The Coyote

Another relative newcomer to the urban habitat is the eastern coyote. It commonly roams the suburbs of cities in the East and the upper Midwest. Scott Smith, a state wildlife biologist, has studied coyotes living in the northern suburbs of New York City. He has found they are not only adaptable to people but are also lazy, eating whatever is easy to get, from garbage and grasshoppers to pet food and even pet cats. They have thrived where farmlands reverted to forest.

The eastern and western coyote are subspecies. In the early 1900's, the western species began to migrate eastward across Canada, eventually dispersing through the Northeastern United States and as far south as Florida. Genetic evidence indicates that eastern coyotes interbred with wolves, evolving into a larger animal than its western counterpart. Easterners average 16 to 18 kilograms (35 to 40 pounds), but they can reach 23 kilograms (50 pounds) or more, whereas westerners average 11 to 14 kilograms (25 to 30 pounds).

Western coyotes became suburbanites earlier than their eastern cousins. They had moved into the suburbs of Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, and other Western cities by the 1960's, possibly earlier. The westerners are even less wary of people. Residents of the suburbs around Los Angeles, for instance, regularly see coyotes trotting down neighborhood streets, drinking at lawn sprinklers, and eating from dog dishes. Coyotes occasionally attack small dogs, but according to Scott Smith, such confrontations stem from the coyotes' territorial instincts, not because the dog represents food.