Wily Coyotes Major Suspect In Kitty Caper

Halloween worshipers might notice the dearth of black cats on the South Hill tonight.

In case you’ve missed the news reports, there’s been a decline in all types of cats in an area roughly between Rockwood Boulevard and 29th.

Discovery of a den supposedly lined with cat fur has led some folks to believe coyotes are the culprits.

Other possible suspects in the missing kitty cases include dogs, owls, sadistic kids and motor vehicles.

The coyote, however, is a classic villain with a long history of cat-snatching around Spokane.

Get used to it.

White settlers have never acquired the reverence American Indians had for the resourceful and adaptable coyote. Wolves walked into our traps, grizzlies fell to our guns and eagles were grounded by poisons.

But nothing in the human arsenal against predators has been effective against the coyote, and Western settlers have been in a snit about it for 150 years.

The song dog naturally senses human assaults on its population and either slinks away temporarily or steps up reproduction to make up for the losses.

That’s why you have to chuckle at the petition some South Hill residents are signing to demand the city of Spokane remove the coyotes accused of feasting on cats.

First, the city can’t touch coyotes because they are wildlife, which are regulated by the state. On the other hand, the state Fish and Wildlife Department can’t control the coyotes because it simply can’t be done safely in a city.

The petition is proof that when given a choice between what’s rational and irrational regarding wildlife management, some people will automatically choose to be stupid.

I sympathize for the pain these people feel when their little Fluffies don’t return home after a night of burying their scat in the neighbor’s flower beds.

Cat owners tend to be insensitive to the carnage their feline pets inflict on songbirds during their daily romps in the wilds of suburbia. The porch can be lined with feathers, yet you never see them signing petitions to rid the streets of bird-killing cats.

But I’m not holding grudges. For no charge, I’m offering this three-step plan that’s guaranteed to eliminate coyotes from the South Hill.

1. Require that all garbage be put out in tip-proof, sealed containers.

2. Convince people to keep their yards free of pet food that will attract coyotes and other wild critters.

3. Only after steps one and two are implemented will it be feasible to put out baited live traps to catch coyotes.

Of course, coyotes are too smart to be caught in a live trap.

But in a few months, the traps would catch all those cats that run free in the streets.

The caged outdoor cats could be given to people who pledge to keep them safely indoors.

As soon as the cats are off the streets, the coyotes will leave the South Hill and wander over to another neighborhood, where they belong.

Encouraging sight: Anyone who appreciates the growth of habitat conservation organizations would have to be thrilled at what’s going on within the Inland Northwest Land Trust.

The nation’s original conservation groups generally were founded by sportsmen. Even The Nature Conservancy began with a male-dominated group of scientists.

However, at the annual meeting and elections last week, the Inland Northwest Land Trust’s five open board spots were filled by women.

Indeed, women were instrumental in founding the local organization, which helps private landowners preserve the natural state of their property.

The land trust’s elections were not the beginning of a women’s conservation movement, but rather the testimony to one that has become well-established.

Women outnumber men in the membership ranks of notable conservation groups such as The Nature Conservancy, a national organization that has a similar but narrower mission than local land trusts.

“The Nature Conservancy is concerned mostly with protecting land to preserve diversity of native plants and animals,” said Woody Wheeler, spokesman for TNC in Washington state. “Local land trusts provide a complementary service to protect property in a natural state for such things as open spaces, historical purposes and recreation as well as for native plants and wildlife.”

Wheeler said he was not surprised at the demographic studies that showed women dominating TNC membership.

“When it comes to caring for the Earth, women seem to instinctively know that you can’t foul your own nest,” he said. “Men tend to need education on that point.”

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rich Landers The Spokesman-Review