If you’re interested in knowing more about our local wildlife, take a look at the work of the Seattle Urban Carnivore Project. It’s a joint project between Seattle University and Woodland Park Zoo. The Project is led by Professor Mark Jordan, PhD, and uses trail cameras in parks and citizen sightings to gather data.
The Project limits itself to studying a short list of carnivores: black bear, cougar/mountain lion, coyote, bobcat, red fox, river otter, opossum, and raccoon. Its aim is to better understand how urban wildlife interacts and coexists with people in Seattle. Besides collecting data on numbers and types of animals, the Project is collaborating with the University of Washington to examine what local coyotes eat. Using genetic analysis, coyote scat is analyzed to understand type of prey and its availability in the coyote’s ecosystem.
SUCP began collecting data in 2019, and has issued two reports. Coyotes represented 50% of the wildlife observed in 2020-2021, with raccoons second at 23% of the total. Somewhat surprisingly, river otters were third at 9.7% of all sightings. Each year’s report adds value to the project, but scientists are somewhat constrained by the public’s inability to positively identify some species.
Citizens can report their wildlife observations via the “Carnivore Spotter” link. You can also volunteer with the project - see link below for details.