The Discovery Channel Comes to Glencoe

By Jocelyn Geboy in Miscellaneous on Aug 24, 2005 8:42PM

The food chain. Chicagoist learned about it way back in the 3rd grade. The delicate balance of systems in nature whereby species are hierarchical and feed off one another. The higher up on the food chain an animal is, the more selection of delicious treats they have to choose from. However, it also was pointed out to the 3rd grade Chicagoist that if something changes in the lower levels of the food chain (e.g., a species gets wiped out, weather conditions go bad), every other level is affected.

Earlier this year, the food chain was in the news when some trigger happy Wisconsinites wanted to bypass the natural order of the food chain in favor of manually thinning the free-range feral cat herd, claiming that the cats were killing too many songbirds. However, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle was not going to have his name on a cat hunting bill.

The cats have been spared. Until now. It seems that with the drought conditions Illinois has faced this summer, the suburban coyote population has found itself in somewhat of a bind for things to eat, and has started sniffing around Glencoe homes in broad daylight looking for snacks. Apparently, they’ve found what they’re looking for. Six domestic housecats have been killed in the last month.

A Glencoe au pair reported a coyote showing her absolutely no fear as she was in the backyard with the kids and the family dog. Fearing for their safety, she opted to take them back in the house and away from “Mr. Coyote.”

According to experts, coyotes are normally nocturnal and attacks on people are extremely rare. As an extra precaution, wildlife authorities are asking people to keep their garbage secure and not to feed wild animals. And while their natural sources of food are scarce, people are keeping their eyes on their cats (and dogs).