Jamaica Plain Coyotes

Watertown sighting

2011-10-31T11:05:00.004-04:00

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

2011-10-24T11:50:00.005-04:00

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

2011-10-07T13:08:00.005-04:00

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?

2011-08-19T09:19:00.004-04:00

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

2011-01-07T09:11:00.005-05:00

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"

Aggresive coyote, rabid coyote

2010-02-05T09:33:00.004-05:00

A recent study showed that aggressive coyotes are likely to be rabid, the Associated Press reported.

No huge surprise here---just continue to be careful if a coyote doesn't seem as wary of you as you are of it. Make some noise, throw a tennis ball, do something to scare it away (and ideally keep it away).

Coyote news all over the place

2009-10-30T09:26:00.004-04:00

Not the finest few days for coyotes in eastern North America, thanks to the pair responsible for the death of Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell. What happened is sad and tragic.

There's a lot of coverage to sort out---Jon Way has been seemingly all over the news. I'll do my best to pull together some of the more important, informative stories soon.

Until then, try to refrain from joining any hot-blooded coyotes search parties.

Some recent sightings

2009-09-26T15:37:00.002-04:00

These are just rehashed from comments on the last post, but below are a few recent, detailed sightings around the hood.

John said...

This morning, Sept. 4, 2009, at about 7:10 I was driving down Dunster Road from Centre Street towards Jamaica Pond. When I was in front of 100 Dunster, I saw a cayote trotting down the sidewalk on the south side of the street. It was fawn colored and larger than any other I had seen before, about the size of a skinny German Shepard. When I stopped the car to look it continued down the street towards Dane Street.

Julie Whelan said...

I live at 100 Dunster Rd. Friday, Sept. 4, when I went out to get my newspapers, I saw this same coyote right in front of my house. He was very large and seemed to becoming out of our driveway. I had just let my cat out the backdoor, so rushed in to get him back into the house.

Anonymous said...

I, too, saw the coyote at 100 Dunster on Sept 4. I was walking my dog on the sidewalk and saw the coyote pouncing in and out of the shrubs in front of 100 Dunster. I shouted at the coyote who trotted off down the sidewalk. After the coyote had left, a large ginger and orange cat emerged from the shrubs and ran down the driveway and into the back yard.

This is my third coyote sighting in 3 weeks. The first was on Aug 18, across from 56 Prince St when I saw a coyote leap up a tree to grab a neighbor's cat. After a tussle at the base of the tree, the coyote trotted down the middle of the street holding the cat by the scruff of its neck. Later on that day, another neighbor found the cat's body in his yard.

The second sighting was of a coyote trotting down the sidewalk of Prince St. on Aug 28.

And Rhea said...

I heard there was a coyote around the Eliot Street/Eliot Place area around a week or two ago (Sept. 13). I want to warn cat owners to keep the cats in. Can you help?

Thanks, all. I'll do my best to keep posting when things come up. If there are other coyote-related things you'd like to see on the site, please let me know.

Big dogs beware too

2009-08-23T21:55:00.004-04:00

I know this isn't much of a blog here, with posts showing up about every two months, but I think it's still worth sharing any useful or interesting coyote news that pops up from time to time.

Today's bit is a link to an article last week on SouthCoastToday.com about a 130-pound black Lab that was bitten by a coyote in Dartmouth. The dog has recovered, so no tragic cute-dog-eaten-story this time, but the notable thing here is the size of the victim. This dog is big -- a lot bigger than the attacker, unless Eastern Coyotes have started breeding with bears.

A biologist at the Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife does mention that when a coyote attacks a bigger animal like this, it's usually a case of the coyote protecting (what it thinks is) its territory.

Who knows when and where coyotes will feel territorial like this, but the point is that 10-pound terriers aren't the only ones at risk.

Bobcat Proves Coyotes' Champion

2009-06-01T08:52:00.005-04:00

A 49-year-old hunter was attacked by a bobcat about three weeks ago while hunting turkeys in the woods of Templeton, Mass., according to a story Sunday on MyFoxBoston.com.

