NYS wildlife expert: Make your presence known to coyotes in the area

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – Webster police said they’ve been receiving an increase of calls regarding coyote sightings in the area, specifically around Webster Park and the Whiting Road Nature Preserve Trails. Now, experts are offering some advice on staying safe.

Police said some of the reports claim the wild animals have come dangerously close to trail visitors, and in some instances, have stalked callers.

Webster police are asking anyone who may have come across a coyote acting strange, or getting too close, to call the department via 911. Officers will then ask about the following:

• The trail you were on.
• An approximate location on the trail.
• Identifiable features or landmarks you came across.
• The route you had planned to take to exit the woods/trail.

Michael Palermo is the wildlife manager for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, for region eight. He said the main guidance is to keep your distance and make the coyote aware of your presence.

You can yell at the animal to scare it away, he said, but more action may be needed. This includes throwing items like sticks or stones.

While not always necessary, there are instances when a situation may rise to the level of contacting the DEC directly.

“Where that is most important, is when people see coyotes and there might be an issue,” Palermo began. “Where, ‘that coyote was too close to me, it didn’t run away when I tried to yell at it.’ It gives us a chance to document it, put it in our database to keep track of where peak coyote issues are.”

Palermo notes, if you do find yourself in an encounter with a coyote and it is not responding to your actions, it is recommended you slowly back away, so as not to trigger the animal to go into chase mode.

“When people call us with those, we let them know some advice and techniques to try to clear that up – to discourage that coyote, to remove those attractants and how to tease it and scare it and hopefully condition it to not want to come back.”

To learn more about how to deal with coyotes, click here .

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