Cedar Park warns of increasing coyote sightings

CEDAR PARK, Texas - Cedar Park Animal Control is warning residents that coyote sightings are skyrocketing.

There's no telling how many coyotes roam Cedar Park, but many are being spotted along Buttercup Creek and Bell Blvd.

Before Omar Alzer starts work every night at his restaurant, Alzer’s Barbeque, off Bell Blvd. and Cypress Creek, he looks for coyotes.

"We got the pits, and we brisket cooking overnight all the time, so you never know if one of them would be snoopin' around if I'm here or even if one of my parents are here checking, on the restaurant late at night," said Alzer. "It kinda worries me a little bit with the coyotes around, but I mean it’s just something we’ve got to take precautionary measures for."

That’s why he always keeps a golf club nearby.

"If I ever do see one, I always just end up taking one just in case," said Alzer. "It’s never gotten to the point where it’s gotten to the point, but I always have the golf clubs with me just in case."

He’s certainly not the only one seeing these coyotes.

Cedar Park’s Animal Control received about 10–20 calls regarding coyotes in the last week. That's compared to the normal 1-2 a month.

"It used to be every once in a while, now it kind of became more of like a weekly thing, I see them around here," said Alzer.

Cedar Park’s Animal Control Supervisor Daryann Medvec said they haven’t had any reports of aggression. They’re sickly looking, likely with mange, a skin disease caused by mites that create hair loss.

"Once we can get treatment, we’ll be less likely to see them out of the greenbelt," said Medvec. "A big part of the reason that they’re out of the green belt is because they’re cold."

While they’re in search of sunshine, trapping is a no-go.

"When we remove a coyote from that group, the entire group notices that part of the family unit is missing, so they reproduce faster to fill that gap," said Medvec.

The best thing Medvec said people can do is haze them.

"Coyotes can be stubborn, and it can occasionally take more than one time to haze them out, but we recommend yelling. You can also spray them with a hose from a distance. Some agencies and other external organizations recommend water guns, the really big ones, that can be effective and have longer range," said Medvec. "Coyotes don’t really have the ability to understand that you’re shooting them with water and rather feel that you have a really, really long arm."

While they may not be trapping them, animal control still wants residents to report the coyotes, so that they can keep track of the population.

It’s also the time of year for pups to venture out of their pack.