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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Sounds of peak coyote mating season may ring in the ears of residents this month in both suburban and urban areas in the Commonwealth.
The canines live and breed everywhere in Massachusetts, except for Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard Marion Larson of MassWildlife said to WBZ's Karyn Regal.
"They're out and about looking for mates- yipping and howling, making all kinds of different sounds," Larson said.
Because coyotes are extremely adaptable to living in different habitats, MassWildlife recommended residents secure their garbage, close off crawl spaces, and cut back brush edges to limit cover opportunities. Larson said that coyotes howl to communicate with the family unit, which typically consists of two adults, their young of the year, and one to two "teens."
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It's rare for a coyote to bite someone, Larson said, as MassWildlife has documented 24 bite incidents on people in the entire state since the 1950's with the first being in 1998.
"Coyotes don't have an interest in people, they generally don't have an interest in pets unless they're hungry or feeling that there is some competition," Larson said.
After the mating season in February, coyotes give birth to around four to eight pups in the spring and raise them until autumn when the pups disperse.
WBZ's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports.
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