Coyote Spotted Roaming Through Bridgewater

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — A coyote is making its rounds through Bridgewater.

The coyote was recently seen in the backyard of a home off of Hillcrest Road in the Martinsville section of the township on Thursday, said homeowner Jon De Leon.

De Leon captured this great photo of the coyote.

Another resident said they had spotted the same coyote two weeks ago in the Van Nest area.

"Currently, coyotes have been reported in 453 New Jersey municipalities covering 96 percent of the state's land area. Because coyotes are so elusive, it is difficult to estimate their population size in New Jersey, but they likely number in the thousands, according to Rutgers New Jersey Agriculture Experiment Station.

For local residents, Rutgers says coyotes tend to avoid human interaction in most cases, and encountering an aggressive coyote is extremely rare.

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