Coyote That Bit Several People In New York City Suburbs Has Rabies, One Killed But Partner Still Out There

This story isn’t coming out of Wyoming or the rolling hills leading to the Rocky Mountains range, it is coming from the suburbs of New York City where a pair of coyotes has been traveling the bedroom communities of New Yorkers. The one coyote that is believed responsible for biting several people in Westchester County was captured and killed on a Yonkers golf course.

That coyote has tested positive for rabies and the other coyote that has been seen traveling with the now deceased animal is also believed to be carrying the disease. That coyote is still on the loose. On Saturday, the Yonkers Police Department confirmed that the dead coyote did have rabies, according to Fox News.

The Police Department Described The Dead Coyote And Its Partner

“This coyote, including a second coyote, observed traveling with the same, is suspected of multiple biting attacks in Yonkers and the surrounding jurisdictions over the past several days.”

The Yonkers Police Department posted their findings of rabies discovered in the dead coyote on their Facebook page. They also said that the coyote that is still on the loose is presumed to also have rabies. These coyotes are believed to be responsible for killing a small dog and they are believed to be the culprits that mauled three sheep, leaving one dead at Muscoot Farm Park.

The coyotes have attacked and were spotted in Yonkers, Hastings-on-Hudson, and Somers reports the New York Post.

https://www.facebook.com/YonkersPD/photos/a.354638151223976.78353.165506283470498/1733205810033863/?type=3&permPage=1

The Post reports that a postal worker and a county cop were among the several victims bitten by the coyote, that they describe as being on a “biting spree” across the area. The Post also reports that both the coyotes could be the culprits who bit people during this spree.

Police Warn To Be Careful

The attacks started on Wednesday night and they continued over the next 24 hours. Police are keeping their eyes open for the second coyote, but they ask the public to notify the police if they happen to spot the animal. Yonkers police have requested you call 911 if you encounter a coyote that fails to flee from people or shows aggression.

Coyotes Adapting To Populated Areas

A report last year indicated how coyotes are adapting to a more populated world and they are becoming more wolf-like as time goes on. This change is necessary so they can live in the newly populated areas that used to be their rural homes.

Recent genetic tests were done on coyotes in the eastern part of the U.S. and it showed they are actually a mixture of coyote, dog, and wolf. According to Boston.com, their very existence could hinge on the coyotes becoming the wolves of the East.

Coyotes roam the cities, towns, and forests of the area from Virginia to New Foundland and they have been doing so for decades. They have been in this area since the 1930s. They tend to be bigger than the coyotes out west because of their combined genetic makeup of wolf, dog, and coyote.