1 00:00:01,639 --> 00:00:05,360 Speaker 1: Welcome to get connected with Nina del Rio, a weekly 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:09,440 Speaker 1: conversation about fitness, health and happenings in our community on 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,399 Speaker 1: one oh six point seven Light FM. 4 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:15,640 Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to get connected. This has been a 5 00:00:15,760 --> 00:00:19,759 Speaker 2: brutal winter, but some folks took amazing pictures and one 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 2: that caught my eye was a coyote casually walking across 7 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:24,919 Speaker 2: a frozen pond in Central Park and I wanted to 8 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 2: know more, so I thought I would ask someone who 9 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:29,880 Speaker 2: probably knows more than anyone else about coyotes in the city. 10 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 2: Chris Nagy a wildlife biologist working here since two thousand 11 00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 2: and one and co founder of Gotham Coyote. Gotham Coyote 12 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:41,120 Speaker 2: is a collaboration of researchers and educators from several institutions 13 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 2: around the region working together to better understand coyotes and 14 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 2: their role in our urban ecosystem. Chris Naky, thank you 15 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 2: for being to get connected. 16 00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 3: Oh sure, great to be here. 17 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 2: The website is Gothamcoyote dot org, which, by the way, 18 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:55,800 Speaker 2: I went down a rabbit hole last night reading research 19 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 2: papers and all these things, so we'll get into that 20 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 2: in a minute. But studying coyote in New York. Why 21 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 2: study them in New York versus somewhere out in the 22 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:04,560 Speaker 2: woods in the wilderness. 23 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a good question. I mean, that's sort of 24 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 3: been my career, is finding places where animals live in 25 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 3: urban urban areas or suburban areas. And it's it's a 26 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 3: growing field. We have our own conference now and that 27 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 3: sort of thing, so you know, people are interested in it, 28 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 3: scientists are interested in it. It's somewhat hopeful field and 29 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:29,280 Speaker 3: that you know, humans have done so many things to 30 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 3: the world to make life difficult for wildlife, and a 31 00:01:32,920 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 3: lot of them do find urban space is difficult. But 32 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 3: we can learn something from those species that have managed 33 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 3: to make a living and perhaps, you know, increase that 34 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:44,200 Speaker 3: list of species that can do that. 35 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 2: On the hopeful front. One of the things I learned 36 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 2: last night from your website that in recent years coyotes 37 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,360 Speaker 2: have expanded their historical range and they're now in places 38 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 2: like Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, New York. What is driving 39 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 2: the growth of the population of coyotes and cities? 40 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 3: You know, all of these all coyotes, you know, they'll 41 00:02:06,240 --> 00:02:08,360 Speaker 3: have babies and those those young grow up and they 42 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:10,640 Speaker 3: need to go somewhere. So this is all driven by 43 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:14,760 Speaker 3: the by the same processes that have seen coyotes expand 44 00:02:14,840 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 3: their range into all sorts of new habitats. They range 45 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,080 Speaker 3: from Alaska down to Panama and even a bit south 46 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,760 Speaker 3: of Panama. Now, so I always try to put this 47 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 3: in context where the New York story is really cool 48 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,800 Speaker 3: and interesting. But as you said, they've they've done this 49 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 3: in urban areas all over the place, and they also 50 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 3: they've also done it in habitats, including urban but all 51 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:38,079 Speaker 3: sorts of habitats all over the place, all over North America. 52 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 3: So it's it's sort of those basic ecological functions of 53 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,920 Speaker 3: their territorial species. The young have to go somewhere, they 54 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 3: seek out new places, and they've managed to adapt to 55 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:52,320 Speaker 3: the urban space as well as all these other habitats. 