‘Coyotes’ on the Backs

When Trinity’s gardeners installed plastic coyotes on the lawns behind the Wren Library, passers-by asked if they were part of an art installation.

In fact, the new arrivals are intended to deter geese from Trinity’s lawns and paddocks, where their excrement poses health and slip hazards.

So far, says Head Gardener Tom Hooijenga, the coyotes seem to be having the desired effect.

We have not seen geese back on Scholars’ or Brewhouse Lawns since their arrival. And with two more coyotes on St John’s College lawns, they are making an effective ‘pack’, with both sides of the Cam ‘patrolled.’

The Trinity coyotes are part of the College’s non-harmful measures to deter geese from the grounds. Other techniques include vibrating plastic lines close to the water’s edge and, later in Spring, the oiling of geese eggs in any nests found on College grounds.

Tom Hooijenga said that each morning the coyotes were placed in a different location on the Backs.

We are working in concert with neighbouring Colleges to deter the geese. The ultimate aim is to encourage the geese to find pastures new and so far this approach seems to be working.

Photographs © Graham CopeKoga