Among Newtown’s Many New Families: Coyotes

By Dottie Evans

“Today, coyotes are part of our modern world, and understanding who they are and how they live will help us understand the complicated fabric we call Nature. We will be sharing our neighborhoods with coyotes…well into the future.”

––Peter Trull, biologist and author, Cape Cod, Mass.

 

Maegan Wood first became aware of a coyote in her neighborhood two weeks ago when Bailey, her 1-year-old beagle puppy, started “barking like crazy” one evening as the two of them strolled around the lawn.

“She crouched right down, I swooped her up, took her inside, and then went back out with a flashlight. There was this coyote on the hill just looking at me,” Ms Wood said.

So she made a mental note to keep her outside cat, Max, in the house (much against his wishes) and not to leave her two small dogs, Bailey and Murphy the cocker spaniel, outside unattended.

Ms Wood also set up a telephone tree so that homeowners living nearby were alerted of the fact that a coyote was using their quiet neighborhood for its personal territory.

“Small animals, pets, or even very small children might be in danger. I want to get the word out that he is there,” Ms Wood said Monday.

It turned out that others had observed the coyote as well.

Ken and Cathy Hugo live across the street. They have two cats and Mr Hugo had seen the coyote around 3:15 pm when he was putting out his garbage. Mrs Hugo had seen it walking across her front lawn.

“The cat was on the deck he made a beeline for it. So I opened door and scared it way. My cats do go out sometimes. I keep a closer eye on them now. It’s wildlife and I guess you have to live with it,” she added. She wondered if the liquid coyote urine the family sprayed around the garden to keep away the deer had attracted it, and whether other neighbors had noticed the animal. Like Mrs Hawks across the road, who also used coyote urine to discourage deer.

Mildred Hawks said Wednesday, “I grew up in this area and I never saw a coyote in my life. But habitats are changing. Now there are deer all over the place. And a couple of years ago my neighbor saw a coyote grab a chicken and run through her yard.”

Like the other Jeremiah Road residents, Mrs Hawks had also seen the animal within the last two weeks and she, too, owns a couple of cats.

“I saw him face to face and he seemed frightened. He ran down into the woods. I’m afraid for the cats. He looks like a stray dog, but he’s more brazen.”

Deanna Young and Mark Belanger have been cleaning and clearing up the property they moved into last November, sprucing up the old barnyard, turning over the soil, and taking down some outbuildings. This has meant a lot of time spent outdoors. They, too, had observed the coyote sitting on the top of a wooded hillside looking at their black lab, Stewart.

“He’s 78 pounds so we know he’s not in danger. They just stare at each other across the distance,” Ms Young said, adding, “we’ve only seen him the last two weeks.”

Recently the coyote had come within eight feet of her husband and she thought perhaps he was looking for food. They might have scared up a bunch of mice while clearing out the underbrush and she knew coyotes eat rodents.

Then late Wednesday afternoon, all was made clear.

There was a very good reason why this wild animal had been seen in the neighborhood. She was a mother coyote coming and going from her den nearby, and there were five pups that were about three weeks old.

“I don’t want anything to happen to them. We’d seen all the trails in the woods. Now we know where they were leading,” said Ms Wood.

Now all the Jeremiah Road neighbors have something new to talk about. They are amazed that a coyote would feel comfortable making a den so close to their homes, and while they are very curious about what will happen to the pups, they are also worried about their own pets.

Mr Belanger was able to see one coyote pup up close when it emerged briefly from its den. At first, he thought it was a squirrel but “it was fluffy and wolfish.”

His wife wondered if the female knew that the den had been discovered.

“She must be watching us right now from nearby. I don’t want to hurt this animal, but I want to be sure she doesn’t do any harm.”

Just like the coyote, the neighborhood is watching and waiting.

Maybe Too Close            For Comfort?

A call to wildlife biologist Jenny Dickson of the State Department of Environmental Protection Wildlife Division late Thursday morning provided some useful tips for the neighbors.

“Having a coyote den in a neighborhood is not unusual these days, because coyotes have learned to live in fairly close association to humans. Generally, they tend to go about their business.

“In the short term, the female will move off with her young once they’re more mobile, perhaps in about eight weeks. As long as she’s not bothering people, it sounds like she’s behaving perfectly normal for a mother coyote.

“I recommend keeping cats indoors at night. Don’t leave pet food outside, and don’t provide an incentive, like garbage, for them to stay around. If anything changes, residents should call us and our conservation officers will follow up.”

The DEP phone number is 860-675-8130.