Do deer attract other wildlife (like coyotes) to my yard?

There are two reasons that people are often concerned that deer in their yards might attract other animals - the presence of deer feces and the presence of deer themselves as a prey animal. While both situations are possible, neither is likely.

Many people are concerned about the possibility of deer feces attracting rats to their yards. There is little information about whether or not rats regularly eat feces. However, they are known to be attracted to other food sources common in yards, such as bird seed, pet food, or human food waste (in trash bins). Limiting these food attractants is the best way to reduce the presence of rodents in your yard.

Another major concern expressed by residents is the possibility that the presence of deer may attract predators to your yard. White-tailed deer in suburban areas in the eastern United States have few predators, including black bear, bobcats, and coyotes. Of these, only coyotes are present in West Seneca. However, coyotes are unlikely to be strongly attracted to suburban yards by the presence of deer in most cases.

In the spring, coyotes may be important predators of fawns. Studies have shown coyotes causing fawn mortality as high as 50% in some places, and as low as 9% in others (Forrester, 2015) - meaning that in some places, fawns may be a major food source for these animals. A study conducted in southeastern New York indicated that deer and rodents were the primary prey of coyotes in all seasons, but that coyotes were also eating human-supplied food sources, such as trash (Peterson et al., 2021). Coyote predation in the spring and summer likely focuses on fawns, with adults more likely to be taken in winter when deep snow is present. Coyotes appear to feed opportunistically (they take what they can easily find). Because of this, the majority of adult deer present in the coyote diet are likely scavenged from roadkill or other sources of deer mortality (Crimmins et al., 2012).

So, we know coyotes eat deer, but are they likely to come to your yard for them? Studies of coyotes in suburban landscapes indicate they tend to select land that is agricultural or forested over areas used for housing or commerce (Mitchell et al., 2015), and that coyotes tend to remain farther from urban centers, and away from areas with high road and housing density and frequent visitation by humans and dogs (Magle et al., 2014). This shows that overall, they seem to try to avoid people. However, coyotes may be attracted to human-dominated areas by supplemental food sources. For example, a study in southern California found that coyotes were common at managed feral cat colonies due the abundant food source available (Bucklin et al., 2020). A study of Eastern Coyotes in Chicago found that high levels of human-associated food items were only found in the diet of coyotes in heavily developed areas where natural food sources may have been less available (Morey et al., 2007). This tells us that although coyotes will sometimes eat human trash (and sometimes even small pets), they prefer to stay away from people if they have other food options.

The behavior of the deer themselves also supports the idea that coyotes try to avoid human dwellings. Many people in suburban areas report the birth of fawns in their yards. One likely explanation for this is something called the "human shield effect." This is the idea that because many large carnivores actively avoid humans, prey species may use these spaces to provide a safe refuge (Berger, 2007). Recent research indicates that adult female deer may select summer home ranges closer to roads to avoid predation. However vehicle collisions offset the effectiveness of this strategy (Kautz et al., 2022).

So what does this all mean? In short, although coyotes may approach human-inhabited land in search of fawns or even adult deer in winter, this is most likely to occur on agricultural land or areas bordered by dense woodlands. Coyotes tend to avoid areas with high levels of human activity unless drawn by other food sources and low food availability in more natural habitat areas. They are likely to avoid busy suburban yards even if deer are regularly present.

References:

Berger, J. 2007. Fear, human shields and the redistribution of prey and predators in protected areas. Biology Letters 3(6): 620-623. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2391231/

Bucklin, D.M., J.M. Shedden, N.M. Quinn, R. Cummings, and P. Stapp. 2020. Are TNR Practices Contributing to Human-Coyote Conflicts in Southern California? Proceedings,29th Vertebrate Pest Conference, Paper No. 18. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6873n1fw

Crimmins, S.M., J.W. Edwards, and J.M. Houben. 2012. Canis latrans (Coyote) Habitat Use and Feeding Habits in Central West Virginia. Northeastern Naturalist 19(3): 411-420. https://bioone.org/journals/northeastern-naturalist/volume-19/issue-3/045.019.0304/Canis-latrans-Coyote-Habitat-Use-and-Feeding-Habits-in-Central/10.1656/045.019.0304.full

Forrester, T., 2015. Do Coyotes Cause Deer Declines? Accessed at https://emammal.si.edu/okaloosa-science-home-page/blog/do-coyotes-cause-deer-declines

Kautz, T.M., N.L. Fowler, T.R. Petroelje, J.F. Duquette, D.E. Beyer, and J.L. Belant. 2022. Compensatory human and predator risk trade-offs in neonatal white-tailed deer. Global Ecology and Conservation e02089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02089

Magle, S.B., L.S. Simoni, E.W. Lehrer, and J.S. Brown. 2014. Urban predator-prey association: coyote and deer distributions in the Chicago metropolitan area. Urban Ecosystems 17(4): 875-891. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-014-0389-5

Mitchell, N., M.W. Strohbach, R. Pratt, W.C. Finn, and E.G. Strauss. 2015. Space use by resident and transient coyotes in an urban–rural landscape mosaic. Wildlife Research 42(6): 461-469. https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/wr15020

Morey, P.S., E.M. Gese, and S. Gehrt. 2007. Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Diet of Coyotes in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The American Midland Naturalist 158(1): 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031(2007)158[147:SATVIT]2.0.CO;2

Peterson, M., M. Baglieri, K. Mahon, R.J. Sarno, L. Ries, P. Burman, and M.M. Grigione. 2021. The diet of coyotes and red foxes in Southern New York. Urban Ecosystems 24: 1-10. https://www.proquest.com/docview/2478662452?fromopenview=true&pq-origsite=gscholar