Coexist with coyotes

#MiddleburyCT #Coyotes

A coyote demonstrates its good balance as it perches on boards in a Middlebury backyard last September. Note the long, pointed muzzle and wide pointed ears, long legs, and bushy tail carried low. The grizzled tawny fur is common. (Janine Sullivan-Wiley photo)

By JANINE SULLIVAN-WILEY

Coyotes – some despise them and others fear them. This writer finds them fascinating creatures and enjoys seeing them in our lower yard during the day and on our game camera as they pass through at night. Backyards in Middlebury can be busy places at night; in the last month the camera caught coyote, red fox, deer, rabbit, bobcat, and, of course, squirrels.

Wildlife Outreach Specialist Dana Goin of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, N.Y., spoke about coyotes in a February talk sponsored by the Middlebury Land Trust. Her presentation and the information shared by Connecticut’s DEEP provide a wealth of information about this clever omnivore in our midst, and this column shares some of it.

Coyotes are noteworthy for many things: they are monogamous, with mated pairs staying together for life. They are devoted parents who share pup-care duties. Connecticut coyotes breed between January and March, and their pups – usually 4-6 per litter – are born April to mid-May. They are cared for through the summer, after which they may set out on their own. Goin said the previous year’s pups sometimes assist the parents with the current litter. Those fuzzy balls are ready to begin foraging and hunting with the adults when they are only 12-13 weeks old.

Breeding and pup-raising times are especially relevant for us, our pets and livestock because coyotes take their parenting responsibilities seriously and are strongly territorial. This means we need to take care our pets do not provoke coyotes and are not put in harm’s way by choices we make. Dens can be quite near a trail, and an unleashed dog could easily wander too close and incur the protective wrath of the parents.

Then there is the matter of feeding hungry pups or a hungry mom. While coyote diets consist primarily of small mammals like mice and rabbits, a small unsupervised pet in a yard could look like a good food source. And if a cat is wandering outside at night hunting for mice and birds, it could end up on the menu for a hungry coyote or bobcat. It’s extremely important to keep watch over our pets.

It’s also important to make coyotes feel uncomfortable around our homes by using hazing techniques if they wander nearby. These include making loud noises (shouting, using an air horn, or banging pots and pans) and acting aggressively (e.g., waving your arms, throwing sticks, spraying with a garden hose).

Goin explained a couple of myths about coyotes. One is that they “lure” dogs into the woods, then kill them. She said what may actually happen is a dog follows a coyote into the woods. That coyote might have been OK with your dog, but the rest of their family will view the dog as a threat. Another myth is that those yips and howls that sound like a huge group are coyotes celebrating a kill. More often, it is only two or three coyotes who just sound like more, and the vocalizations are most likely part of a “Hi, how are you? Good to see you!!” routine.

Coyotes in the northeast are a subspecies of the western ones. Ours are larger (western are generally 20-30 pounds and ours are up to 50 pounds) and have more varied colors, including reddish, brown, charcoal gray or even blonde. These are a result of coyotes interbreeding with wolves as they made their way east over the last century. Goin, citing research by Javier Monzón, said the eastern coyote’s genome is about 64% coyote (Canis latrans), 13% gray wolf (Canis lupus), 13% Eastern wolf (Canis lycaon), and 10% dog (Canis familiaris). Unfortunately, dog-coyote hybrids don’t do as well as full-bred ones because coyotes count on their mate to help raise the pups and a dog who mates with a coyote simply goes home.

The coyote might have been attracted in the first place by food near our homes – a really bad practice given all the wildlife we have here. No wild animal should ever become comfortable (habituated) around humans because we purposely or accidentally fed them.

We and our domestic animals can coexist with coyotes. It just takes a bit of common sense and care on our part.

Meanwhile, happy hiking! Contact this writer at jswspotlight@gmail.com. You can visit the Middlebury Land Trust on Facebook or the website at middleburylandtrust.org.