Coyotes Reported in Middletown and Marlboro Townships

Middletown, NJ - Marlboro and Middletown residents have been noticing coyotes and foxes in the area, but police in both townships say you have nothing to worry about.

The Marlboro, NJ community page on Facebook has had multiple comments from residents reporting sightings of coyotes or foxes in their yards. And earlier in September, a Middletown resident reached out to Patch about a coyote near her yard, off Laurel Avenue near the AT&T labs.

"We think we heard it; we didn't go further to see if there was one. Listening to the sounds of foxes later on YouTube, it did not sound like a fox," the Middletown woman, who didn't want to give her name, told Patch. "This was way more dog-like, and clearly several animals, very close by."

Both Middletown and Marlboro officials say that unless the animals become violent or are a nuisance, there's nothing to worry about.

The Middletown homeowner reported what she heard to Middletown Animal Control, who told her: "There are foxes, as well as coyote in this area due to it being a perfect habitat for them. Unless the animals are acting sick or unusually aggressive, there is nothing that we can do about them."

Marlboro police told Patch they received a similar call: A resident heard an animal in the area, and after comparing it to YouTube videos, identified the sound as a fox.

Marlboro police echoed the sentiment, saying, "Unless we get reports of them chasing cats or chasing humans, we don't do anything." He said the policy is to let the wildlife be, unless it becomes an issue.

Reports of otherwise harmless animals in Marlboro are nothing new, especially given the high number of Manhattan transplants, a police official said. "We've had people call to report deer on their front lawn, asking what they can do," the officer said with a laugh.

Foxes are native to New Jersey, and coyotes were introduced to the state in the late 1930s, according to the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife.

Coyotes are not unheard of in Monmouth County: Last winter, a large coyote was seen running around the sand dunes of Sandy Hook. It may have been the same coyote spotted a few days earlier in Long Branch, heading north up the coast. It ran through the streets of Sea Bright, chased by animal control officers, and then into Gateway National Recreation Area, where police think it hunkered down and rode out the winter. There were no reported sightings of that coyote in Sandy Hook over the summer.

In April and May of 2007, two children were attacked by coyotes in Middletown, and a number of pets were killed. No coyote was caught in relation to this string of attacks.

Image via Caninest, flickr