Watertown sighting

This was a comment on the last post, but here it is again: A pretty colorful recent sighting in Watertown:

"My girlfriend and I were driving home to Newton tonight -- when we saw a Coyote running wild through the streets of Watertown (right off of Galen Street behind Vows Bridal Outlet). It looked just like the "Eastern Coyote" -- and was very energetic and wild -- running down the street and then darting into people's front lawns and then jumping back out into the street. Quite a sight to see!"

Watch out in Newton, Mitt---Perry shoots coyotes

Rick Perry may have a new secret weapon in his arsenal for next year's Massachusetts Republican Primary: his skill at shooting coyotes.

In an interview this week in Parade Magazine, Perry confirms his 2010 claim that he shot a coyote that was menacing his puppy during a run near Austin. Perry reportedly used his .380 Ruger, loaded with hollow-point bullets, which he carries on runs for protection from snakes.

If the recent local uproar over coyote-pet incidents continues much longer, Perry may have coyotes (and his success at... intervening) to thank for an unexpectedly strong Primary showing in Newton and nearby coyote-ridden towns.

Good coyote, bad coyote

Newton's apparently seen a recent uptick in coyote and fox encounters---so much so that the sign at right (via Newton Patch, photo by Charlie Breitrose) was posted at a Newton intersection earlier this week.

According to the accompanying Patch article, local reaction's been... SOP for cases of coyote/human/pet contact. Pets have been killed, residents are concerned.

The story does however offer some useful canine profiling:

Good (normal) Coyote: attacks and kills smaller animals, aka cats & little dogs.

Bad (potentially rabid) Coyote: follows humans home.

Here, again, is the full Newton Patch story.

Coyotes causing deer draught?

Today in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, outdoor-writer and author David Willette talks about his new book "Coyote Wars: A Deer Hunter's Guide to Hunting Coyotes." Willette's thrust? The need for a coyote cull in northwestern Mass. to get the local deer population back to where hunters want it.

From T&G writer Mark Blazis:

"Willette knows coyotes have a role in our ecosystem, but he feels their "saturated" populations are largely responsible for a drastic reduction in our deer herd and less than satisfactory deer hunting. He goes far to convince us that coyote hunting is a great and challenging sport that not enough of us dedicate ourselves to."

In fact, says Willette, you can even eat the wily guys: "Coyotes meat is pale, fine, and has the texture of veal," he [Willette] says. "It does need some help to taste good, though.'"

Got that?

Willette's assumptions about the coyote's role in reduced deer numbers is later (fairly persuasively) debunked---from a local-biology-perspective, that is---but the author, Blazis does go on to describe Willette's recent book so:

"Willette's book is undeniably very instructive and a notable accomplishment... With a little help, we can all be coyote hunters."

So, what say you? Coyote parmesan, my place, 7?

Here's the whole article.

Recent coyote sightings

Despite a nearly year-long, arguably unforgivable, absence form these pages on my part, a number of JP (and nearby) citizens have continued to report their coyote encounters. So, I'll do my best to pick things up a bit going forward.

For now, though, here are a few recent sightings, as reported to the blog:

From "Anonymous" on Jan. 2: "A coyote ran through my back yard on Sunday, 1/2, around noon (50 Lawn Street, Roxbury Crossing). I had no idea there were so many of them around."

From "Beth102" on Nov. 23:
"I've seen coyotes 3 times by the West Roxbury Parkway and Washington Street intersection where there are woods (Stoneybrook Reservation) by Bellevue Hill West Roxbury. I was driving up the parkway at 2am on Nov 23 and saw the coyote in the woods. I backed up the car and looked at the coyote for a moment-we looked at each other, and it ran back into the woods. It looked fawn colored. this maybe be the same coyote I saw about 2 weeks ago at midnight standing on the other side of the West Roxbury Parkway waiting to cross the street. I always drive up this road now looking to see if I will see it."

Also from Beth102, back on Sept. 29:
"In early September 2010 I saw a big yellow coyote standing waiting to cross the road on the West Roxbury Parkway in between where the police station and rotary is and Washington Street...it was around midnight.
Last year I saw coyotes twice around 4am over by the end of the VFW Parkway near the Jewish Rehab (near JP near Arboretum)...the first time there were three of them, then another time one of them, large and wolf like...those seemed to be gray in color...They seemed large and fearless."

And this sad, sad account of a coyote attack on a cat, from "Julie" on Sept. 3:
"My cat was killed by a coyote this morning. The coyote came into my backyard on Wren Street, on Bellevue hill in West Roxbury. The yard is almost completely enclosed, but not entirely. I never dreamed a coyote would go all the way around the driveway and enter the one narrow entrance to the back yard, complete with motion detector lighting. We've never seen a coyote down in this neighborhood before, nor heard any neighbors say they've seen one; I sure wish I'd read about them coming closer, and into Boston neighborhoods; I'd missed the news coverage and the Boston Globe article in May about them coming into J.P and Roslindale. It was 4:20 this morning, heard scuffling, cat cries; my partner ran out and saw the coyote attacking our darling calico cat, Lily. My partner scared the coyote away by yelling. I saw it,too, running away. It was quite large--light gray. We raced Lily to Angell Memorial, but she died from internal bleeding when we entered the emergency room.
We're heartbroken and regretful; please keep your cats inside at night, and maybe even during the day...even in Boston neighborhoods"