Under the floodlight in my backyard, two large predators were snarling and fighting over the remains of a deer carcass I had placed in the garden. A week or so before I had put it there in an effort to attract wintering raptors. It was midnight and my wife and I were peering out the den window as the beasts fought in the snow, fur literally flying. My wife, Cathy, is a trained biologist, so she handles wildlife events with aplomb. "Wolves!" she screamed, her eyes the size of saucers, "Where did they come from?, what about the kids?, call 911!"

My binoculars were trained on the largest animal, its lips curled and back hunched as it straddled the deer’s hindquarters. "Believe it or not, these are coyotes!" I responded. I had never seen the eastern coyote before, and at such close range, they appeared to be nearly the size of timber wolves. They were absolutely magnificent animals, very healthy looking, with a thick winter pelage. They soon settled their dominance question. One fed while the other skulked around the perimeter of the garden. For the rest of the winter one or more coyotes appeared almost every night at my garden "feeder". Cathy found her initial fears to be unfounded. The slightest noise or movement at the window, and the coyotes would instantly vanish for the night.

The eastern coyote, Canis latrans , is sometimes called coydog, but is not a dog mix. It is a large non-native canid that biologists believe has extended its range east from the western plains states. Despite persecution for over 200 years, the coyote now covers much of the territory from Alaska south to Central America and east to the Atlantic Provinces. First reported here in the 1950’s, coyotes are now as much a part of the Connecticut ecosystem as white-tailed deer and wild turkeys.

Like timber wolves, eastern coyotes may be found in a variety of colors from black to gray, cream, white and tan, and are generally larger than their western counterparts, but why this is so, biologists are unsure. Coyote pairs may stay together for several years, but they don’t mate for life. Breeding takes place in mid-winter, and the female usually digs out an abandoned fox den or woodchuck hole in which to have her pups. The den sites are very well concealed, but if disturbed, the adults will move the pups to another location. Up to 12 pups are born in the spring, and both parents work hard to keep them fed with small mammals, birds, and carrion. Although the adults are meat eaters, they also enjoy a wide variety of other foods, including insects, fruit, and even grass.

The pups begin hunting with the adults when they are about ten weeks old and at this time their social howls, yelps and cries are most evident in the Connecticut woodlands, especially just before dawn or after dusk. The young coyotes generally seek out their own territories in late fall and may disperse many miles, this helps explain their rapid range expansion. Eastern coyotes do not breed until they are two years old. Although coyotes are seldom able to kill adult deer, in Connecticut and elsewhere in the east, coyotes pairs sometimes work as a team to search selected areas for fawns in the spring, and can be very effective. They are opportunists and will attack a variety of livestock, with unpenned sheep and poultry at greatest risk. Cows and horses are generally immune from attack. Coyotes are generally most active at night, but when raising their young, they may hunt during the daylight hours as well.

We rarely get calls about coyotes attacking pets, but occasionally a coyote will kill cats and small dogs, usually when they are left out unattended at night. If you are concerned, limit the time your pet spends outdoors unsupervised, especially at night.

Coyotes, especially when occurring in dense populations, are susceptible to diseases such as canine distemper and sarcoptic mange. Mange has been particularly aggressive in southwestern Connecticut in the recent past, and both foxes and coyotes were reported with hairless tails and scaly patches of skin.The eastern coyote is definitely here to stay as a welcome addition to our fauna. They are beautiful wild creatures that deserve our admiration and respect. Intelligent and shy, to see one in the wild is truly a rare gift. By the way, it is not a good idea to "bait" or artificially feed coyotes or any wild animal, as this can lead to problems not only for people, but especially the animals you are feeding. They may become bolder and artificially concentrated which can lead to conflict and disease. For this reason we stopped placing road-killed deer carcasses in our winter garden after the coyotes arrived. Believe me, our neighbors are grateful.
 

EASTERN COYOTE, Canis Latrans

HABITAT: Woodlands, fields, meadows, wetland borders and brushy areas.
WEIGHT: 25 - 40 lbs. Males are usually larger than females.
LENGTH: About four feet long
FOOD: Small mammals, deer, birds, insects, fruit and grasses.

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