New Castle Residents Use Coyote-Sighting Map

New Castle residents are using the interactive map created as part of the town’s Coyote Response Plan.

“We are using our new emergency management software which has GIS mapping to report coyote sightings,” said Town Supervisor Rob Greenstein in his Aug. 11 Supervisor’s Report. “ The Coyote Map is offered as a service to New Castle residents interested in sharing and monitoring reports of coyote sightings and incidents in the Town.”

There are plenty of sightings. The preponderance of sightings reported on the map are around Gedney Brook Sanctuary.

So far, one pet attack has been entered, which also shows one non-aggressive encounter. The pet attack, near Old Lyme Road, from Jan. 17, was not witnessed, but a veterinarian diagnosed the dog’s wound as caused by a coyote, according to the police summary on the map.

Here’s how the map works:

Sightings are self-reported. Reports of aggressive behavior should always be given to the New Castle Police Department at 238-4422 or 911 in an emergency and will only be indicated on the map when it has been reported to the New Castle Police and verified.

Find the map at ncpd.info/coyote.

• GREEN ICON-Citizen entered reports of non-aggressive coyote sighting
• YELLOW ICON-Citizen entered reports of non-aggressive coyote encounter
• ORANGE ICON-Police entered report of a pet attack. Click the icon for details about the attack.
• RED ICON-Police entered report of a human attack. Click the icon for details about the attack.

Citizens can enter sightings and encounters using the form at http://www.ncpd.info/map