Coyote captured on film near Umstead Park

A Raleigh Eco News reader who lives near Umstead State Park shot this backyard photo a couple of months ago using a motion-triggered trail camera. The person, who shall remain unidentified in order to deter coyote- or camera-hunting trespassers, reports:

The coyote appears a bit larger than it really is because the camera is only two feet off the ground, however this one is obviously well-fed and stout. I've read that coyotes in this part of the state have interbred with wolves, and are thus thicker than the average skin-and-bones type that you usually see.

The other objects in the pic include a mineral block (dark block on ground), a timed feeder hanging from a tree, and a sewer pipe clean-out access (sticking out of ground to the left of the base of the tree).

We have been hearing them every so often at night, and it's really picked up in the last few weeks. Coyotes sound like a cross between a pack of hyenas and a basket full of puppies. We haven't heard any Hollywood-style howling, yet.

Living with coyotes

Speaking of coyotes and John Dancy-Jones, the latter turned me on to an amazing blog about the former: The Daily Coyote is a documentary project by a woman who lives with an orphaned coyote named Charlie (and a tomcat whom the coyote adores) in a one-room cabin in Wyoming.

Coyotes in Raleigh?

Last week while walking my dogs along a Raleigh greenway at night, I think I saw a coyote. We were on the trail east of Raleigh Boulevard when my dogs began pulling on their leashes as if trying to get to something ahead of us. Exasperated, I scolded them -- when all of the sudden an animal burst out of the brush just a few feet away from us and tore down the trail. We've seen foxes along the greenway before, but this was bigger than a fox -- as tall as my Australian shepherd but leaner. It was difficult to see clearly in the dark, but its coat appeared to be tan and gray, and it ran from us with bushy tail tucked between its legs. Then last night while walking our dogs along that same stretch of trail, my husband saw what he guesses was probably the same animal, which burst from the bushes near the same spot along the creek and crossed the trail into the woods. When I mentioned our sightings to a friend today, he said he also saw what he thought was a coyote in his neighborhood near Oakwood Cemetery. Since coyotes are known to thrive in suburban and even urban settings and have made appearances in Greensboro, Washington's Rock Creek Park and even New York City, it isn't surprising that they'd be with us here in Raleigh -- especially since I saw one several years ago in Umstead Park at the city's northwestern edge. I know some people fear coyotes (the animals can present a threat to unattended small pets, though they rarely attack humans), but they play a beneficial role in the ecosystem by keeping mice and squirrel populations in check. Some tips for avoiding conflicts with coyotes include not approaching them, not feeding them, not leaving food or garbage outside, and not allowing pets to roam free, especially at night.

(Photo from South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Web site)