’t envy him or could you pay me enough to do that job! He does it for free.
Step up and show us you could do a better job!
Why don't those same principles apply to coyotes? Because dogs and cats are not wildlife. Have the city get rid of all wildlife because some do not like nature is not going to happen. You start on coyotes, next will be birds because some do eat pets and carry bird flu which kills people.
Jim: I’ve had a Hawk swoop my min-pin when I was walking her on a leash. I know the barn owls found her attractive. Frankly I thought watching nature do her thing was beautiful and both birds had second thoughts once they got wind of what would happen if they caught her.
I've read for years about the 'ghost wolves' (a made up name) and their 'trace' of red Wolf DNA and why they need to be saved because of that trace. What I have never read is why? (Hey Daily News, aren't reporters trained anymore to ask "Why" antymore?) Do scientists think they can extract that Red Wolf DNA and clone a new wolf? If that was possible, or even remotely possible in the future, they will already have the coyote/wolf DNA in storage somewhere. And Dolph, as to your remark about a safe space for pets, I'ver seen coyotes jump 6 foot fences. There is no 'safe space' if you're outside. Just ask my friend who was walking his two small dogs one late evening recently around Ursiline Academy when a pack of 7 coyotes started circling him. Fortunately he was able to call his wife and have her come pick him up before anything happened.
First of all, there are significant genus genetic questions if the red wolf is REALLY its own species. There is significant evidence that, in fact, the Red Wolf is just a mongrel mix breed between Grey Wolves & Coyotes. So you are absolutely on to something Paul. The best part of this whole argument is that most of the biggest supporters of this fever dream are people that live in high-rise condo buildings built on former coyote habitat. Do as I say, not as I do! Could you please move out of your high-rise condo, so we can level it to return the habitat to the coyotes. A double dose hypocrisy.
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