The hunter, from Western Massachusetts, told MyFoxBoston that he was standing still and making turkey calls when the 35-pound bobcat leapt on to him, knocking him to the ground. The man blamed the attack on his convincing turkey calls, the products of a hand-held device.

“The whole time he thought I was a turkey because I wasn't moving at all,” he told MyFoxBoston.

The hunter also said, though, that he initially thought his attacker was a coyote because he had hunted, and been stalked by, coyotes before.

Fortunately the hunter sustained only a few scratches, which since mostly have healed.

Takeaway? A couple, I think.

First, hunting is dangerous, for the hunter and the animals. If you must hunt, bring a weapon for protection.

Second, a combination of turkey hunting and coyote hunting may result in unpleasant bobcat side effects.

Urban Coyote Education in Billerica

2009-05-20T16:43:00.004-04:00

Dr. Jonathan Way, Eastern Coyote researcher and the voice of Jamaicaplaincoyotes.com, will be at Billerica Public Library on Thurs., May 28 at 6:30 pm. According to the announcement on the Billerica version of WickedLocal.com, Way will talk about his research on urban and suburban coyotes from the last 10 years.

Here for more information.

Not JP, But Still A Mass. Coyote Attack (Likely)

2009-05-04T14:51:00.007-04:00

The Patriot Ledger reported today that a Middleboro pet Yorkshire Terrier was killed, likely by a coyote, early last Wednesday morning in its owner's backyard.

According to "Vicious coyote attack in Middleboro brings attention to seasonal threat", the terrier was carried off by a "brown shadow" at around 4 am right under the nose of the dog's owner, a retired police officer.

The attack naturally is sad for the pet and its owner, but the reporter includes a couple of paragraphs of information and advice about coyote-human interaction, especially around this time of year, when coyote mothers need extra food for their pups.

This from a biologist with the Mass. Division of Fisheries and Wildlife:

""Coyotes are omnivores. Their primary food is fruit, berries, and small rodents. In suburban areas, they will go after unprotected pets,” said Larson. “Also, people should not leave garbage out at night. It provides an all-you-can-eat buffet for coyotes, rats, and foxes. They should put garbage out in the morning.”"

This from another Division biologist:

"If a coyote is found in a backyard, try and scare it off by banging pans, blowing whistles and air horns, even squirting them with a hose or throwing tennis balls to mark your territory."

So, there are few options out there.

Colorful Sightings

2009-03-19T18:22:00.001-04:00

In light of the recent Denver coyote news, I thought I'd show some of our local reactions to coyotes. The following sightings were posted anonymously on this blog:

2/6/09: "I was woken up last night at 2:30 by the erie howls of a coyote very close and the response of 3+ coyotes further away. There is a single set of tracks across the upper yard. In contract to their night time demeanor, they are beautiful to watch as they play and frolic during the daytime hours."

2/19/09: "We have seen coyotes in our yard/ in front of our house on Moss Hill Road by the foot path several times a week since early January. We have spotted them at all times of day solo, pairs or three at a time. We were awakened by three howling and frolicking in the street in front of our house two weeks ago and they continued to 'play' for nearly 45 minutes. We have two small children and I am a bit concerned by the presence of the coyotes and how close they come to our house and car. We see them in our yard quite often and have found remains of a rabbit as well as a few squirrel tails in the yard - yes, just the tails"

I haven't put either report on my sightings map, for lack of specific location, but the descriptions and reactions are interesting. I sure hope one of the squirrel tails wasn't all white.

Coyotes, Not Eastern, But Still Urban

2009-03-17T14:48:00.004-04:00

Denver has seen its share of urban coyote news lately, with a few related stories in the Denver Post, and even one on Monday in the New York Times. Denver-area residents seem to be dealing with coyotes on a large scale, with Greenwood Village, a 14,000-person suburb, having reported 110 sightings in the first two months of 2009.

After several attacks on both animals and humans, Greenwood Village has gone as far as to hire an animal management firm to shoot coyotes deemed "a threat to humans or animals," according to the New York Times.

