5 Coyotes Circling Dog Walker, Dog Prompts Warning From Police

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Police in one local town are warning people to watch their pets after five coyotes circled a dog walker and a dog recently.

The five coyotes came within six feet of the walker and the animal Thursday, Saddle River Police said in a statement on Facebook.

A passing motorist honked their horn, got out and disrupted the confrontation, police said.

TYCO Animal Control, which provides animal control services to several Bergen County municipalities, is aware of the situation and are working with police, authorities said.

The state Division of Fish and Wildlife recommends dog walkers, joggers and others keep a compressed air horn with them or a walking stick with them to prevent a similar incident, police said.

Coyotes primarily hunt rodents and rabbits for food, but will take advantage of eating whatever food is available, including small domestic animals, DFW said.

Conflicts between coyotes and humans most likely occur as adults forage for food for their pups in the spring and summer.

There have been incidents of aggressive coyotes in Bergen County in recent years.

Two such animals were seen in Saddle River County Park in May 2016.

A coyote that attacked and bit a man walking his dog in Norwood in 2015 tested positive for rabies. That animal was later found and euthanized. A female coyote was found near a Norwood school and a den was not far away.

Coyotes were also spotted in Paramus, Ridgewood, Midland Park, and Harrington Park in 2015.

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