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"