The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning that rodents are becoming increasingly aggressive as they scavenge for food:
In an advisory posted to its website, the health agency noted that rodents rely on food and waste generated at commercial establishments such as restaurants. Closures and limits on service have caused rodents to search for new sources of food and to exhibit more erratic behavior.
I have a dog and a rabbit to eat all my scraps, leaving nothing for rats. If city-dwellers were more careful to separate food waste from other trash and dispose of it properly, they would have no rats, and their streets would not reek of rotting garbage.
Coyotes also rely on restaurant scraps as well as rats and other small animals. And there are a great many coyotes living in our cities, downtown even. Stanley Gehrt, Professor in the School of the Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State, estimates that Chicago is home to about 2,000 coyotes. Before the lockdowns, cities were much better habitats for coyotes than the countryside.
Coyotes can be quite aggressive, and they are big enough to pose a mortal threat to people. There might be a spate of attacks on humans coming soon.