Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Coyotes in Westchester County NY
So I'm driving to work yesterday in the wee hours and see a coyote crossing North Broadway just past Executive Blvd. in Yonkers and enter the woods of Lenoir Preserve. Silvery fur, nice canid and told a few people at work what I saw. Now I didn't make the official phone call, report a sighting. I didn't want to be kind of a dick because folks get excited and I mean real excited over these things. Actually there's woods there, they were here first so I figure they have every right to dwell and they come down from the Old Croton Aqueduct but there was another reason I didn't want to involve my local government bureaucracy. Last summer a couple coyotes showed up on Park Ave. by Roberts at about 2 in the morning, people called of course and since it was their jurisdiction a couple Yonkers cops, one a sergeant, showed up. So the sarge encounters one of the critters and takes out his pistol and fires off some shots. WTG!!! I got some issues here: first he ain't part of Animal Control and hasn't been trained as such, two an errant shot could have hit some innocent bystander, say some guy dropping a girl off and three he could have mistaken somebody's pet for the wild canid as there can be some confusion here with certain breeds (maybe BB here can link us up with the rare coydog). Now they say you're supposed to scream at the top of your lungs if you encounter one and as my friend goes it's all part of the Pussification of America. Later that night nothing on the tv so I hit the Audubon Field Guide to the Mammals, second time I read it: cruising speed from 20-30 MPH (can I jog that fast?), top speed 40 MPH for short distances, can make 14 foot springing leaps, they weigh anywhere from 20-40 lbs. (kinda a light dog so what's all the fuss about? it's not like a feral Sasquatch), average lifespan in the wild 6-8 yrs. This was right before the Hastings-on-Hudson border but more Yonkers so I know how these things play out. Did see a couple of dead coyotes recently on the side of the Saw Mill Pkwy. in the Hastings/Ardsley corridor which runs parallel to the much-used South County Trail butcha wanna know something? My exercise and my health comes first, went for my powerwalk this morning and I'll be damned if I'm walking there with my murse slung over my shoulder and start screaming at the top of my lungs like some little bitch:)
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I love it when I talk about shit I know. The area around Lenoir (ah even the name Lenoir!) has some real old Gothic structures, rustic and ruined buildings around the Foxfire School property. Then down the road a bit going south is Samuel Untermyer Park with its Greco-Roman statuary and flowing fountains and the little brown bats that fly around at dusk and come from the small caves there in the woods. It's like a time warp and you could film an episode of the Vampire Diaries here or have a Michael Ninn porno shoot:)
ReplyDeleteI think around here there was a mountain lion sighting, not to one-up you or anything, just mentioning it.
ReplyDeleteThere haven't been any Mountain Lion or Bear Sightings Around here Lately. My Husband and I saw a Fox, not Long Ago, while Walking our Dog. Luckily the Dog didn't see it. It just Ran across the Road some Distance away and Darted into the Woods.
ReplyDeleteAs to Yelling and Screaming at Wild Animals, this does Often Scare them away, so it is not just to Pacify America.
I'm not against making alot of noise but the official statement here was scream. What, shouting OOOGA-BOOOGA and waving your arms doesn't work? I saw a red fox in Bedford once while I was on a flower delivery, saw a bobcat on the bank of the East Croton River in Brewster, saw my first coyote on the side of the Merritt Pkwy. in CT again on a flower delivery and already told you about that very possible mountain lion thing back in the day. BTW Woodlands Lake, now Great Hunger Memorial Park at VE Macy in Ardsley has the biggest snapping turtles I've ever seen!! saw one today and I wouldn't want to fall in the water although they're supposed to be relatively inoffensive when not on land.
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