Limping Coyote Spotted In West Roxbury: What To Do

WEST ROXBURY, MA — After several residents posted video and photos of coyotes out and about in the neighborhood, including a limping coyote that's been around for a while, officials are warning residents to keep a close eye on pets and not to feed the wild animals that share the city with humans.

Coyotes have been spotted in various neighborhoods in Greater Boston, Newfield Street area, not far from St. Joseph Cemetery according to Patch readers.

But as Universal Hub first reported, folks have been complaining about the Limping Coyote spotted last month on Mount Vernon Street near Montview Street for a while now.

And sure enough: A quick search for "West Roxbury Coyote" show the neighborhood has had several reports of coyotes each year there.

"We assisted MA Environmental Police [which has jurisdiction when it comes to these things] for a couple of days in mid-January to attempt trapping the animal, obviously it was unsuccessful," said Mike Defina of the Animal Rescue League of Boston. "Trapping is difficult given the animal’s roaming area is over a mile."

In the meantime, ARL mirrors what other agencies have recommended when it comes to coyotes: people should make sure outside trash containers are sealed tightly, do not approach the coyote and be sure to keep small animals indoors and dogs on a leash while outdoors.

The ADL advise anyone who spies the limping coyote to call its rescue team a call at 617-426-9170 or email rescuedispatch@arlboston.org. Problem animals should be reported to Environmental Police at 617-626-1665. The MSPCA handles domestic animals.

Rob Halpin, of the MSPCA, said it's important to remember that when you're dealing with a wild animal it's going to avoid humans and it's very rare that any animal in the city attack a human.

"Anecdotes are what make people panic, not necessarily data. When we see a video of a coyote carrying off a cat we're horrified, and rightfully so - especially if that is a much loved pet. But we are responsible for the safety of our pet, and we're also responsible to some degree to be good stewards for wildlife," said Halpin.

Experts stress that coyotes are not aggressive and do not — even in packs — attack humans or anything much bigger than a very small dog. And because coyotes are generally skittish, they won't even do that unless no loud humans are around.

Coyotes are opportunistic feeders and will normally eat whatever is easiest to catch, wildlife experts say. They usually eat fruit and berries, small rodents (and yes, rats!), rabbits, birds and insects, as well as pet food and garbage. They size up their prey, and if there is a threat of getting injured, they won't take the risk.

This means that if a small dog (or family cat) seems like an easy target left alone, it could be dinner. But that's actually rather rare, too.

A study by Urban Coyote Research Program analyzed over 1,400 scats and found that “the most common food items were small rodents (42 percent), fruit (23 percent), deer (22 percent), and rabbit (18 percent).” Only about 2 percent of the scats had human garbage and just 1.3 percent showed evidence of cats. “Apparently, the majority of coyotes in our study area do not, in fact, rely on pets or garbage for their diets,” said researchers, according to The Urban Coyote Initiative.

According to the MSPCA data, between the 1950s and 2015, only five people have been bitten by a coyote in all of Massachusetts. Most, if not all, the coyotes had rabies.

Massachusetts is an incredibly dense state, we're the third most dense state in the country. Coyotes would very actively and enthusiastically avoid humans at all cost. But we keep moving in.

"What do Coyotes do ? They do what nature has trained them to do. They hunt and scavenge and try to avoid us," said Halpin. "People should feel in awe of the majesty of nature and sharing space with this animal, rather than fear."

That doesn't mean get cuddly with the animal, but we can live in harmony with them, say Halpin and other experts.

"We need to be aware of that, and we just need to make very simple changes to our habits, like walking our dog on a leash when we're near the wood," he said.

Here check out a video of coyote behavior and how to haze and how long to haze a coyote, posted on the Waltham Animal Control social media:

Steps to take:

To limit pet-wildlife interactions, animal control officers recommend keeping cats indoors and dogs on-leash as much as possible. If you want to let your pet off leash in your back yard, they recommend a six-foot wooden fence with spikes or pickets at the top, rather than a chain link fence, which a coyote can climb.

As with all wildlife protection: Board up any crawl space under your house or sheds to discourage the animals taking shelter there. Keep pet food inside, clean up bird feeder scraps and keep garbage in a secure spot to discourage scavengers.

When you see a coyote, haze it. Shouting, blowing a whistle, banging pots and pans, or spraying a water hose at them all make it uncomfortable for the shy animals to be near humans and will help ensure that coyotes don't start to get too close or keep visiting your yard. But if it moves away just a little bit and stays around? Keep it up until the coyote runs off.

How to recognize a coyote:
According to the Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW), the eastern coyote looks like a 40-pound German Shepherd, but has longer and denser fur and pointed ears. The tail is long and bushy, and black at the tip. The coat is usually a brindled gray, but can vary between creamy blond to red or nearly solid black.

The coat gets fluffier in the winter, making the coyote look bigger.

Check out these tips from Waltham Animal Control: Tips

Related:

• Small Dog Killed By Coyote In Newton
• Wild Animal Makes Off With Family's Nine-Pound Dog

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Photo credit: JHatz via Twitter with permission.