As residents prepare their homes and backyards for warmer weather, some unknown neighbors may also be preparing their homes. Coyotes, opportunistic animals that now live in a variety of habitats, will be building dens and searching for food while humans not too far away are gardening or setting up lawn furniture as the weather warms.

While coyotes are not the hostile predators they look to be, the New York State Department of Environment Conservation warns that they become more aggressive this time of year. More than likely, they are also closer to your home than you’d think.

Coyotes are found throughout the state, from rural environments to New York City, said Mike Schiavone, a wildlife biologist with the DEC. Their ability to take advantage of various types of food sources allows them to spread throughout the state and live in very different places.

“They’re very adaptable,” he said. Coyotes tolerate people better than other wildlife, he said.

In fact, coyotes have only recently arrived in New York. After wolves were decimated in the state, coyotes arrived from the midwest and spread throughout North America and even Central America, becoming established in New York by the 1930s, according Dan Bogan, writing in the Conservationist, a magazine put out by the DEC.

A study by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry estimated that there are about 14,500 breeding pairs of coyotes in New York during the summer, with one to over two pairs found on average every 10 square miles, according to the DEC’s website. Researchers at Cornell University found over four pairs of coyotes for every 10 square miles on average in suburban areas, with their “home range” averaging a little over two square miles.

Schiavone said that coyotes may be more often sighted in densely-populated suburban areas rather than rural areas.

“There’s just more eyes around,” he said. He added that this also means the number of conflicts can go up as suburban areas encroach on wildlife habitats.

While it can depend on the environment, coyote dens could be within a few dozen to 100 yards of a home, said Schiavone, although coyotes will move their den site if needed.

“It’s relatively common for coyotes to live in close proximity to people,” he said.

But, he added, it is not common for a person to have a conflict with a coyote. In the springtime, it is more likely to happen, he said, because coyotes are caring for their pups.

Coyotes breed once a year in late winter and have their pups in the spring, said Schiavone. Some of these pups, once they’re fully grown, will leave in the late summer or early fall. Others will stay for a full year until the next spring. Rather than traveling in large packs like wolves, he said, coyotes stick together in small family groups that can include their adult pups.

Spring preparation for pups includes setting up denning areas, said Schiavone. Coyotes may set up their dens in a blown-over tree, a hole in the ground, a brush pile, or even in a manmade structure.

Coyotes in spring will also forage for food more often, to feed their fast-growing pups, and travel farther to get it. As opportunistic omnivores, they will eat insects, fruit, small animals, and occasionally weak or young larger animals.

Spring den preparation and more frequent foraging means there is higher a chance humans will come into contact with coyotes, said Schiavone.

“The pups have high energy demands,” he said.

A few years ago, Amy and Russ Pokorny of Knox were worried that their coyote neighbors were no longer around. They saw fewer coyotes and more rodents instead. But now the coyotes seem to be returning.

“We can hear them singing at night,” said Amy Pokorny.

She said that she was not concerned about their poodle, Sam, because the dog is kept on a leash when outside.

Russ Pokorny added that he didn’t see them as a threat to people either, saying that they looked like “lean German Shepherds.”

The Pokornys have seen lone coyotes on the opposite side of their pond, about 100 yards away, which they believe they may drink from or from a nearby creek, and appreciate their company, because the coyotes eat rabbits and rodents that could get into their home or garden.

Gary Kleppel, who owns a farm in Knox with his wife, Pamela, says that he believes he is in the minority in liking coyotes.

“I’m a farmer and I don’t hate coyotes,” he said.

Coyotes have never killed his sheep or harmed his sheepdogs, he said, although they have taken some chickens on occasion. The most they ever killed were five of his 30 chickens after his electric fence shorted out — owls, he said, have killed more than that.

Another time, coyote pups harmed his sheep. Usually though, the coyotes come out at night and eat rodents, when his own animals are inside.

“So we don’t have rats in our barn,” he said.

A decade ago, Kleppel said he shot a coyote because it was not afraid of people, even when he fired over its head. But he usually appreciates them as a fellow hunter and a smart animal.

“I see coyotes as part of the ecosystem,” he said.

“Mistruths” about coyotes

The state environmental education center at Five Rivers recently offered a session for children to learn about and look for evidence of coyotes. Tim Siniger, an intern with the Student Conservation Association, led the group of families on the trails surrounding the center. Parents had almost as many questions as their children.

Siniger also said he wanted to address “mistruths” that people may believe about coyotes, such as that they’re carnivores that take down large deer. Instead, coyotes will only go after sick or injured deer, he said, and their varied diet can include rodents, fruit and berries, or insects. These “city wolves” will also eat trash in urban areas, he said.

“That’s like a free buffet to them,” said Siniger.

As children searched for scat, Siniger pointed out some with long hair in it, and surmised that a coyote had eaten a rabbit for dinner. One girl excitedly called it “Easter hunting,” in reference to the bunny-based holiday that had recently been celebrated.

Singer also said that coyotes are not as aggressive as people think. When a parent asked about whether she would have to hurry along if she saw a coyote while on a run, Siniger said it’s not likely that a coyote would interact with a person.

Siniger used the now-famous coyote that was found this spring at the New York State museum as an example, saying that it was only sunbathing on the mezzanine.

In a picture from the New York State Police, the coyote is seen resting its head on its front paws, with its tail curled around its body and its ear folded down, giving it the appearance of a dog that had just misbehaved.

Schiavone said the coyote was found to be healthy. A video from the DEC shows the animal being released into the wild and bounding off.

“That’s a situation where an animal got stuck in a spot he couldn’t get out of,” Schiavone said.

Siniger did point out that the chorus of howling and yelping passersby may hear is a sign that a group of coyotes are acting territorial.

Avoiding conflicts

Schiavone said that coyotes are best appreciated at a distance.

“What we’re trying to maintain is coyotes’ natural wariness of people,” he said.

When coyotes associate people with food — people sometimes feed coyotes or leave trash or pet food outside — the coyotes lose their natural fear of people, Schiavone said.

A rarer reaction to a decreased fear in people is when coyotes attack or kill small dogs that they believe have entered their territory.

“A coyote’s only 30 pounds or so, so they tend to stay away from bigger dogs,” said Schiavone, although Eastern coyotes can reportedly be larger, around 55 pounds at most. He said pets should not run free unsupervised, especially at night.

He recommended not leaving pets out and being meticulous about keeping food inside. This means not feeding pets outside and asking neighbors not to either. It also means making sure garbage is inaccessible although coyotes cannot get into garbage as easily as a bear can. Even bird feeders can attract coyotes, as they draw in prey like birds and rodents.

“A lot of the things we recommend for preventing conflicts with coyotes applies to lots of different species of wildlife,” Schiavone said. “Whether it’s raccoons or bears, or that type of thing.”

A homeowner should try to drive away an overconfident coyote by waving and shouting, said Schiavone.

“Just appreciate coyotes from a distance,” he said.

In fact, coyotes may be emboldened by someone running away or hiding, because this is behavior seen in their prey, according to the DEC’s website.

But if someone spots a coyote in the wild, said Schiavone, there isn’t much to worry about.

“You should enjoy it,” he said. “Coyotes can be pretty reclusive and inconspicuous.”

In a neighborhood, it will depend.

“It’s probably not a cause for alarm,” he said. But if the coyote is becoming too bold around people or pets, he added, “That might be an issue that we have to deal with.”

Schiavone said that people should be aware that coyotes are in the area, as most negative interactions with them have been with people who didn’t know that.

“They’re here, they’re well established in New York, and they’re here to stay,” he said.