‘Coyote issue’ in Tonawanda as town residents are told to be mindful

Residents have reported a number of encounters with the creatures, Supervisor Joseph Emminger said, though it’s not clear how many there are in the town.

“We have a coyote issue in our town,” Emminger said at Monday’s Town Board meeting.

Coyotes are a potential threat to small dogs, and pet owners should keep an eye out when their animals are outside. But the coyotes are not considered dangerous to people, whether adults or children, Animal Control Officer Mark Ansel told board members.

“They are way more afraid of you than you are of them,” Ansel said.

Coyotes are a species of canine that is related to, but smaller than, the wolf.

They eat rabbits, rodents, squirrels and similar creatures. Coyotes often will hang around a food source like a garbage receptacle because they consume the animals that are drawn to the food scraps it contains.

“Coyotes are like any other animal – they’ll be where the food is,” Gina Lattuca, a spokesperson for the SPCA Serving Erie County, said in an interview.

Lattuca said the coyotes may be on the move because the recent heavy snowfall has made it harder for them to find their regular sources of sustenance.

This is also the early part of the coyotes’ mating season, leaving the animals with two reasons to set off a little farther from their home territory: “Food and fun,” Lattuca said with a laugh.

There is a sizable coyote population in the area, but the public doesn’t always see them.

“They are in more places than you’d think,” Lattuca said.

So it’s not clear whether there truly are more coyotes or just more coyote sightings, she said.

Coyotes are not nocturnal and it’s common to see them at any hour of the day, Ansel said Monday.

He said town residents shouldn’t worry too much beyond keeping closer track of their pets.

“Hazing” is an effective way to scare off a coyote, Ansel…