56 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 2: So how many coyotes do you know over think there 57 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:57,400 Speaker 2: are in New York City and where do most of 58 00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 2: them live at any given time. 59 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, we don't have an exact number, but as I said, 60 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 3: they're territorial, and the work we've done with their genetics 61 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 3: indicates that in any given kind of green space, there's 62 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:14,080 Speaker 3: basically one family that is a relatively stable pair that 63 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:17,200 Speaker 3: breed every year. So the population goes up drastically because 64 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 3: they'll have four to seven pups every spring into the summer, 65 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 3: and then those will disperse and many of them won't 66 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 3: make it, so it goes back down. But if you 67 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:28,560 Speaker 3: are trying to do a running average, it's still pretty low. 68 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,760 Speaker 3: It's probably we think between twenty and thirty coyotes in 69 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 3: the whole city. And that is because even though they 70 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 3: are adaptable and they are good at living in urban spaces, 71 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 3: they do seem to need some green space to kind 72 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 3: of as an activity center or a place to hide 73 00:03:43,880 --> 00:03:47,200 Speaker 3: during the day at least, and so there's always some 74 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,440 Speaker 3: kind of home base that they have in some park 75 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:50,920 Speaker 3: or small green space. 76 00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 2: To be clear, though they are as far as I 77 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 2: understand it, they've also made it to Staten Island and 78 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 2: Long Island. 79 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 3: Definitely Long Island, the Staten Island. We don't do much 80 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,960 Speaker 3: work in Staten Island, but the Parks department, you know, 81 00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:05,040 Speaker 3: we have a good relationship with them and they keep 82 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:07,240 Speaker 3: me informed. And there's only been a like one or 83 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 3: two very sporadic sightings of coyotes in Staten Islands, and 84 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 3: that happens again. They're very mobile, so you'll have these 85 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 3: young dispersers coming in and maybe they don't like it 86 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 3: and they leave or they don't make it. So we 87 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:24,760 Speaker 3: sort of track regular sightings and we use trail cameras 88 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 3: to monitor different places, and so if we get a 89 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 3: you know, regularly photograph a coyote, we say, okay, there's 90 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 3: a cutie living here, versus like one random picture. And 91 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 3: so far in Staten Island it's been pretty sporadic. 92 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,240 Speaker 2: When people talk about New Yorkers the humans, they always say, like, 93 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:43,719 Speaker 2: humans are built different and I always think that means 94 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 2: like we're competitive and we're adaptable and maybe tolerant. When 95 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 2: we're talking about urban animals and of course coyotes at 96 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 2: the top of that, is that actually true for them? 97 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 2: What is true for them? Are they different than their 98 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:57,520 Speaker 2: peers out there in the woods. 99 00:04:58,040 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, we're trying to get into that kind of research, 100 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,080 Speaker 3: but there's a lot of research on like individual traits. 101 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 3: You know, coyotes as a species are very adaptable and 102 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,720 Speaker 3: flexible in their behavior and diet. But there's been some 103 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 3: findings where even within coyotes, some are probably better suited 104 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 3: to an urban lifestyle than others, some are more skittish 105 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,279 Speaker 3: than others. It's a balance. Really, a coyote that does 106 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:23,839 Speaker 3: well in the city can't be too comfortable with people 107 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:27,279 Speaker 3: and can't be too ready to go, you know, approach 108 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 3: people or approach new things because things are dangerous and 109 00:05:30,320 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 3: af fed coyotes a dead coyote, as we say. But 110 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,360 Speaker 3: they also can't be completely skittish and fearful because the 111 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 3: coyotes in Central Park have to put up with one 112 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 3: hundred thousand people a day, so they can't literally, you know, 113 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,160 Speaker 3: run from every person they see, or else they just 114 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:47,040 Speaker 3: wouldn't it would be they couldn't make it. So yeah, 115 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 3: there's some balance between comfort with different stimuli, new stimuli 116 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 3: in their environment, new objects, human activity, noises, but they 117 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:58,479 Speaker 3: also can't be too comfortable with it or altho they'll 118 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 3: end up getting in trouble. So we're doing some research. 119 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 3: We're starting to research now with behavior to look at 120 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,719 Speaker 3: is there a difference between even locally within southern New York, 121 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 3: between our more suburban or rural coyotes upstate versus the 122 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 3: ones in the city. 123 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:14,039 Speaker 2: I think what you're saying is a reminder that you know, 124 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:15,919 Speaker 2: they're individuals at the end of the day, just like 125 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:19,560 Speaker 2: every other animal or person, and so some are skittish, 126 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 2: some are more relaxed. 