PUBLIC SAFETY: A pack of coyotes had a Wyckoff resident’s dog by the throat before letting it go, and neighbors want authorities to do something about it.
“It’s getting out of control,” resident Karen LaCorte told CLIFFVIEW PILOT this morning. “They’re in my yard almost every night without fail.
Pawlie recovering after coyote attack
“One coyote was spotted yesterday with an injury to its leg and we’re wondering whether people are setting amateur traps,” LaCorte said. “I’m supposed to go check the woods behind my house for them, but I’m hoping to avoid that.”
Coyotes reportedly killed nearly two dozen chickens in Mahwah two months ago. They also have been spotted recently in Elmwood Park, Englewood Cliffs and Saddle Brook.
Coyotes let go of the dog they attacked last Thursday night in Wyckoff because it was wearing an electric fence collar, LaCorte said. The cocker spaniel-poodle mix named Pawlie (see photo) suffered two sets of punctures wounds on his neck as a result, she said.
Experts say you’re more likely to be bitten by your own dog. Coyotes rarely attack people and will run when approached — especially when you make eye contact, shout or open your jacket to appear larger, they say.
Still, encroachment by humans on their habitats, defense of their newborn and the need for food, water and shelter can make some Canis latrans aggressive.
Last week, a female jogger in San Diego reported being bitten by a coyote.
Earlier this month, a coyote attacked at least two people outside their homes in a northern Massachusetts town a little over a half-hour north of Boston, police there said. One man was bitten as he entered his home with his 4-year-old daughter and another “had to kick the animal several times” in his front yard, they said.
Unofficially, there have been roughly 160 confirmed non-fatal coyote attacks on humans in the U.S. in the past 50-60 years — most of them in California, authorities said. Two fatalities have been reported in that time.
