Coyote Harasses Dog On Shelton Walking Trail: Conservation Dept

SHELTON, CT — A coyote harassed a leashed dog on a Shelton walking trail Wednesday morning, however initial reports of a person being bitten are currently unconfirmed and "unlikely," according to the city's Conservation Department.

In a Facebook post, conservation officials said the department received a report that morning of a coyote "aggressively harrying a large leashed dog" on the recreation path at Great Ledge in an "area between Oak Valley Road and Wesley Drive where a coyote pair have denned previously."

The coyote appeared to be attacking the dog, however the dog did not appear to be injured after the incident, according to conservation officials.

"Coyote are very protective of their pups and view other coyotes and dogs as a threat," officials said on Facebook, "especially larger ones."

Officials noted this is the same location where dog walkers have been escorted off the trails over the last two years and one large off-leashed dog was also harried aggressively.

Officials said this is the first report of a leashed dog being attacked or harried this year, however dog walkers may want to avoid the area for the next few months, especially early in the morning or late in the evening.

Denning season typically takes place in March and April, however a coyote family will hang out in the general area and the parents will remain protective for a bit longer, officials said.

After speaking with Shelton police and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, conservation officials said there appeared to have only been two calls about coyotes made to the police department Wednesday morning, and they were "possibly two different people reporting the same incident."

Police notified DEEP about the incident. When DEEP officers arrived in the area, they spoke to a woman coming out of the trails, who told them "a person was bit and was going to the [emergency room]," officials said.

Based on that information, DEEP staff thought it was likely the coyote was rabid, as denning coyotes do not typically attack people, officials said.

"However, this supposed human attack was never reported to the [police] and may have never happened," officials said on Facebook. "It's possible that the multiple reports of a coyote attack were all based on the same incident...if we receive confirmation that a human was attacked, then we likely have a rabid coyote, but at this time that seems unlikely."

Officials noted dog walkers should still avoid the area during denning season, especially in the early morning or late evening. The post can be read in full here.