127 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 3: It's what it is, yeah, and wildlife ecologists forget that 128 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 3: a lot. We're always in searching for answers like this 129 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 3: species behaves this way, this species tends to do that, 130 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 3: and there's truth to that. But there's also individual animals, 131 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:34,680 Speaker 3: just like there's individual people. 132 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 2: Chris Nagy is a wildlife biologist and co founder of 133 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 2: Gotham Coyote. So much cool stuff on that website, gothamcoyote 134 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 2: dot org. You're listening to get connected on one O 135 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:47,760 Speaker 2: six point seven, Let FM. I'm mina del rio. So 136 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:50,440 Speaker 2: what are the coyotes eating in New York City? 137 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 3: Very similar with some exceptions to what they're eating everywhere else, 138 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 3: so they work. They usually take small mammals, from squirrel 139 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,559 Speaker 3: down to mice and fols. Coyotes in the city often 140 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,600 Speaker 3: eat raccoons a little bit more than they do in 141 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 3: rural places, probably just because there are so many raccoons 142 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 3: in the city. In places where there are deer in 143 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 3: New York City, they eat some deer. It's unclear whether 144 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 3: they're actively hunting them or just eating like roadkill and 145 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,800 Speaker 3: other dead deer, probably a mix of both. They eat 146 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 3: a lot of vegetation. They actually are omnivores, so they 147 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 3: eat a lot of berries and seeds seasonally. And then 148 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 3: of course they're definitely eating more garbage and other human 149 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 3: sourced food and that you know, it takes a lot 150 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 3: of sampling to get at this, but it definitely seems 151 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 3: like the smaller a park that a coyote lives in, 152 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 3: the more litter and garbage it's eating. In New York, 153 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 3: we found very little basically in all of our scats. 154 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 3: There was one scat that actually had a cat in it, 155 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 3: so they're not really going after pets. We often say 156 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 3: that coyotes would rather eat the cat food than the 157 00:07:57,120 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 3: cats that people leave out for feral cats. 158 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 2: And so well, that was interesting. So again from one 159 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,000 Speaker 2: of your articles that got them coyote, I learned that 160 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 2: free ranging cats and coyotes they don't inhabit the same territory. 161 00:08:08,960 --> 00:08:10,920 Speaker 2: So I'm wondering are the cats kept in check to 162 00:08:10,960 --> 00:08:15,000 Speaker 2: an extent by coyotes or do coyotes just out hunt cats. 163 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 3: Oh well, in that paper, Winch cameras seem to get 164 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 3: more cats versus coyotes or what's the mix? And those 165 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:26,320 Speaker 3: cameras tend to be in places closer to the edge 166 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 3: of a park or in places where there were more people, 167 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 3: and so it's probably a mix. I'm sure the cats 168 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,040 Speaker 3: are avoiding coyotes if they know they're in an area, 169 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:39,319 Speaker 3: and it's probably not literally zero the number of cats 170 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 3: that coyotes eat, but it's still very low, but you 171 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 3: still can have that behavioral impact. At the same time, 172 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:47,439 Speaker 3: the free ranging cats are probably coming in from the 173 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,439 Speaker 3: streets and going into the park just a little bit, 174 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 3: whereas our coyotes tend to try to stay in the 175 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 3: middle of the park most of the time. So there's 176 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 3: that spatial segregation that's based on things that aren't directly 177 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 3: coyote cat interaction, but just cats tend to live near 178 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:03,880 Speaker 3: the people and coyotes tend to go away from the people. 179 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:08,920 Speaker 3: It's tricky to do behavioral studies on different wildlife species 180 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,880 Speaker 3: in the city because they're so flooded with the effect 181 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,920 Speaker 3: of people. Most of these animals are just responding to, 182 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,559 Speaker 3: either avoiding or attracted to human activity. That then when 183 00:09:18,559 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 3: you try to look at well, let's take the human 184 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 3: activity out and just look at the animals interacting with 185 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:25,480 Speaker 3: each other, it's really hard to wash that out. 186 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:27,439 Speaker 2: To get to that a little bit you were saying, 187 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 2: you said a dead coyote, a fed coyote is a 188 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,360 Speaker 2: dead coyote. So and a fair amount of their food 189 00:09:32,600 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 2: in urban areas is also human food. Can you talk 190 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 2: about feeding coyotes and you know their health in general 191 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 2: eating that stuff. 