Lisle, IL – The Lisle Park District and Lisle Police Department have been made aware of recent coyote sightings in and around the parks and residential neighborhoods. As a reminder, coyotes are a part of our natural environment, and while they try to avoid human contact, they are more visible this time of year. In fact, spring is a time when many wild animals and birds in our parks are nesting and/or raising their young, and as a result may be more concerned with protecting their territories.

DuPage County provides a number of helpful tips involving coyotes and recommends the following:

• Always supervise your dog and keep it leashed – even in a fenced back yard.
• Always keep cats indoors.
• Coyotes can be creatures of habit, so if you see one at the same time and place while out and about with your pet or alone, change your route or timing.
• Complete program registration form and attach to application
• If you have a small dog and encounter a coyote, pick up your pet.

Unless coyotes associate people with negative experiences such as loud noises, they can become comfortable walking down streets and sidewalks, in parks or near schools, basking in yards or parks, and shortening the distance between themselves and humans.

You can help prevent problems by removing two main attractants: food and shelter. Feeding wild animals increases the potential of dangerous encounters for you and your pets and the well-being of the wild animal. If approached by a coyote, use hazing techniques such as making loud noises, yelling, and waving your arms.

Our local forest preserve districts and the Urban Coyote Research Project offer the following information to learn more about how to live with and avoid conflicts with local wildlife, specifically coyotes:

DuPage Forest: Coyotes & Foxes
Forest Preserve District Will County: How To Coexist with Coyotes
Urban Coyote Research Project: Coyote Attacks

The Lisle Park District provides a variety of leisure activities for people of all ages throughout the year. Park district facilities include Lisle Community Park, home to the all-inclusive Discovery Playground and Community Park Public Boat Launch; the Recreation Center, which houses Gentle Learning Preschool, SEASPAR, the Senior Center, and multipurpose rooms; the Community Center, which contains Community Park Fitness and studios for dance and group fitness classes; Sea Lion Aquatic Park; The Museums at Lisle Station Park; River Bend Golf Course and numerous neighborhood playgrounds and park amenities, such as tennis courts, pickleball courts, ball fields, soccer fields, walking paths and picnic areas totaling close to 400 acres. It is the mission of the Lisle Park District to enrich the quality of life for people of all ages by providing constructive and creative leisure opportunities. For more information about the Lisle Park District, visit lisleparkdistrict.org or call 630-964-3410.