52 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • MARCH 2019
SUPER GENIUS
COYOTES INVADE LI
YMCA SUMMER
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We offer the best of Adventure,
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AWAIT
BY JUNGLE BOB
Coyotes are ingrained in our culture.
We’ve all spent time in front of the
TV laughing in disbelief at the stupidity
of that Looney Tunes character
Wile E. Coyote who can’t catch Road
Runner, no matter how many ways
he tries. It always ends up bad for
Coyote, doesn’t it?
Well in reality, the name “Wily” is
an apt one for a coyote, as they are
one of the smartest animals in North
America. They are shrewd, elusive,
canny, skilled survivors that have
been in North America since the
time mastodons roamed the western
plains. The systematic eradication of
their natural predators, wolves and
big cats, have allowed coyote numbers
to skyrocket, and given their
inquisitive roaming nature, their
range grew from the American West
and Southwest in the early 1900s to
the lower 48 states by the turn of the
century.
Long Island with its natural barriers
was one of the last places in America
coyotes did not call home. But guess
what? Yes, coyotes have been spotted
on LI enough times to declare this last
stretch of land part of their territory.
Sightings have been made on the
North Fork, on the Gold Coast, and
in Searingtown, a breeding population
made a den near Laguardia
International Airport.
It’s hard to know exactly how they
arrived, but I would think t h e
many bridges and tunnels
connecting the Island to the
mainland have added a new
meaning to the concept of
E-ZPass.
Coyotes weigh in between
30 to 70 pounds and have
a long snout and big bushy
tail, so they should be easy
to spot — yet few people have
seen them. There is no need
to panic and not let the kids
out as attacks on humans are
rare, but some of our pets would
make easy prey for this cunning
predator.
They also have been known to
hybridize with domestic dogs,
resulting in a wider range of colors
and sizes, so there are many reasons
to keep your precious Fifi on a short
leash. Efforts to eradicate
them in other urban and
suburban areas nationwide
have been unsuccessful, so
it appears they are here
to stay.
Wile E. Coyote indeed!
Beep! Beep!
Jungle Bob’s Reptile
World is located at 984
Middle Country Rd. in
Selden. They can be reached
at junglebobsreptileworld.
com 631-737-6474.
PRESS PETS
For coyotes, LI was the final
frontier.
(Getty Images)
"It appears they are here to stay."
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