Wildlife in Crisis of Weston, CT and New Canaan Animal Control Officer Allyson Halm have organized a seminar on coyotes featuring twocoyote experts who will offer a comprehensive look at the animal’s behavior followed by a Q & A on living with coyotes in New Canaan.

The event will be held on from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, April 8, at the New Canaan Library Art Gallery, 151 Main St.  Admission is free and the talk is sponsored by Cathy Kangas, CEO and Founder of PRAI Beauty, a global skincare line based in New Canaan.

According to Officer Halm, there has been an increase in coyotesightings in the town, including a close encounter between a coyote and a pet dog. Halm created a coyote hazing kit that contains an air horn, soda can filled with pennies, a bear bell, whistle and reflective tape. Combined with waving your hands over your head and yelling, the kit can drive coyotes away from a residential area.  Residents can put together their own kits. As coyotes can be very territorial, Halm advises residents to keep dogs and cats inside.

Dr. Jon Way, the author of “Suburban Howls,” and founder of Eastern Coyote Research is an expert on the Eastern coyote – or coywolf as he prefers to classify the species. One of the foremost coyotebiologists in New England, he will share photos and information on topics ranging from the natural history of coyotes to their hybridization with wolves.

He will be joined by Bill Mannetti, an animal rights proponent since 1982 when he co-founded Animal Rights Front, a small, all-volunteer group based in Seymour, Conn.  The group’s focus has been on the state-sanctioned destruction of wild animals carried out by institutionalized hunting and trapping.  He holds a Connecticut trapping license and was instrumental in ending the lethal trapping of beavers in Stratford by illustrating the horrific impact leghold traps can have on wildlife.

The presentation at the library is an opportunity for residents to learn how to live with coyotes without using leghold traps on their property.  Birds of prey or family pets can be ensnared in these traps.

“We need to learn how to co-exist with coyotes. They are not going away,” said Halm.  “This presentation by coyote experts along with the coyote hazing kit are the first steps to helping New Canaanites understand coyote behavior,” she added.