Coyote In Leonardo May Be A Fox, Middletown Animal Control Says

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — A Middletown resident said she saw what looked like a coyote Thursday morning off Highland Avenue in the Leonardo section, but Middletown Animal Control said they "strongly suspect" it may have been a fox.

However, the truth remains impossible to determine as no photos have surfaced of the animal.

But people should know that coyotes live all over Middletown and the surrounding area, said Middletown Animal Control Supervisor Robert Card.

"They are in the area; there is a population here. They're part of the eco-system," he said. "When I first started working for Animal Control 23 years ago, we had one hit by a car on Middletown-Lincroft Road. And there used to be a coyote den in Atlantic Highlands, but it's since been abandoned."

But Card said he suspects this may be a fox in Leonardo because "Leonardo is really, really bad with feral cats and people leaving food out for the feral cats. And foxes will kill feral cats to eliminate food competition. We know there are foxes in that immediate area; we've gotten calls for foxes in that area this summer."

Know your Middletown coyote history:

June 2018: There were coyote sightings on two different days in late June that year, between New Monmouth Road and Tindall Road. The coyotes were not acting aggressively and were seen walking through wooded areas.

January 2016: In the winter of 2016, a very large male coyote was seen running through the sand dunes of Sandy Hook. It was first seen running through the streets of Sea Bright, where police and animal control officers chased it. It ran into Gateway National Recreation Area, where police think it hunkered down and rode out the winter. It likely fed on the many deer that live on Sandy Hook.

2008: There were two different coyote attacks in Middletown that year, and the animal or animals responsible were never located.

In the first, a coyote ran out and grabbed a small dog being walked by a woman taking her trash out to the curb in the Belford area. The coyote took the dog back into a wooded area and the dog was presumed dead. This happened at a home located along the government road for Naval Weapons Station Earle.

Around that same time, a six-year-old boy was taken off a swing by a coyote. This happened near Kings Highway East. The boy was not seriously harmed, said Card. A coyote had also been seen near Pomo Court and Seneca Drive. The boy had to get rabies shots, but he was not seriously injured. The state Division of Fish & Wildlife came to Middletown after that happened and set up snares and traps, but no coyote was ever caught.

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