Good to know that in one of our earliest colonial settled Northeast regions, The Hudson River Valley(extending from Albany NY south to Westchester County, adjacent to NYC), sound and prudent advice on how to co-exist with the Eastern Coyote(Coywolf) is being dispensed by many different authorities................In the article below, Dr. Paul Curtis of Cornell University, a biologist who has been studying Coyotes in the NY region for the past decade, has this advice and commentary for us about Man and Coyote coexistence-------"Out of 40 coyotes I had collared in Westchester County, only one got in trouble cavorting with dogs for about 2 weeks during the breeding season(Late Jan-March)"..................."I don’t think coyotes are becoming more aggressive"............. "However, in areas where they are not hunted or trapped (suburbia), they can habituate to the presence of people"................"Even in Westchester County, coyotes used primarily natural areas and ate a natural diet (deer, rodents, etc.)".............. "We rarely found garbage or other anthropogenic food sources in over 500 coyote scats we analyzed"............."More daytime sights of coyotes usually are an indication of potential habituation to people"........."Coyotes are very territorial and will kill small dogs in their home range if given the chance"............. "Coyotes rarely take house cats"................. "Again,out of more than 500 scats examined, only 3 contained hairs from house cats"......... "They stay away from cats for the most part, probably because cats have teeth and claws"......................"Remove any potential food attractants"............ "When walking small dogs, keep them nearby on a leash"......... "If a coyote does become aggressive, shout, yell, and throw sticks or rocks at it"..........................."Coyotes are here to stay and we have to learn to live with them"............... "Again,removing food attractants and minimizing habituation is the best we can do"............. "If a(specific individual) animal causes severe problems, have it removed by a Wildlife Control Operator"............ "Just killing coyotes randomly will have little impact on their numbers or potential conflicts(with humans)

The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York, from the cities of Albany and Troy southward to Yonkers in Westchester County

At the time of the arrival of the first Europeans in the 17th century, the area of Hudson Valley was inhabited primarily by the Algonquian-speaking Mahican and Munsee Native American people, known collectively as River Indians.

The first Dutch settlement was in the 1610s with the establishment of Fort Nassau, a trading post (factorij) south of modern-day Albany, with the purpose of exchanging European goods for beaver pelts. Fort Nassau was later replaced by Fort Orange. During the rest of the 17th century, the Hudson Valley formed the heart of the New Netherland colony operations, with the New Amsterdam settlement on Manhattan serving as a post for supplies and defense of the upriver operations.

During the French and Indian War in the 1750s, the northern end of the valley became the bulwark of the British defense against French invasion from Canada via Lake Champlain.

The valley became one of the major regions of conflict during the American Revolution. Part of the early strategy of the British was to sever the colonies in two by maintaining control of the river.
Following the building of the Erie Canal, the area became an important industrial center. The canal opened the Hudson Valley and New York City to commerce with the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. However, in the mid 20th century, many of the industrial towns went into decline.

In the early 19th century, popularized by the stories of Washington Irving, the Hudson Valley gained a reputation as a somewhat gothic region inhabited by the remnants of the early days of the Dutch colonization of New York (see, e.g., The Legend of Sleepy Hollow). The area is associated with the Hudson River School, a group of American Romantic painters who worked from about 1830 to 1870.

The natural beauty of the Hudson Valley has earned the Hudson River the nickname "America's Rhineland",^[15][16] a comparison to the famous 40 mile (65 km) stretch of Germany's Rhine River valley between the cities of Bingen and Koblenz. A similar 30-mile (48 km) stretch of the east bank in Dutchess and Columbia counties has been designated a National Historic Landmark

The Eastern Coyote(Coywolf) in many shades, some more wolf looking, some more coyote looking

