Middletown gets to know wild neighbors DEP info session focuses on tendencies of coyote population BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer DAN NEWMAN The pelt of a dead coyote was on display at last Wednesday night's public meeting on coyotes, which took place at the Middletown Cultural Arts Center. Several attacks by coyotes have resulted in residents being more vigilant. Authorities are looking for a group of miscreants that each weighs approximately 35 pounds and stands no more than 2 feet high, yet they all have hair covering their entire body. No, it's not a group of kiddie capers, but rather a pack of coyotes that has caused Bayshore residents to become fearful for the safety of their pets and young children. Last week, with about 100 residents in attendance, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Division of Fish and Wildlife conducted a public education session on coyotes in Middletown, where the animals have reportedly attacked two young children and many domestic pets since the spring. Anthony McBride, a wildlife management biologist from the DEP, started his presentation by discussing many of the matters that residents have been aware of ever since an initial attack on a 20-month-old boy back on April 6 near Naval Weapons Station Earle in Middletown. "Coyotes often tend to reside in quiet areas and also try to find places where there may be lots of food laying around, such as a trash can," McBride said. "Never feed a coyote, and if you are going to chase one away, do it by making loud noises, throwing rocks or spraying them with a garden hose." McBride also said that coyotes often hunt alone and that they live in each of the state's 21 counties. Still, that last fact didn't help to ease the mind of Paula Wellbrock, whose 4-year-old toy fox terrier, Lola, was killed by a coyote on May 29 at Kunkel Park, near her Highland Avenue home. Wellbrock let Lola out at around 4:15 a.m. that night, just as she customarily would, and said that Lola never wandered far away. "I let her out and then she started screaming and I knew something was wrong. The noise was traveling and it was coming from the park," Wellbrock said. By the time Wellbrock and her husband got to the park and spotted Lola, it was too late. To her surprise, she saw a coyote as she was exiting the park. "For all I know, it could have been the same coyote that killed Lola, but still, this is all very scary," Wellbrock said. "People all around our neighborhood are very afraid and scared." McBride described an Eastern coyote as weighing about 20 to 50 pounds, and averaging in length from 40 to 60 inches. The coyote tends to closely resemble a small German shepherd with the exception of a long snout and bushy, black-tipped tail. They generally give birth in the spring and take their young to learn to hunt for food in the fall. Residents have been asked to call the Middletown Police Department at (732) 615-2100 if they see an animal that looks like a coyote. Middletown authorities have also advised the owners of pets that could be mistaken as coyotes to tie a bright-colored bandanna around their necks to distinguish them from the wild animals. Following the presentation, Wellbrock said that more still needed to be done to help the fight against coyotes. "The DEP needs to do more to get the word out about what is going on," Wellbrock said. "There were a lot of things that I heard at the meeting that, if I had known it all ahead of time, I would have never let my dog outside alone in the middle of the night. I would have been much more protective of her."