This coyote has been frequenting Tower Grove Park in south St. Louis.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Noppadol Paothong Photographer Missouri Department of Conservation
This coyote has been recently wandering Tower Grove Park in St. Louis. Park officials say the animal may be separated from a pack. They say he's not been approaching people and poses little threat.
Noppadol Paothong/Missouri Dept. Conservation
Coyote in Tower Grove Park has been living small animals and perhaps food from the nearby residential neighborhood. Here on Monday, he's caught a squirrel.
A not-so-wily coyote has been wandering around Tower Grove Park in St. Louis for about a week.
“We don’t know where he’s coming from,” said Mike Keithly a park ranger who has been keeping tabs on the animal. “He may have left a pack.’
The coyote has been seen throughout the park by joggers and other people using the park, located at Kingshighway Boulevard and Arsenal Street. “We haven’t been seeing him much during the week but more on weekends when there are more people walking their dogs,” Keithly said.
The coyote, which is about the size of a medium-sized dog with tan and brown fur, probably has been living on squirrels and possibly wandering into nearby residential neighborhoods in search of food, he said.
On Monday afternoon, as people walked and jogged around the park, he could be seen walking around as well, easy to see with newly fallen snow. His ears appeared a bit scared and his tail was thin.
Keithly and park officials don’t think the animal poses any threat to people. The animal doesn’t approach people and moves away from them when they get closer, he said.
Roy Smith, a nearby resident, saw the coyote on Sunday when walking his dog, Daisy. He said several other people have told him they’ve seen the animal over the last few days.
It’s not unusual for coyotes to adapt to urban and suburban settings but one hasn’t been seen in the park recently, Keithly said. Smith said he has seen several foxes in the park.
“It’s kind of surprising to see one here,” Smith said. The park is used by more than a million people a year and has few places for an animal like a coyote to hide. “There are a lot of trees here but virtually no undergrowth,” Smith said.
Even though the animal keeps his distance, it doesn’t seem frightened, he said. “He(or she) seems to me to be pretty casual.”
Comments
Forgenmord (anonymous) says...
Coyotes are solitary animals, not pack animals. So it's pretty unlikely that he "left a pack". More likely he just found a nice habitat where there isn't much competition for delicious squirrels.
His tail is kind of pitiful though. I've seen him a couple times while walking my dogs. He seems intersted in watching us from a distance. Checking out his fellow canids.
February 16, 2010 at 10:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
michaelm (anonymous) says...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote#Behavior
Coyotes do live in packs, but not always.
February 20, 2010 at 2:24 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
cai (anonymous) says...
It depends on how big the prey is in the area; they will form groups to take down big prey.
February 23, 2010 at 10:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )