See coyotes? Here’s how to have a safe encounter in Las Vegas

While the Nevada Department of Wildlife doesn’t keep a tally on the state’s coyote population, the cunning canine is spotted hundreds of times a year by Southern Nevadans.

The agency reported 260 coyote sightings in 2020, 341 coyote sightings in 2021 and 316 coyote sightings in 2022 in the southern half of the state. It’s not uncommon to see a coyote in a neighborhood or even near more urban areas of the Las Vegas Valley. In late February, for instance, a coyote was spotted trotting on the campus of UNLV.

While most sightings are harmless, the agency says it’s important for Southern Nevadans to actively discourage coyote presence in human neighborhoods to prevent potential attacks on people and pets.

“Coyote attacks on humans are rare,” said Claire Clarke, urban wildlife education coordinator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. “They usually involve cases where people are hand-feeding coyotes or when coyotes attack a dog, and the dog owner intervenes.”

Coyotes have slim builds, pointed ears, a slender muzzle and a drooping bushy tail. Clarke notes the coyote can be identified by its distinctive black tip on its tail. If you encounter a coyote, keep your distance but try to scare the animal away, she advised.

“Their natural instinct is to be afraid of humans,” Clarke said. “But situationally, they can become habituated to the presence of humans. Something we can change is reinstating that fear in them.”

Here are some tips, courtesy of the Nevada Department of Wildlife:

If you see a coyote

— Don’t retreat. Stand your ground. but give the coyote room to escape.

— Try to scare the animal away. Make yourself appear large and be loud, with your voice or a noise-making device such as an airhorn or whistle.

— Throw objects at the coyote until they retreat.

— If the animal poses a significant safety risk, contact the Nevada Department of Wildlife at 775-688-1500 or ndowinfo@ndow.org. But keep in mind, the agency won’t remove a coyote just because it is sighted in a neighborhood.

Keeping pets safe

— Keep small pets indoors or in an enclosed area outside.

— When your dog is outside, keep it leashed and under control.

— Don’t let your pets harass a coyote.

Deterring coyotes from coming to your neighborhood

— Coyotes are adaptive and go where the resources are, so remove things from your yard that might be tempting, including any food source, such as pet food or fallen fruit from trees.

— Add motion-activated lights, motion-activated sprinklers or “coyote rollers” — tubes that can be added to the top of a fence that will roll when a coyote tries to climb over them, keeping them from entering.

— Residents also should work with their neighbors to ensure they also take such measures to help ensure coyotes don’t just move to a different part of the neighborhood where no deterrents are in place.

Contact Justin Razavi at jrazavi@reviewjournal.com. Follow @justin_razavi on Twitter.