This petition requests your signature to help show the Wild Dunes Community Association and the Isle of Palms City Council that a significant portion of the population seeks aggressive IOP & WDCA action to significantly and humanely reduce the growing Coyote population.

The rapid growth and increased aggressiveness of Coyotes on the island has already begun to force a change of behavior when residents, guests and vacationers venture out to freely explore, with pets and children, our wonderful home in Isle of Palms.

Please consider:

• Coyotes were illegally brought into SC by hunters
• Since they are not indigenous, there are no natural predators to control the population
• Coyotes have killed many deer and several pets
• Coyotes have been declared pests by the SC Dept of Natural Resources and the DNR now has a program in place to reward citizens for eradicating coyotes
• Coyotes have a gestation period of 67 days and have 6 to 8 pups per litter - providing for rapid population growth
• Our coyote population is growing rapidly and they are becoming more aggressive and comfortable around humans and pets. On the scale below, Wild Dunes is currently at Step 5.
• Coyotes on IOP are growing larger - up to 55 lbs - and have formed 7 large packs roaming the island.

7 Steps Of Coyote Aggression

We often get asked by land owners and municipalities, when should a coyote be removed. The 7 Steps of Aggression, developed by researchers in California provides a definitive answer to that question. The 7 Steps are:

#1…An increase in observing coyotes on streets and in yards at night

#2…An increase in coyotes approaching adults/ or taking pets at night

#3…Early morning or late afternoon daylight observance of coyotes on streets and in parks and yards

#4…Daylight observance of coyotes chasing or taking pets

#5…Coyotes attacking or taking pets on leash or in close proximity to their owners: coyotes chasing Joggers, Bicyclist, and other adults

#6…Coyotes seen in and around children play areas, school grounds, and parks mid-day

#7…Coyotes acting aggressively towards adults mid-day

This progression of behaviors has been adopted for use in evaluating and deciding thresholds for management actions in jurisdictions across the country. Typically most management entities consider taking some sort of action to remove the offending coyote(s) or otherwise reduce the risk to human safety once stages 4 or 5 are reached. It is our recommendation, based on our experience, that action be taken at stage 2 before the situation escalates.