Coyotes Concern Delaware Residents

Delaware officials said on Monday that they wanted to make sure residents know what to do if they encounter a coyote.

According to officials, the animals have been spotted in the area.

Stan Gehrt, a professor at The Ohio State University, said that coyotes are not native to Ohio but can be found in all 88 counties.

“Once they’ve been established in an area, once they’ve found that’s a suitable place, it’s very difficult to remove them from an area whether it’s natural or cities,” Gehrt said.

Debbie Byron said that she was afraid for her dog, Buckey.

“With small dogs like I have, we do have to be more afraid,” Byron said. “The coyotes have attacked one of the larger dogs. I think I’ve seen that e-mail a couple of times.”

Gehrt said that late January to February is mating season for the coyotes, and dog owners should be on guard.

“That’s when they are the most territorial,” Gehrt said. “That’s when their hormones are at their highest level, and that’s when we tend to have a spike in conflict between coyotes and our dogs.”

Gehrt said that coyotes approach urban settings for a number of reasons, such as an easy food supply.

He also said that coyotes’ howl is a form of communication.

“It doesn’t mean they’re about to eat you,” Gehrt said. “They’re not angry, they’re not about to kill anything, they’re actually bringing the family group together.”

Byron said that she hoped her walks with her dog would remain uneventful

“I do keep my eyes open to make sure they are not around,” Byron said.

The City of Delaware planned to host a public hearing about coyotes at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Delaware Community Center YMCA on Houk Road.

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