KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
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Daniel Barnard said he's lived on the same block in Kansas City's West Plaza neighborhood for most of his life and for the first time experienced a coyote sighting.
Around early March, Barnard's home security camera caught two coyotes. A few weeks later, the security camera captured another coyote sighting.
Barnard said he expected to maybe capture a burglar on his camera, not coyotes.
"We’ve got raccoons, possums, squirrels, birds, all of those things," Barnard said. "I just kind of dismissed that, but when I saw a coyote for the first time, I just thought, ‘Man, I didn’t know those are in the neighborhood.’”
At first, he thought the animals were possibly stray dogs.
“I contacted the Missouri Department of Conservation, and they indicated that, yes, those were coyotes but not to be too concerned about them," Barnard said.
The Missouri Department of Conservation told Barnard that coyotes are becoming increasingly common in neighborhoods like the West Plaza.
Barnard said West Plaza is home to many dog owners, and he reached out to KSHB 41 News because he wants his neighbors to be aware.
On April 30, the Mission Police Department said an officer spotted a coyote running through residential yards. The department told residents to take precautions such as keeping a close eye on pets while they're outside, avoiding leaving small animals unattended, and securing trash and food sources that might attract wildlife.
Deputy Larry Shoop is an animal control officer with the Johnson County Sheriff's Office. He said coyotes are common throughout the county, but residents in rural and urban areas respond differently to sightings.
“They will try to be outside the cities if they can," Shoop said. "They don’t want to be around people, but unfortunately, with new subdivisions and new buildings, they will come into the cities.”
Shoop says coyotes are mostly active at night.
"So, if you have your dogs out at night, I would make sure it’s a lighted backyard or try to watch them at night, bring them in," Shoop said.
Shoop said making loud noises can also chase coyotes away.
He said coyotes are not typically a threat to larger dogs, but smaller dogs can be seen as competition for food sources, and coyotes can target them.
“This is very densely populated, this whole area," Barnard said of West Plaza. "There’s a lot of people, and people have small dogs. They might have other pets they leave out at night. People need to be aware that these (coyotes) are actually in the neighborhood."
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