Coyote sightings increase across Dobbs Ferry this year

Reports of coyote sightings in both Connecticut and New York have made some residents feel a bit uneasy. News 12's Lauren DelVal spoke with area officials and the DEC about what you should know. When I reached out to residents for their coyote stories and photos, the response was overwhelming. Ring video from a home in Dobbs Ferry shows a coyote roaming at all hours. Other photos show coyotes across the village, including one near Dobbs Ferry High School, as a sports team plays nearby. Yesterday we had a coyote on our front lawn, pretty aggressively ripping apart a rabbit. Officials with Dobbs Ferry, Irvington and Hastings-on-Hudson are now working together. As Dobbs Ferry Village Administrator Mike Nepple says there is an increase in coyote sightings this year. This comes after a woman was bit while walking in Hastings by a large, aggressive coyote back in September. The village now has an online reporting form to better track them. What this will allow us to do is on a weekly basis map and track coyote reports according to behavior and determine if directed patrols need to be deployed for arrival and dismissal around our schools. The village is also targeting sanitation efforts in areas where coyotes are spotted. The DEC says there has been at least 24 cases in Westchester County this year. And last month, a coyote attack in Fairfield prompted a safety warning. The coyotes are born in the spring, and by around nine months of age, they're fully grown, and they'll be dispersing from their parents. And so they're in search of basically their own habitat. Though some say this is their home, too. I think we have this idea that these suburban streets are something that we own and that we should be able to keep nature out. And I think when we keep nature out, it ends up causing more problems than it solves. Officials say if you encounter a coyote, make yourself big, wave your arms, and make noise to scare it away. And contact police if you see aggressive, bold, or unusual behavior. In Dobbs Ferry, Westchester County, Lauren DelVal, News 12.