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Just wondering what posters think of the coyote attacking a postal worker in Hastings. I spent three months in San Diego, heard coyotes squealing at night while I was trying to sleep, but never heard of an attack on a human, the Ca. residents say the coyotes don't bother people. Does anyone know if the coyotes in Westchester County are a different, aggressive breed than the Ca. ones? Maybe they are the coywolfs I read about? The coyotes can show up anyplace in the county, I know someone who saw one at Untermeyer Park and Tibbets Brook Park in Yonkers a few years ago, I'm afraid to walk in the parks now. A few years back, a rising young Canadian female singer went for a jog in Nova Scotia, and a pack of coyotes killed her, she was from Western Canada where the coyotes aren't aggressive, I read the story on-line. It really pays to know all about your surroundings when you travel.
Just wondering what posters think of the coyote attacking a postal worker in Hastings. I spent three months in San Diego, heard coyotes squealing at night while I was trying to sleep, but never heard of an attack on a human, the Ca. residents say the coyotes don't bother people. Does anyone know if the coyotes in Westchester County are a different, aggressive breed than the Ca. ones? Maybe they are the coywolfs I read about? The coyotes can show up anyplace in the county, I know someone who saw one at Untermeyer Park and Tibbets Brook Park in Yonkers a few years ago, I'm afraid to walk in the parks now. A few years back, a rising young Canadian female singer went for a jog in Nova Scotia, and a pack of coyotes killed her, she was from Western Canada where the coyotes aren't aggressive, I read the story on-line. It really pays to know all about your surroundings when you travel.
There were reportedly several attacks over the last few days so the suspicion is rabid coyotes.
Thanks for the link, I didn't hear all the details of the story. The Westchester County coyote map surprised me, the coyote presence in the county is worse than I thought! The coyote killed at Dunwoodie Golf Course is very close to Tibbetts Brook Park where my friend spotted one a few years ago. Since the coyotes have been around so long, Westchester residents should have been warned long before attacks occurred imo, especially with residents using the parks where the coyotes have been spotted!
Coyotes only attack human beings where there are wolves to interbreed with them , any breed with a mixture of wolf is dangerous.
After reading your post I did some research, and a wildlife expert said all Eastern coyotes have some wolf DNA due to crossbreeding in the wild. In light of that information, we have to assume that all Eastern coyotes are dangerous, rabid or not. A coywolf was spotted in Congers, Rockland County, NY in December 2017.
Interestingly, there are only two reported deaths from coyote attacks, one in Nova Scotia, and one in Glendale, CA. One article stated it is extremely rare for a human to get attacked from a rabid coyote. In 2010, two young girls were attacked by coyotes on separate days in Rye, NY, there was no indication of rabies, but the girls got the rabies shots as a precaution. There are three types of attacks; rabid, predatory, and defensive. Either way, rabid or not, these animals pose a threat, especially to small animals and children, several attacks around the U.S. have been documented.
All eastern coyotes are coywolves. They may well have dog DNA, as well.
I think the coyotes in Westchester are bold, possibly because they are habituated to seeing humans around. I wouldn't be surprised if many coyote packs in Westchester are being fed in backyards by misguided, naive "nature lovers".
The same situation exists in urban areas out west, but the coyotes are smaller and wary of getting shot. Nobody in Westchester is shooting coyotes.
Last summer I watched three coyotes hunting midday through front lawns on a street in the north end of New Rochelle. It was very organized. They would form a rough triangle around the yard. The lead coyote would dart into the bushes in the front of the house to flush prey out...the coyotes on either side caught anything coming out. I saw them catch a squirrel that didn't get to a tree in time and something too small to make out.
My spouse and I had been debating whether or not to start letting our grown cat go outside...but the coyotes hunting behavior made me realize why so many cats disappear in our area.
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