Not surprisingly, the Times article paints a complicated picture of reactions to the coyotes, which have been "spotted hanging out in local parks, trotting down city streets and lounging in backyards, content and seemingly unafraid of humans." While the prevailing opinion expressed in the article is to want the animals gone, some in the town support eradication, while others have adopted non-violent methods.

Mentioned in the Times article, and at the center of the Denver Post article, is the practice of yelling and gesturing at the coyotes, hopefully to drive them away by instilling a fear of humans -- a method the Denver Post termed "hazing."

A coyote expert quoted in the Times article points out that the coyotes' comfort around humans may largely be our own doing. The Ohio-based expert, Dr. Stanley Gehrt, stated the following: “We do know that when coyotes start to flip over to the dark side, it is almost always because of human feeding... [the coyotes] become more comfortable, and then they become aggressive.”

The coyotes in Denver are not the eastern variety like ours here in JP, but they're still coyotes living in urban and suburban areas among humans. The articles (links above) are worth reading.

Coyote Neighbors

2009-01-28T10:43:00.003-05:00

I've received some reports in the last few days that indicate sustained coyote presence around JP. As one commenter reported, the animals seem "unabashed" and are coming quite close to people.

I don't know if sightings actually have picked up, or if more people are turning to my site. But either way, it seems that coyotes are staying around JP, at least for the time being.

My interest in local coyotes continues mostly to be academic, but given the now-apparent potential for close contact, I'd feel remiss not to provide some guidance on human-coyote interaction.

"Living With Coyotes" is a page on Dr. Jonathan Way's site about Eastern Coyote Research. Way offers a partial info sheet on the animals and some advice and guidelines for safe interaction.

Way's page should be most useful for those people already accepting of (or resigned to) the fact that coyotes are a part of the neighborhood. For those who want the animals gone, this site on coyote hunting might be more appropriate, if a bit distasteful. I include it only for the sake of balance.

Updated Coyote Sightings

2009-01-08T13:01:00.004-05:00

After several months of comments with reported sightings around Jamaica Plain, I've finally updated the interactive map on Jamaicaplaincoyotes.com. Thanks to everyone who wrote in.

I received an impressive number of reports, for sightings as far back as 2007 and as recent as this past Sunday (Jan. 4). There are now 16 paws on the map, for 17 total sightings (two sightings, at South St. and Bussey St., were so close together that I gave them one marker. But both sightings are described).

Many of the sightings seem to have been late at night, with the coyotes spotted only fleetingly from a moving vehicle.

I've provided descriptions of the sightings mostly paraphrasing what was given to me. I did my best to figure out where the sightings occurred, but some of the paw markers on the map are approximate locations. If a someone said their sighting was on a street between two locations, for example, I just marked the midpoint between the locations. If anyone notices an error in the spot of their sighting, please let me know, and I'll fix it at once.

I hope to learn of more sightings soon. This time I won't wait six months to post the locations.

J.P. Blogger Belatedly Links To Article, Spots Deer On Morning Run

2008-06-28T12:09:00.005-04:00

Although it has been over a month since John Ruch's story about my site in the J.P. Gazette, I thought somebody or other might appreciate a direct link to the story. Here it is: http://jamaicaplaingazette.com/node/2738

Sorry for the delay.

Since the story's publication, a number of J.P. residents have reported sightings. Once I've figured out the exact locations (more or less), I'll add them to the interactive map on jamaicaplaincoyotes.com.

One a non-canine J.P. nature note, it seems there's at least one deer in the Arnold Arboretum.

I saw it -- a doe -- on my last run there, on Friday morning around 11. The doe stood on the side of the road for a couple of minutes as I jogged in place, staring. We were maybe 40 feet apart, and it stared back. I didn't want to leave, but it seemed I had to make the first move, or we might have been there all day. I wonder now what else is in the tall grass near the Arborway gate.

J. P. Coyotes In The News

2008-05-17T10:02:00.003-04:00

Jamaicaplaincoyotes.com was featured in a story this week in the May 16 issue of the Jamaica Plain Gazette.

