Biting the homeless hand

Did you hear about dog that got attacked by coyotes? The family that lost their cat? Did you hear about coyote who chased a child?

Coyote encounters that make the news are often the ones that affect, well, the people most likely to read that news. Those who see coyotes as animals that are coming into spaces that humans consider theirs, their yards, their neighborhoods. The arrival of the coyotes feels like an invasion, a violation of safety.

But there are people, many people, who did not have that safety in the first place. Who cannot keep their dogs and cats and children indoors. People whose encounters with wildlife are much more immediate. These people are living unhoused, and a new paper notes that their encounters with coyotes are likely to be more frequent, and much closer, than any of us probably want to get.

It’s another paper that reminds me of something I encountered so often when I was writing my book (required plug for my book, which you are under no obligation to read, but it would be nice if you got a copy and displayed it prominently in your home): The people who most frequently encounter the animals we reject, the pests, the rats, the coyotes, the pigeons and more, are also the people who society has failed and rejected. When people are living close to rats or coyotes, it’s because we as a society are not taking care of each other.

Living in a city, I see evidence of homelessness (some groups strongly prefer “people living unhoused” as more person-first language, but in my experience, if you talk with people, they will describe themselves as homeless) very frequently. There is one tent I pass almost every day. It’s in a good location, by public transit (with bathroom access! A huge plus), but tucked back into the trees of a wooded area, so it’s not visible to people walking by in most seasons. I’ve seen the people who live there, unobtrusively wandering off in the trees at the end of the work day.*

But I’ve also seen other creatures in the wooded area. I spotted the tent when it arrived, in fact, because I always look over there in the hopes of seeing deer or foxes, both of which I’ve seen in the dusk as I head to my own home.

I’ve never seen a coyote there. But I know we have them.

The scientists working on this paper, Sage Raymond and colleagues from the University of Alberta, have been tracking coyotes in the area of Edmonton for 15 years, and they’ve come to recognize three main issues that arise between unhoused people and coyotes.

Camping competition

People know a good spot when they see it—and it turns out coyotes do, too. People looking for spots to camp want private places, with cover, which around cities means finding green spaces with plenty of brush. Those are also areas that coyotes like. While tracking 120 coyotes to their dens, the researchers encountered 73 vacant encampments where humans had been living. Of those same coyote dens, five of them were actually dug into areas that humans had previously dug out and flattened to sleep on. One was even under an abandoned grocery cart. Humans also came and set up in areas where coyotes already were denning without realizing it, causing the coyotes to move their dens.

The more people and coyotes overlap, the more likely it is that a conflict will happen. A coyote may try to defend a den and pups. A human might catch one by surprise, or vice versa.

Food

Ah. Food. With animals and humans, always, always comes down to food. In some cases, people deliberately feed coyotes (something I have actually seen!), and the coyotes get used to it, and begin approaching people for food. You’ll see this most often with stories of coyote bites. Many people who get bitten by coyotes are bitten specifically on the hand—you know, where the food comes from.

But people who are unhoused are probably not deliberately feeding coyotes. Instead, they are stuck living in a place where they cannot secure their food. The researchers tracked coyotes to encampments and saw signs that the canids had been digging around in the food and other objects. Long association with human encampments and food makes coyotes bolder over time. Bold enough to go after good eating when they see it—even if the humans remain around.

Disease

Most of the time we might think of disease transfer from animals to humans in terms of bats, rats, or even things like rabies from raccoons (the vaccine for wildlife rabies is a story all its own). But there are many bacteria, viruses, and parasites that are not picky about their hosts. Most are spread via contact with things like feces.

Hygiene is a titanic struggle for homeless people. If they are lucky, they might have access to shelter bathrooms and showers, but many do not. Others struggling with severe medical challenges (mental or otherwise), can have real difficulty washing their hands, preparing clean food, and so on. The authors of this study are especially concerned with alveolar echinococcosis, a new and exciting (?) tapeworm that is rising up in Alberta. But this goes for many other diseases as well. Coyotes with the tapeworm were even more likely to be closer to human encampments, possibly due to their own stressed state.

The solution to this is not difficult to find. It’s making sure that no one is sleeping outside unless they actively choose to do it. Making sure everyone has access to housing where they can feel safe, where they can keep clean, where they can live with dignity. It’s a society that takes care of people, even those that are often the most difficult to care for.

As I read this paper, I thought of that tent. In the location they’ve chosen, they are probably relatively safe from rats (thank goodness). But I wonder if they wake up, night after night, hearing footfalls in the brush. Hearing the foxes scream, or the coyotes yip. But unlike when I hear them, there’s not a window and a wall in the way. There is only the flimsy fabric wall of a tent.

For those who choose that, who willingly camp for fun, that might provide a thrill. But these people, like many people, had no choice. They can’t pack up and go home when the coyotes come, or when the downpour begins, or the heat surges. It’s them, and the wildlife, together in the dark.

*Most people who are experiencing homelessness do have jobs. A 2021 study showed that 53% of people in shelters and 40% of people living unhoused had full or part-time jobs. And 78 percent of unhoused and 88 percent of people living in shelters have some sort of benefit, like SNAP. It’s just not enough to keep a safe roof over their heads. And of course, once you’re unhoused, it’s really hard to show up to work in clean clothes, looking well-slept and put together, the things that help people get jobs and stay employed.

References

• Raymond, S., Rose, J. and St Clair, C.C. (2026), Potential for conflict between urban coyotes and people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Front Ecol Environ e70053. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70053

• Bruce D. Meyer, Angela Wyse, Alexa Grunwaldt, Carla Medalia, and Derek Wu, "Learning about Homelessness Using Linked Survey and Administrative Data," NBER Working Paper 28861 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3386/w28861.

Where have I been?

• Comments recently closed on a rule from the Office of Management and Budget that could completely destroy scientific research in this country. In fact, it could destroy so much more, as it applies to any federal grants. I wrote about the issue for The Verge.

• You’ve probably heard about the algae in the Reflecting Pool, which ended with it being drained. But what causes algae to explode across a pool…and then die off? Scientists have a clue. Sadly it’s too late for the Reflecting Pool. (I got to make a video for this one!)

• You might know that there’s a bat that can snatch birds out of the air for a snack. Well, if you didn’t know, Jan Brueghel the Elder did and put it in a painting. 400 years before scientists knew about it!

• I didn’t make this, but I had to share: A student made a lovely documentary video (in Spanish), about pigeons, inspired by my book! She emailed me about it, and while I don’t speak any Spanish, I picked up a bit, and I think it’s lovely!

What have I been reading?

• About the end of reading. As I note here, people are reading more words than ever…but are they?

• Another great article on the proposed OMB rule that I wrote about, about what happens when you put politics in charge of science. Let’s just say, the USSR tried. It did not go well.

• I’m honestly obsessed with this game: It’s art from the Met, and you have to select the area it’s from and the time period. I’m very, VERY bad at it, but I love it so much. I learn something new every day!

• Whale moms sometimes float upside down, and while the scientists speculate maybe they are cooling themselves or something…I think these new moms are just touched out and want FIVE MINUTES OF EFFING PEACE.

• There’s an adorable new walking shark and you can watch him strut across the seafloor.

• People are betting on wildfires. Literally they are betting on them and while i know that gambling is a form of addiction, I feel safe saying that the ability to bet on death and destruction? That is evil.

Header image by by fr0ggy5 on Unsplash