Three Coyote Sightings Reported This Week in New Canaan

Police received three reports of coyote sightings in New Canaan last week, bringing the August tally to five, officials say. This month’s reported sightings include two down on Betsy’s Lane, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt. Other recent sightings include Oenoke Ridge, Richard’s Lane and Old Norwalk Road. The total for 2014 comes to 40 coyote reported sightings. Though the animals mating season (they mate for life) passed in the spring and early summer, coyotes live permanently in New Canaan and often search backyards for food.

Coyote Sightings in New Canaan Continue in June

Police last week received a report of a coyote way up Oenoke Ridge—near Scotts Corners in New York—the first sighting of June in what animal control is calling a relatively active season for the species. “This was a large coyote and the people there are concerned because there are domestic pets and kids around,” Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt of the New Canaan Police Department said of the mid-morning June 1 sighting on Oenoke. (Coyotes fear humans and do not attack children, officials say, though they do see smaller domestic pets such as cats or small dogs as food.)

In all, police received reports of seven sightings in May, including one where a coyote attacked a small dog and was carrying it away when a golden retriever also in the family ran after it, prompting the coyote to drop the smaller animal. Coyotes, which mate for life, generally mate and den in March and April, so that lone males generally are seen out and about through April and May, gathering food for the females who have given birth. Here’s an updated interactive map of coyote sightings in New Canaan in 2014.

High Coyote Season Arrives: Sightings on Briscoe, Pocconock, Benedict Hill

 

Two more pairs of coyotes were spotted in New Canaan last week—on Briscoe Road, Pocconock Trail and Benedict Hill Road (see interactive map below plotting all 2014 sightings)—the first sightings in April, according to residents and police. Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt told NewCanaanite.com this week that the animals have been running in pairs (they mate for life) up to now as they look for food and prepare to den. When that happens—typically in April—New Canaanites will see only the males. “Pretty soon you’re going to see one lone coyote,” Kleinschmitt said (full video here). “If you see them, bang pots and pans together, make sure small dogs or cats are kept home.

Mangy Fox, Pair of Coyotes Seen in New Canaan [VIDEO]

 

A Hampton Lane resident photographed and reported a mangy fox that appeared on her property Monday morning, police say. Residents concerned about animals that frequently appear on their properties (such as this fox) that have mange—a highly contagious, treatable skin disease—must work with their vets in order to try and get medication to the animal itself that could help, according to New Canaan Police Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt (more on that below). Other news out of Animal Control: As happened last week, another pair of coyotes appeared in town, this time on March 28 on Laurel Road. “It’s interesting to see quite a few coyotes still in pairs,” Kleinschmitt said. The animals mate for life, and around this time of year they den, so that lone males generally are seen out and about, gathering food for the females who have given birth.

2 Coyotes Spotted Tuesday at Deep Valley Road in New Canaan

 

[Editor’s Note: The featured photo on this post is a ‘coywolf’ photographed in New Canaan, a cross between a coyote and wolf. Read more about the species here. They’re counted as coyotes in the map.]

A pair of coyotes were sighted Tuesday at the end of Deep Valley Road (near the Grupes Reservoir and St. Luke’s School), the fourth in the past week, officials say. With the warmer weather, we’re entering the most active season for coyotes (which officials say dwell in large numbers in the woods behind the Armory, on the Norwalk line).