New  York  Suburb  Coyote  Study Headed up by Dr. Paul Curtis   His research interests include wildlife damage  management in urban and agricultural landscapes,  wildlife fertility control, and resolving community -based wildlife issues.  Extension programming has  included public policy education and a variety of  wildlife-related publications and videotapes.  Dr.  Curtis  is  co-principal investigator of the portion of the  study concerning coyote behavioral ecology. H Backround Over the last several decades, coyote  (Canis latrans)  populations have spread eastward, sometimes  into populated areas. This continuous range  expansion coupled with constant development and human  population growth has led to a marked increase  in human/coyote interactions. With an increase in the number of interactions comes an increased potential for human/coyote  conflict.  This potential has garnered the attention of  communities, wildlife professionals, and  researchers in the  northeast. For example, the New York  State Department of Environmental  Conservation (DEC) has  recorded increasing numbers of complaints about coyotes from residents in suburban  areas around the  state. To provide communities and managers  with the tools needed to make informed  management decisions,  the DEC and Cornell University are conducting a multi-year study. We will investigate a variety of issues  surrounding suburb dwelling coyote  populations and human/coyote  interactions. The study will include  research into the behavior of suburb  dwelling coyotes and well as the  attitudes and behaviors of people  in areas where coyotes live. You can find a more detailed description  of the study methods below.  the research team  will document the behavior of coyotes  by measuring home range size,  habitat use, movement patterns, and den-site selection. Coyotes will be safely captured and  equipped with VHF or GPS tracking  collars. Each coyote will be  marked with ear tags (color coded  and numbered) for later identification by researchers and residents.  Capture locations will be monitored  once a day at a minimum, and checked more frequently relative to  the proximity of people and pets in the area. In conjunction with the movement data,  diet analyses will be conducted to  determine food sources used  by the local coyote population . Researchers will sample transects  regularly for coyote scat (fecal material),  and analyze it for composition of undigested food items. This information  will help to evaluate coyote use  of suburban areas. The human dimensions aspect of the study is designed to evaluate the  interests of various stakeholders. This component of the research will include a series of informant interviews and surveys. To begin this process, discussions with community members who have encountered coyotes, and interviews with various town and  county official will be conducted. This information will be used to  formulate citizen surveys designed  to assess  the public’s beliefs, attitudes, and b ehaviors toward coyotes. Interested parties can assist this  study in a variety of ways . Researchers will need access  to private and public  lands for coyote capture and  other monitoring activities. As  part of the human dimensions work, community  members may be contacted by one of our researchers and asked  to participate in the study through  interviews  or surveys. Now that a number of coyotes  have been collared and tagged, community members can help with coyote  observation. Coyote sighting  information from residents will be vital to the study. You can  report coyote  sightings on this website by  submitting a form through the “Sightings” link. Important information to record  includes: date, time, street address, ear tag color and  number, total number of  coyotes seen, and a brief description of observed behavior. The initial phase of this study  will provide important insight  into the ecology of suburban -dwelling coyotes and  their interactions with people. It is anticipated that a  comprehensive understanding  of these circumstances will  lead to management decision s that can help avoid human/ coyote interactions with  significant negative  consequences.

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Bob Beyfuss: This is what you need to know about coyotes in the Hudson Valley and Catskills regions

A reader from Windham sent this photo of a coyote to Bob Beyfuss. Photo provided

By Bob Beyfuss, Daily Freeman

POSTED: 03/06/14, 11:17 AM EST | UPDATED: 1 WEEK, 1 DAY AGO

My column on Coyotes a few days ago

ago provoked quite a bit of email

 as well as some beautiful pictures. 

Thanks for send them to me! People

 seem to be pretty divided on whether

 these local residents are helpful or

 harmful. A student reporter in the

 Hudson Valley area sent me the 

following questions which I 

forwarded to Dr. Paul Curtis, 

Cornell University Cooperative

 Extension Wildlife specialist. I 

think his answers are worth sharing

 with you.

