Interesting article on the Western coyote, here in the East.

A local guide wrote this article for my local paper. Very informative overview of the origin of our Eastern Coyote, including its modern status, habits, and future.

http://www.saratogian.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15858085&BRD=1169&PAG=461&dept_id=17708&rfi=8

Coyotes

I just took a quick look, and will read the whole thing when I have more time-looks like a well-written piece. I have yet to see a coyote in the backcountry, but I've seen plenty of scat in the Shawangunks, and I think I may have seen one right near my house last winter-could have just been a real mangy dog though.

I had a nice night last summer at Beaver Meadow leanto in the western Catskills. I fell asleep to the coyotes yipping up on Millbrook Ridge. They started almost exactly as night fell-it was like they punched the timeclock at 9 PM or something. They also had an interesting rhythmic figure going. For musicians, it was a quarter note followed by two triplets, as I recall. Wish I taped it.

Matt

mcorsar said:

I have yet to see a coyote in the backcountry, but I've seen plenty of scat in the Shawangunks, and I think I may have seen one right near my house last winter-could have just been a real mangy dog though.

Click to expand...

I saw what was probably a coyote ~1/4mi west of Route 9N near the middle of Lake George, NY. In broad daylight--it just sauntered across a trail 100 ft in front of me. It didn't even bother to look my way.

Not really backcountry--there were homes not far away (closer to Rte 9N).

Doug

I saw a coyote in CT several years ago in West Hartford near the reservoir. Caught on the road in the daytime between the 8 foot fences on both sides of the road it was panicking. It finally got over the fence in a very impressive bounding maneuver. I have also seen plenty of coyote scat in the Bigelow hollow area of CT for years now. We also have plenty of missing small dogs and cats in many areas of CT also.

Keith

I think I see more wildlife in our backyard then in the backcountry. On several occasions we've been woken up in the middle of the night by a howling coyote and twice have seen a coyote near our house. I didn't realize there was an Eastern and Western coyote. Thanks for sharing the link!

Other than avoiding their scat, which they do tend to deposit RIGHT in the middle of the trail, coyotes represent only a little danger to us, much more to pets. They can carry (rarely) rabies and (more often) sarcoptic mange. A "mangy" looking, disoriented or aggressive animal should be reported. They were primarily nocturnal, so seeing one during the day used to be a sign it was hungry or sick. More recently they've become so accustomed to us and experience so little hunting pressure, that day time sightings of healthy animals are common. I had one run across a path, 10' from me, with something in it's mouth at a golf course in Scituate MA. I've seen them run through my yard at night. One glanced at me from the side of the road, hunting something under the snow, totally unconcerned, as I drove past beeping my horn at it. Hikers and hunters with dogs have experienced being tracked by one or more coyote. I've also heard stories where one coyote will bait a dog into chasing it into the woods, where the pet is ambushed by several more from the pack.
Most state's hunting reg's have about an 11 month season with no limits on coyote, which indicates an excess population of a basically undesirable animal. The article linked below indicates "some good" the coyotes are doing by helping control geese populations in Chicago. They raid the nests and eat the eggs. I suppose that's fine if you don't like geese, but I doubt coyote are terribly selective regarding whose nests they're raiding.

This is an article about urban coyote populations.

I've seen several this past year in the ADK area. One near the ski jump in Lake Placid, one crossing I-87, etc. I saw what I assume were coyote tracks near the summit of Whiteface a few days ago, since there were no other canine tracks on the trails till near the summit.

coyote

My last encounter with a coyote was also in the West Hartford (CT) Reservoir where we met on opposite sides of a dike near dusk. She was quite large and pretty old as I could see a large tumor on her belly. She was sitting quiety in heavy undergrowth not 30 feet from a trail. We watched each other ( I had binoculars) as hikers, oblivious to her, walked past. It was a great experience. The article seems right on the mark as I have noticed the change in size of these animals over the years. It is nice to see some wildlife doing well. Things can't be too bad when a species at the top of the food chain is thriving.