192 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:45,559 Speaker 3: Yeah, So that mainly comes from if you start every 193 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 3: problem coyote basically starts from a fed coyote, and so 194 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 3: it will become more comfortable around people. It will look 195 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 3: at people as an opportunity for food, not in terms 196 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 3: of eating a person, but getting resources in some way, 197 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 3: and they will pick up on that pattern and learn 198 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,800 Speaker 3: that lesson. Whereas if you teach them that that is 199 00:10:06,880 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 3: not possible and that humans are not important or you know, 200 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:15,319 Speaker 3: don't serve any opportunity for them, then they'll continue to 201 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:18,920 Speaker 3: stay away. And so you know, we've had very very 202 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 3: few incidents in the city in New York City with 203 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:26,680 Speaker 3: coyotes and humans in conflict, but it has happened elsewhere. 204 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 3: And there's a really two reasons that may happen. Is 205 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,560 Speaker 3: one is Raby's which is always a concern but minor, 206 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 3: but it does happen. The other is there was some 207 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,440 Speaker 3: history of coyotes being fed or otherwise you know, conditioned 208 00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 3: to approach people, and so that's where that term comes from. 209 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 3: It's also I think it started with bears. A fed 210 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 3: bear is a dead bear the same for the same reason. 211 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:54,240 Speaker 3: If you don't like coyotes, you shouldn't feed them, because 212 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,679 Speaker 3: then you'll have coyotes approaching it. And if you do 213 00:10:56,800 --> 00:10:59,080 Speaker 3: like coyotes, don't feed them either, because that's only going 214 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 3: to lead to problems later on and likely you know, 215 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:03,760 Speaker 3: lethal removal. 216 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:07,560 Speaker 2: Thinking about their biggest threats to you know, rat poison, 217 00:11:07,640 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 2: I assume they eat rats. We know about you know, 218 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 2: issues with owls eating rats that have poison with rat poison. 219 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:15,160 Speaker 2: Can you talk a little bit about that. 220 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, we've done no direct measurement of the levels of 221 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 3: secondary poisoning in our coyotes, but I have to think 222 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 3: that it's a problem in Central Park. They've been observed 223 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:30,439 Speaker 3: eating rats. It's somewhat less of a problem in a 224 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,439 Speaker 3: bigger park where they're maybe eating something else and those 225 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 3: city rodents, mice and rats are less of a portion. 226 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,079 Speaker 3: But it's definitely something worth looking into, and it has 227 00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:44,720 Speaker 3: been seen in other coyote populations, So I have to 228 00:11:44,760 --> 00:11:48,320 Speaker 3: think that at one point, you know, it'll be a concern. 229 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:50,440 Speaker 2: Dogs and coyotes. What should people know? 230 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I tell people the rules for a 231 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 3: responsible pet ownership are the same whether there's coyotes around 232 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 3: or not. I mean, you really should keep your dogs 233 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 3: on a leash. And again that's not just because there's 234 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 3: coyotes out. There's raccoons and they have rabies and distemper 235 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:11,959 Speaker 3: and other diseases and parasites. There's skunks, there's cars, there's 236 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 3: other dogs. That's the main one that you don't want 237 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 3: your dog getting in trouble with or getting in a 238 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 3: fight with. So that's the main thing is control your dog. 239 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,920 Speaker 3: And again, as long as the coyote is not conditioned 240 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 3: to think that there's a food opportunity, you know, in 241 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 3: proximity to a person, then they just want to be 242 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 3: left alone and they'll they'll run away. And in Central 243 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,280 Speaker 3: Park there are some it is permitted to let your 244 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:38,679 Speaker 3: dog off leash. It's certain, you know, I think it's 245 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 3: like ten pm on or something like that, and people 246 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 3: do it and they've interacted with the coyotes. Luckily, the 247 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,880 Speaker 3: coyotes can run faster than most dogs, but it's not 248 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,160 Speaker 3: something we like to see. 249 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,679 Speaker 2: Should people report just a general sighting to you, or 250 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,360 Speaker 2: if someone sees a coyote in distress, who would they notify. 