In his article, reporter John Ruch provides a good overview of my inspiration and intentions for the site. I hope to be able to link to the story soon at jamaicaplaingazette.com. For now, though, the story appears only in the print version of the gazette.

A New Name (Again)

2008-05-09T11:56:00.003-04:00

The Jamaica Plain Coyotes Web site now can be found, appropriately, at http://jamaicaplaincoyotes.com. No more of that jo540 stuff.

The previous URLs were through the Boston University server, which I was told would be wiped clean of student sites within a few weeks. So, to keep the JP coyotes site going, I registered a fitting domain name, found a hosting service, and that's all it took (with a little help from tech support).

To continue the coyote pup analogy, I guess my site has now shed its deciduous teeth, and the permanent canines and incisors are starting to poke through.

It would have been a shame for the site to disappear on the verge of going "public." I'll explain that in a few days.

The Real Jamaica Plain Coyotes Web Site

2008-04-30T11:06:00.002-04:00

I've made a few changes to my site over the last few days. The new and improved site can be found at its new, and shorter, URL: http://j0540.bu.edu/jbberk. I'm not quite vain enough to require a double typing of my name to get to my Web site.

The biggest changes are in my audio slideshow. The "audio" and the "slideshow" are now a little better in sync, and I've added and subtracted a few photos.

Over the rest of the site, I've added a few links of interest here and there, and I've changed some text ever-so-slightly. Although the entire site still is 800 x 600 pixels for the benefit of the smaller screens out there, it is now centered, which is a bit of an aesthetic improvement.

I'll do my best to improve and add to the site in the near future. For now, though, I think it will remain just about as you see it.

A Coyote Web Site

2008-04-16T18:04:00.003-04:00

I put my Jamaica Plain Coyote Web site (aka http://jo540.bu.edu/jbberk/jberk) online this afternoon. There might be a few changes over the next couple of weeks, but the site is up in its initial version at least.

Looking through all of its seven pages this afternoon, I realized that it might not deliver in the content area to the extent I had hoped and planned. But, I think I have provided at least a short overview of the coyote situation in Jamaica Plain for those who might be interested.

A Few Megabytes Dilated, Almost Time.

2008-04-15T17:14:00.004-04:00

Despite doing what I thought was pacing myself over the last two months, I have now worked on my site for 16 hours since yesterday afternoon. I hope the site turns out prettier than the process has been.

I've had many of the big tasks done for a while now -- traveling to Cape Cod for the interview with Jonathan Way, editing my audio, putting together the framework of each page -- there have just been these "little" things here at the end that have provided some major headaches.

Not least among them is the fact that, for one reason or another, I never spoke with the Boston park ranger whose first-hand information about sightings I had been so counting on. In its place, I've had to settle for blog entries, news articles and reports of reports -- not ideal sources of information for journalistic purposes.

I'll post more later or tomorrow when the coyote pup's all the way out.

Online in 33 Hours

2008-04-15T03:59:00.002-04:00

Today (and yesterday) was a marathon day of technical stuff for the Web site. After hours of needless frustration in Photoshop and Dreamweaver, my pages are almost ready to go. I'll spend Tuesday on a few final little details, and the site should be up Wednesday afternoon.

I'll provide a more detailed account later of what I went through today.
Good night.

Audio Slideshow

2008-04-11T19:40:00.003-04:00

I've made some good progress on my audio slideshow over the last few days. It took a little time to figure out Adobe Premiere, but now that I have, I realize how useful a program it is.

As I was putting together my slideshow -- choosing photos, editing audio, lining it all up together -- I realized how much time one could spend on all the little details of a Web site. I experienced the same thing last week working on my homepage in Photoshop. I could easily have spent a half hour choosing between two shades of gray for the background.

With the slideshow, my aesthetic hang up was over the level of background howling behind Jonathan Way's entrance. I had lined up two clips of howling next to each other, the second somewhat quieter than the first to simulate a fading effect. behind way's voice. I imagine there must be a simple fade button that would do a much better job. Now I just need to find it.

