Residents in one part of Fairfax County, Virginia, are seeing coyotes in their neighborhood. The most recent sighting was near Southside Park in Vienna on Thursday.
Deanna Busteed, who was out walking her dog, said her neighbor saw a coyote Thursday night.
“She lives on Plumb Street and it backs up to Vienna Woods, and she says she noticed it while she was walking there,” Busteed said.
Her husband Brandon said they both think they heard coyotes howling the last few nights.
“It was yipping and howling, yes, and it sounded different from the dogs and it triggered a whole bunch of the dogs barking at it.”
The Tanglewood Community Association also put out a notice about the coyotes, saying “please take care around the wildlife.”
The presence of coyotes in the D.C. area isn’t new, according to Megan Draheim, co-founder of the District Coyote Project.
“They’ve actually been here for over 20 years,” she said. “We’ve changed the landscape so much and gotten rid of larger predators, that they’ve managed to expand their range.”
Draheim said coyotes can now be found all over the U.S., expect Hawaii, and are almost never a danger to humans.
“It’s not really a concern if you see one out and about during the day,” she said. “They’re actually naturally active during the day.”
According to Fairfax County, coyotes might consider smaller animals as prey. The county had a message for pet owners.
“Pets that are outside unattended may be at risk to coyotes, especially during nighttime and early morning hours. Coyotes may consider small, unattended pets including cats and small dogs as prey due to their similar size to natural wildlife prey.”
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