1. Coyotes have been breeding and

 raising their pups in areas with

 increased human contact, do you

 think pups being born into this

 setting are making them more of 

a threat to us because they’re seeing

 humans as less of a threat?

If coyotes don’t see people as a threat,

 they are smart and can definitely 

habituate 

to our presence. Also, people either 

intentionally (or unintentionally) 

feeding coyotes (e.g., pet food left 

outdoors overnight) can facilitate 

habituation and lead to conflicts. 

That said, only a very small

 percentage of coyotes ever have

 conflicts with people. Out of 40 

coyotes I had collared in Westchester

 County, only one got in trouble 

cavorting with dogs for about 2 week

s during breeding season.

2. Coyotes are protected by

 environmental law. However, local 

hunters can now be paid to hunt them 

to control the population. Do you think

 that this is necessary? Do you think 

that people should be allowed to hunt 

them for a longer period than November

 to March?

Yes, coyotes are protected game animals 

and furbearers. I’m not aware of any 

bounties on coyotes in New York State. 

However, there are coyote-killing contests

, where hunters taking the most coyotes 

in a weekend can win prizes. I don’t see any

 need to expand the existing coyote season.

 If coyotes are causing conflicts, or 

threatening safety or property, they can 

be taken at any time of the year with a 

depredation permit. Also, Wildlife Control

 Operators can take problem animals at any 

time if hired by a landowner.

3. Recent reports have portrayed that 

coyotes have become increasingly more 

aggressive. Do you think that the

 behavioral changes are due to the 

availability of human food and garbage?

 Or because it is breeding season? Or both?

I don’t think coyotes are becoming more 

aggressive. However, in areas where they 

are not hunted or trapped (suburbia) they 

can habituate to the presence of people. 

Even in Westchester County, coyotes used

 primarily natural areas and ate a natural diet 

(deer, rodents, etc.). We rarely found 

garbage or other anthropogenic food sources

 in over 500 coyote scats we analyzed.

4. Many locals have lost their pets and

 livestocks to coyotes more recently than

 usual. Also in New Paltz, there has been 

mores sightings of them on roads and even

 during the day time. Why do you think this is?

More daytime sights of coyotes usually are an 

indication of potential habituation to people. 

Although livestock kills do happen, they are

 not all that common in New York state. It is

 not nearly as common as out west. The pets

 of greatest risk are small dogs. Coyotes are 

very territorial and will kill small dogs in their

 home range if given the chance. Coyotes rarely

 take house cats. Again, out of more than 50

0 scats examined, only 3 contained hairs from

 house cats. They stay away from cats for the 

most part, probably because cats have teeth 

and claws.

5. Have you or anyone you know lost a pet/

livestock to a coyote recently?

No, I don’t know anyone personally. I have 

heard several reports of attacks on small dogs

, but nothing recent.

6. What precautions do you recommend 

locals take in order to prevent coyote attacks

, or what to do when one occurs?

Remove any potential food attractants. When

 walking small dogs, keep them nearby on a 

leash. If a coyote does become aggressive

, shout, yell, and throw sticks or rocks at it. 

If it is not rabid, it will flee. Rabid coyotes

 can be aggressive and unpredictable.

7. Do you think that there is any solution in

 controlling their population? Or perhaps, a 

method in decreasing coyotes’ growing 

aggressive and fearless behavior?

Managers have tried to reduce coyote 

numbers out west for decades with no 

success, even using poisons and aerial 

gunning (which would never be used in

 the Eastern U.S.). Coyotes are here to 

stay, and we have to learn to live with 

them. Again, removing food attractants 

and minimizing habituation is the best

 we can do. If an animal causes severe 

problems, have it removed by a Wildlife

 Control Operator. Just killing coyotes 

randomly will have little impact on their 

numbers or potential conflicts.

Bob Beyfuss lives and gardens in Schoharie

 County. Garden Tips appears Fridays. Send

 him an e-mail to rlb14@cornell.edu.

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