Joe and I drove to Chicago last Friday to visit our younger daughter Lisa and her delightful husband, Peter. But now, at 4:30 a.m. on a calm Sunday morning, we decided to head back home early to avoid an advancing cold front packing rain and wind.
Half way through the silent, darkened downtown Joe suddenly slowed the car to a crawl, and said in a shocked tone- “Look at that!” There, smack in the middle of downtown Chicago, we beheld a coyote family gamboling in the deserted six-lane street! Overhead street lamps bathed the animals in pale white light, making them appear insubstantial and delicate. They ignored our car, and didn’t seem to mind being observed. They knew not to sing, but played quietly, with loose abandon. Adults and juveniles appeared healthy and well fed. Their coats were thick and lush.
Fascinated, we watched for a while, wondering how this could be. But then I remembered something I’d read while living in England in 2010.
There are roughly 10,000 foxes residing in central London. (That year, in deep winter, the queen deferred to one shivering beast when both wished to enter Westminster Cathedral at the same time. Reynard slipped past her silently, wandered about inside for a bit, then sat near the big interior heaters, toasting, before eventually exiting the vast church without fuss to vanish like a wraith into the snowy evening. Elizabeth was amused, and, of course, unruffled.)
Foxes occasionally cruise my alley very late at night. So, why should I find the idea of coyotes living in a huge Midwestern city’s midsection an alien thing? After all, the vast American prairie, full of coyotes, is practically next door.
In 2000, scientists began to tag and study Chicago’s established coyote population, and are beginning to appreciate how much these illusive animals inadvertently benefit humans.
They now estimate there are about 2300 animals living in its metropolitan area. Rats and mice provide endless protein: coyote hunting skills certainly contribute to the health of this sprawling city. Yet there is rarely evidence that they intimately share our urban environment.
Fascinating facts:
-Coyotes, unlike dogs, mate for life. Pups are always genetically matched to the same parents.
-The exploding population of Canadian geese, once a worrisome thing, is now being managed naturally, because coyotes feast on their eggs.
-Stray cats and even small dogs can fall prey to these opportunistic animals, but reported incidences are rare. There are just too many rats and mice out there to go to the trouble of stalking domestic animals.
-Families hunt together, and spice their diets with discarded pizza and other human food tossed into uncovered receptacles. Chicagoans have learned to seal their garbage cans to avoid an awful mess. They, too, are adapting.
-These animals have no predators to worry about, save humans.
-City coyotes live longer than their country cousins, primarily because cities offer an endless food supply. (Prairie prey- mice and rabbits- can be tough to hunt in winter, as they live underground with stored food, while coyotes are challenged by featureless plains and huge, drifting snows.
With endless fresh water at hand as well, Chicago is coyote paradise.
I love to savor the realization that coyotes are all around Chicagoans, but flit, like ghosts, around the edges of their awareness.
Suddenly, responding to some invisible signal, this family melted into the darkness.
We felt lucky to have witnessed wildlife living so comfortably- and invisibly- amid Chicago’s giant steel canyons.
Who knew?