Urban Coyotes

In 18^th century America, New Yorkers had to travel west of the Mississippi River before they first heard a coyote’s howl. Now they can hear them from home. In a remarkable story of adaptability, and despite the ample bounties upon their canine heads, eastern coyotes have successfully expanded their range to now cover most of the North American continent. Even more remarkable is that the once-shy coyote that lurked in the shadows of suburban yards and gardens, has taken an urban turn—and can now be found running through downtown plazas. Maybe this correlates to the rise in food trucks. In a study published in Urban Naturalist by Nagy, Koestner, Clemente and Weckel (2016, No. 9:1-16), the researchers found that coyotes in New York City are not only established and breeding, but within the scope of a four-year study, that they are expanding into other available greenspaces.

"2009-Coyote-Yosemite" by Yathin S Krishnappa - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2009-Coyote-Yosemite.jpg#/media/File:2009-Coyote-Yosemite.jpg"