Interest in the local coyote population has continued to rise in recent years as trail cameras have captured photos of the elusive canines prowling around the region at night.
Coyotes have been spotted in Murrysville, Penn Hills, Tarentum, New Kensington, Connellsville and Mt. Lebanon in the past few years.
But unless you’re planning to let your Chihuahua roam free in the dead of night, state game commission officials said there is little to be worried about.
Pennsylvania Game Commission Warden Mike Papinchak will host a presentation on coyotes Saturday at the Murrysville Community Park wetlands pavilion. Papinchak will discuss the difference between the tracks of coyotes and domesticated dogs.
The eastern coyote, Canis latrans, is found throughout the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. It likely originated from interbreeding between coyotes and gray wolves, according to game commission officials.
Analysis of DNA suggests coyote-wolf hybridization has occurred. Other studies indicate that the eastern coyote is intermediate in size and shape between gray wolves and western coyotes. As a result, the eastern coyote exhibits different behavior, habitat use, pelt coloration, prey preferences and home-range sizes from its western cousin. It is the largest wild canine found in Pennsylvania.
Coyotes are also the only animal in Pennsylvania that can be hunted year-round, day or night.
Coyotes prefer heavy brush cover found in places such as clear-cuts, and they often live along edges between forest and agricultural areas where prey is abundant.
Papinchak’s presentation will be at 10 a.m. at the park’s wetlands pavilion, 4056 Wiestertown Road in Murrysville.
To keep coyotes away, the Pennsylvania Game Commission advises:
• Do not allow small domestic animals outdoors unattended at night.
• Don’t throw out table scraps. It draws rodents and other wildlife a coyote finds appetizing.
• If a coyote is visiting, yell at the animal and try to shoo it away. Consider a motion-activated light.
Click here for more information from the game commission.
