Every night my hound dog lets me know when the neighborhood red fox is in the back woods. That red fox now apparently has competition. Below is a press release issued today by Arlington County. While Arlington states that there is nothing to worry about, a different report recently released notes that coyotes have been making easy prey out of people's pet outdoor cats.
ARLINGTON, Va. – Arlington County naturalists have received their
first proof of what they and residents have long suspected – coyotes
have come to Arlington.
Just last week, a game camera at Potomac Overlook Regional Park ,
in Arlington, took the first video of an Arlington coyote. "We’ve had
reports of them for years now, mostly in north Arlington, along the
Potomac River, but couldn't get any proof," said County Natural
Resources Manager Alonso Abugattas. "The public has sent us several
pictures claiming coyotes but they were all either dogs or mangy foxes."
What brings coyotes, long an iconic image of the West – and paired
with the Roadrunner in a beloved series of cartoons - to Arlington?
Abugattas believes that our highly urbanized, densely populated County
might actually be attractive to coyotes, who are skillful scavengers.
“Coyotes will make a living wherever they can find food, even in big cities,” he said. “I think they are here to stay.”
Coyote not native to Virginia
In its 2011 Wildlife of Arlington: A Natural Resource Heritage Technical Report ,
the County reported that "it is considered likely that coyotes have
found their way into Arlington, but they are extremely cautious, range
very widely and move primarily at night." The coyote is not part of the
historical native fauna of Virginia but is a master at adaptability and
has steadily moved from its western haunts. The coyotes spotted in the
Eastern United States tend to be larger than Western coyotes.
“Eastern coyotes are larger than their Western cousins,” said
Abugattas. “Some naturalists think that as the coyote migrated
eastward, they may have interbred with wolves, and the wolf DNA helped
them grow a bit bigger.” Others believe these eastern coyotes simply
grow bigger because there is more food available to them.
Coyotes avoid people
“Coyotes are very good at avoiding people, so residents shouldn't
be overly concerned,” said Cliff Fairweather, the new naturalist at Long
Branch Nature Center. “The key is for resident to not feed them or to
encourage them not to be afraid of people. The longer they are afraid of
people, the better it will be for coyotes and people.”
To learn more about the strategic steps Arlington is taking to protect the County’s natural areas, reach the Natural Resources Management Plan , adopted in 2010 by the County Board.
“Since we’ve been making parks in Arlington more natural by
eliminating exotic invasives, planting local native plants, introducing
some historical animals, we have seen some great results,” Abugattas
said. “Our Barcroft Park has some unique and rare plant species. We’ve
got spotted salamanders – that we had not seen for 20 years. We have
White M Hairstreak butterflies and woodcocks.”
, in Arlington, took the first video of an Arlington coyote. "We’ve had reports of them for years now, mostly in north Arlington, along the Potomac River, but couldn't get any proof," said County Natural Resources Manager Alonso Abugattas. "The public has sent us several pictures claiming coyotes but they were all either dogs or mangy foxes."
, the County reported that "it is considered likely that coyotes have found their way into Arlington, but they are extremely cautious, range very widely and move primarily at night." The coyote is not part of the historical native fauna of Virginia but is a master at adaptability and has steadily moved from its western haunts. The coyotes spotted in the Eastern United States tend to be larger than Western coyotes.