Map Success

2008-04-08T00:25:00.003-04:00

I finally spent some time figuring out the map resource I'll use. It seems so perfect for my site that I almost feel guilty for having it. There is even a dog (coyote) paw option as the location marker.

I've entered three locations so far: The Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Pond and the address of David Sherris, the JP resident whose dog was killed by a coyote in 2005.

The map is a Google map, although the mapping resource is not run by Google. I'll be able to easily embed the map in my site within its own window. I'm not sure at this point if I will create individual pages for each locale as I originally had planned. That depends on how much information I end up with on each sighting. At the very least, I'll learn how to create a drop-down menu from my nav bar so I have the option for the extra pages.

Progress Resumes

2008-04-05T11:02:00.003-04:00

Despite the fact that I last posted nearly a month ago, I have been moving along in my site construction.

I have page design well under way, and I'm in the process of editing my audio and video for the all-important multimedia element of my multimedia Web site. The most daunting task still ahead is the creation of my interactive 'sightings' map, which I still haven't figured out how to accomplish. I expect to use yourgmap.com, a mapping resource recommended by Karla Valance, but I haven't yet explored the site, so I don't know what's involved.

One way or another, my site should be up and running in 11 or 12 days. I'll surely have much more to post between now and then.

J.P. Photos

2008-03-11T08:50:00.007-04:00

My possible background scenes are below. I haven't yet decided if the photo will cover the entire page. It might be less crowded just to have it as a partial backdrop, alongside a small coyote photo.

Background Search

2008-03-10T13:36:00.004-04:00

Today is find-photos-for-my-website day.

It's bright and sunny out, so I took a walk around the neighborhood this morning looking for some good shots. I had a few particular photos in mind, but I was also on the quest for an appropriate Jamaica Plain homepage background scene.

With little hope of catching a coyote saunter down Centre Street at 11 a.m., I figured I'd find the right scene and tastefully (and obviously) add the animal in later. I took quite a few shots, the best of which I may post soon for readers' comments and opinions. I have my favorite or two, but I won't tell for now.

Before looking for the right background, I walked to and through the Arnold Arboretum to find a "Warning: Coyotes" sign I had seen there some time ago. Luckily it was still hanging around. I probably gave the sign far more attention than it's ever had before, but every Division of Fisheries & Wildlife posting deserves the spotlight once in a while, no?

On the way out I took a thrilling short video of a dog-walker at a distance. I had thoughts of passing the pooch off as a domesticated coyote pup, but the in-house-counsel angel on my shoulder advised against it. Shame.

Sound Bites

2008-03-04T20:17:00.002-05:00

I took the bus out Hyannis, Mass. today to meet with Eastern Coyote expert Dr. Jonathan Way.

Jon leads a busy life, teaching science at Barnstable High School and maintaining his almost- full-time job of catching, tracking and studying coyotes. His classroom is a testament to his "extracurricular" activities, with multiple coyote posters and photos, at least one complete skull and what looked like a row of bone or tooth casts on the windowsill.

Beyond just to meet with Jon, I went to record him talking about urban coyotes. At some point soon, I'll edit down the great material he provided and use it as the backdrop for an audio slide show on my site. Jon also was kind enough to give me some video footage that I'll definitely find a use for.

To see Jon's site on Eastern Coyote research, click here.

In Search of Sightings

2008-02-29T14:11:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Jamaica Plain Coyotes.

Over the next month or so, I will be creating a multimedia website about Eastern Coyotes in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. The purpose of my site is two-fold: to act as a final project for a graduate course in multimedia journalism (a noble cause), and to provide an informative, engaging and interactive resource for anyone interested in the coyote sightings in Jamaica Plain over the past few years.

I will use this blog to chronicle the research, reporting, writing and overall creation of my upcoming site. For now, I am gathering all the information I can about coyote sightings and reports in JP.

Any comments, information about sightings or resources that might help my search would be much appreciated. I will be posting my progress on a regular basis, so stay tuned.