Coexisting with coyotes in Connecticut

NORFOLK — Ginny Apple returned to the Norfolk HUB to tell a crowd of 40 people all about Eastern coyotes on Saturday, Sept. 27. The talk was sponsored by Great Mountain Forest and underwritten by Elyse Harney Real Estate.

Apple, who is a master wildlife conservationist with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said the Eastern coyote is an “ecological generalist” — intelligent and supremely adaptable.

In fact, in areas of the country where organized hunting of coyotes is allowed with a view toward eradication, it usually backfires, because coyotes will breed more to make up the numbers.

The Eastern coyote’s ancestors evolved about 5.5 million years ago.

More recently, Western coyotes, which are smaller than their cousins, started moving east along the Canadian border and were well-established in the Eastern United States by the 1950s.

Apple said despite the bad press given to the coyote by Mark Twain, canis latrans var is a smart and versatile animal and a keystone species, meaning that a healthy coyote population helps keep the overall environment in balance.

An Eastern coyote is generally about four to five feet long from nose to tail, and the latter is bushy with a black tip.

They weigh between 30 to 50 pounds and while they can be reddish or blonde or even black in color, the usual coloring is greyish-brown, which is why German shepherds are often mistaken for coyotes.

The coyote’s favorite food is “anything it can chew.” They eat bugs, acorns, fruit, rabbits, deer and rodents.

Apple said she has seen a coyote climb a peach tree to get at the fruit.

The latter is a problem because of the widespread use of rodenticide poison for mouse control.

Apple said the poisoned mice get eaten by coyotes and birds and the poison has a negative effect on the animals’ immune systems.

She urged the audience to use traditional mousetraps or Havahart brand traps instead.

Coyotes can run up to 35 miles per hour and keep it up for an hour. Apple said the combination of speed and endurance allows a coyote to run down and kill deer, which can match the coyote for speed but not for distance.

Apple said the best guess is that Connecticut has about 3000 coyotes, distributed all around the state in rural, suburban and urban areas.

Coyotes are solo hunters, Apple said, and do not hunt in packs.

The not-uncommon sound of coyotes yelping indicates not a hunting triumph but a coyote returning home to its nuclear family.

Or it could be a warning to other animals.

Or it could be the pups just causing a “ruckus.”

Apple said if out in the woods, especially with a dog, it is important to have the dog leashed. Sometimes a hiker will unknowingly pass close by a coyote den, and a coyote will follow the hiker and dog until they are out of its territory. This is called “escorting” and it should be taken seriously.

Don’t panic or run, but do make sure your dog is leashed and move steadily along.

Do not let the dog go after the coyote.

Coyotes will come sniffing around unattended human garbage, but usually not for the garbage but for the accompanying rodents.

Instances of coyotes going after domestic cats and small dogs are rare but it does happen. Apple said the best thing to do is to make sure pets are inside at night.

Apple said homeowners should never feed coyotes and should close off crawl spaces under porches.

Coyotes are not anxious to meet humans, but if there is one around and it’s becoming a nuisance, good tactics are yelling, using an airhorn, or a metal coffee can with coins inside.

If there is a problem with an unusually bold or abnormal coyote, call DEEP at 860-424-3000 or the local animal control officer.