251 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 3: If a coyote seems to be in distress, he should 252 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:04,400 Speaker 3: call the region to New York State d C and 253 00:13:04,559 --> 00:13:07,160 Speaker 3: or the New York City Parks Department. We are a 254 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,960 Speaker 3: research set up and we don't have any capacity to 255 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 3: help a coyote, but they could put you in touch 256 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 3: potentially with wildlife rehabber, although there aren't many in the 257 00:13:17,600 --> 00:13:21,080 Speaker 3: city that can take a coyote, but potentially someone could. 258 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 2: And then do you want to know if someone just 259 00:13:23,679 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 2: sees it, you know, running down Park Avenue or something. 260 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:30,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, you can definitely send us sightings of coyotes on 261 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 3: our website and we keep all of them. If it 262 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:37,719 Speaker 3: is a coyote that we sort of know then and 263 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,040 Speaker 3: there's not a real issue, then we'll log it. I'll 264 00:13:42,080 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 3: try to get back to everyone. But if it's a 265 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,240 Speaker 3: coyote in a completely new place that we know about, 266 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 3: it's very useful because then we can go and put 267 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 3: our cameras up and sort of confirm it and check 268 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,680 Speaker 3: it and add it to our database. 269 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:56,800 Speaker 2: Basically, are they banned or anything like that. 270 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,959 Speaker 3: No, we had an opportunity to collars some back in 271 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:02,960 Speaker 3: twenty eighteen and we learned a lot, but we haven't 272 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,839 Speaker 3: done It's a lot of work, a lot of resources, 273 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 3: and very hard to do in an urban setting. And 274 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,199 Speaker 3: we're learning a lot just from our non invasive methods. 275 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 3: And I think you know, until you have a very 276 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:18,319 Speaker 3: important and specific question, you know it's best to leave 277 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 3: the animals alone, and so we can do that collecting 278 00:14:20,520 --> 00:14:23,720 Speaker 3: their scat, getting sightings, and using our trail cameras. 279 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:25,880 Speaker 2: Is there anything else you'd like people to know. There's 280 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:27,560 Speaker 2: so much on the website, by the way, to point 281 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:29,520 Speaker 2: out again, you can really if you're into animals, you 282 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 2: can really go down a rabbit hole there. 283 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,680 Speaker 3: Well, I'm glad you like it. I'm very bad at website. 284 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:33,800 Speaker 1: No. 285 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 3: I mean, if people are interested, they can definitely go 286 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 3: to the website, learn more, and potentially hit that donate button. 287 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 3: We are a nonprofit. I actually work for a land 288 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:48,040 Speaker 3: trust upstate called the Mianis River Gorge and you can 289 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:49,680 Speaker 3: go to that website and we have a lot of 290 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 3: other research going on with different animals and all kinds 291 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 3: of things that's at Mayanis Dot org, mia, n us 292 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:00,280 Speaker 3: dot orgy. I had to throw that in there, but 293 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 3: that's sort of the headquarters for Gothamcoyote. We take students, 294 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 3: so if high schoolers or college or even graduate students 295 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 3: are interested, we can talk volunteering or potentially collaborating. And 296 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 3: then the last I'll say is we are in desperate 297 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 3: need for a new geneticist on our team. We do 298 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:23,280 Speaker 3: want to get back into the genetics stuff, So you know, 299 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 3: anyone local that's interested in doing lab work, We're willing 300 00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:27,240 Speaker 3: to do the field work. 301 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 2: Very cool. Gothamcoyote dot org again resources and ways to 302 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 2: support their research. As Chris just mentioned, Chris Nagy is 303 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 2: the co founder of Gothamcoyote. Thank you for spending time 304 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 2: and talking to me and being don't get connected well, 305 00:15:40,760 --> 00:15:41,000 Speaker 2: thank you. 306 00:15:41,080 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 3: It's fun. 307 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: This has been get connected with Nina del Rio on 308 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: one oh six point seven light Fm. The views and 309 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the views 310 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,000 Speaker 1: of the station. If you missed any part of our 311 00:15:53,040 --> 00:15:55,400 Speaker 1: show or want to share it, visit our website for 312 00:15:55,560 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 1: downloads and podcasts at one oh six to seven lightfm 313 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:00,600 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks thanks for listening.