Experts: Coyotes are here to stay
By Greg Clary
PLEASANTVILLE — Wildlife experts have a piece of advice for local residents encountering coyotes a little more often than they'd like — get used to it.
A panel of coyote experts put together by the Westchester County Parks Department laid out the history of the predator in the lower Hudson Valley, showed the data available about its present and were in agreement about its future.
"Coyotes are here to stay," said Kevin Clarke, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. "They breed really fast. The only strategy that has worked was shooting them with guns from helicopters. I don't think anyone around here wants that. Most of them are eating rabbits and deer — not all coyotes are bloodthirsty for poodles."(NOTE THAT COYOTES LIKE WOLVES BREED ONLY ONCE A YEAR IN FEBRUARY-MARCH AND HAVE ONE LITTER OF PUPS IN EARLY SPRING---WHAT THE BIOLOGIST MEANT TO SAY IS THAT WHEN PERSECUTED BY HUMANS, COYOTES WILL HAVE LARGER LITTERS OF PUPS(UP TO 12) TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPEN SPACE THAT HAS RESULTED FROM OTHER COYOTES BEING KILLED AND REMOVED FROM A GIVEN LOCALE..............MORE FOOD ON THE GROUND FOR MORE PUPS!--BLOGGER RICK
That fact may be a little hard for residents to swallow, especially in the Rye area, after coyotes scared that community by attacking children as well as adults. One coyote turned out to be rabid and decapitated one of its pups.(ALSO NOT VERIFIED AND HIGHLY UNLIKELY PER COYOTE BIOLOGISTS--BLOGGER RICK)
In the end, two of the animals were killed and the region's awareness was raised.
"We've had quite a few sightings," said Pat Coleman, Clarkstown's animal control officer. "I think it was created by the hoopla across the bridge. Because of what happened in Westchester, people got a little scared."
The experts say that's healthy, but the key is to keep the animals from getting too comfortable around humans.
"Their survival rate is very low," said Dan Bogan, who's been working on a study of coyotes in Westchester since 2005. "That may be good news for wildlife management."
The researcher trapped, radio-collared and released 41 coyotes as part of a five-year study by Cornell University and the state DEC to examine how coyotes and humans co-exist in the suburbs.Only five positively survived. All together, 15 died —mostly from vehicle strikes, bullet wounds and rat poison — while four left the area and 17 went missing.
They also aren't breeding fast in this area. Females, Bogan said, can bear pups as young as a year, but locally they're not having families until they're 4 or 5 years old.----NOT THE NORM UNLESS ALL AVAILABLE HABITAT ALREADY OCCUPIED BY OTHER COYOTES
"Coyotes are here to stay," said Kevin Clarke, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. "They breed really fast. The only strategy that has worked was shooting them with guns from helicopters. I don't think anyone around here wants that. Most of them are eating rabbits and deer — not all coyotes are bloodthirsty for poodles."(NOTE THAT COYOTES LIKE WOLVES BREED ONLY ONCE A YEAR IN FEBRUARY-MARCH AND HAVE ONE LITTER OF PUPS IN EARLY SPRING---WHAT THE BIOLOGIST MEANT TO SAY IS THAT WHEN PERSECUTED BY HUMANS, COYOTES WILL HAVE LARGER LITTERS OF PUPS(UP TO 12) TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE OPEN SPACE THAT HAS RESULTED FROM OTHER COYOTES BEING KILLED AND REMOVED FROM A GIVEN LOCALE..............MORE FOOD ON THE GROUND FOR MORE PUPS!--BLOGGER RICK
That fact may be a little hard for residents to swallow, especially in the Rye area, after coyotes scared that community by attacking children as well as adults. One coyote turned out to be rabid and decapitated one of its pups.(ALSO NOT VERIFIED AND HIGHLY UNLIKELY PER COYOTE BIOLOGISTS--BLOGGER RICK)
In the end, two of the animals were killed and the region's awareness was raised.
"We've had quite a few sightings," said Pat Coleman, Clarkstown's animal control officer. "I think it was created by the hoopla across the bridge. Because of what happened in Westchester, people got a little scared."
The experts say that's healthy, but the key is to keep the animals from getting too comfortable around humans.
"Their survival rate is very low," said Dan Bogan, who's been working on a study of coyotes in Westchester since 2005. "That may be good news for wildlife management."
The researcher trapped, radio-collared and released 41 coyotes as part of a five-year study by Cornell University and the state DEC to examine how coyotes and humans co-exist in the suburbs.Only five positively survived. All together, 15 died —mostly from vehicle strikes, bullet wounds and rat poison — while four left the area and 17 went missing.
They also aren't breeding fast in this area. Females, Bogan said, can bear pups as young as a year, but locally they're not having families until they're 4 or 5 years old.----NOT THE NORM UNLESS ALL AVAILABLE HABITAT ALREADY OCCUPIED BY OTHER COYOTES
The animals started migrating to New York from Canada in the 1940s, experts say, and now number about 30,000. They've made it as far as Central Park in Manhattan and John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, but census numbers in the Lower Hudson Valley are difficult to pinpoint.
Bogan said the plentiful whitetail deer in the region dominate the coyote diet. He should know; he's collected more than 500 feces samples during his study.
The experts also pointed out that the potential for rabies in the animals is not as great as people fear."Rabies is here; it's been documented all over the state," Clarke said. "Luckily, rabies is one of those diseases that maintains itself at fairly low levels. You don't usually see huge outbreaks because it burns itself out so quickly. Animals that get it, if they're not shot, are usually dead within a day or two."
Long term, the key is to make sure coyotes don't get too comfortable around humans.
"We do not kill things just because we don't like them," Clarke said. "Coyotes have intrinsic value."
Since the animals aren't going away, the experts said humans need to step up their efforts to keep the animals at bay.
"Opening your window and yelling 'Hey, get out of there' isn't going to work," Clarke said. "Open the door and take a step outside. Use pepper spray. Spray them with a hose. They're not going to come back later looking for you."
The experts also pointed out that the potential for rabies in the animals is not as great as people fear."Rabies is here; it's been documented all over the state," Clarke said. "Luckily, rabies is one of those diseases that maintains itself at fairly low levels. You don't usually see huge outbreaks because it burns itself out so quickly. Animals that get it, if they're not shot, are usually dead within a day or two."
Long term, the key is to make sure coyotes don't get too comfortable around humans.
"We do not kill things just because we don't like them," Clarke said. "Coyotes have intrinsic value."
Since the animals aren't going away, the experts said humans need to step up their efforts to keep the animals at bay.
"Opening your window and yelling 'Hey, get out of there' isn't going to work," Clarke said. "Open the door and take a step outside. Use pepper spray. Spray them with a hose. They're not going to come back later looking for you."
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