Coyote Pup Pursued in Edgemont After Backyard Appearance

Greenburgh police are searching for a coyote pup that was discovered hiding underneath a deck in a back yard by an 11-year-old boy at 11:30 a.m. in Edgemont.

Tariq Kamel told Patch he was playing on the back deck at 124 Glendale Rd. when he saw the coyote between the slats. He ran inside and told his mother, Kessaci Kamel, who immediately called police.

"I was on the deck, and he was moving right under us, and the deck is like, eight feet high," said Tariq. "I saw it, and then I told my mom and I went inside, and then I looked outside from the window," he said.  

Kamel, who has a 3-month-old baby among her three children, frantically reported the incident. She said that, after skulking around near the deck and the children's swingset, about 20 feet away, the coyote moved to her neighbor's backyard at 125 Highland Rd.

"He stayed for while, for 45 minutes, like an hour, he was just sitting there," said Kamel. "And after I called the Greenburgh Police, he went to my neighbor's house."

Aside from hiding underneath the deck, the playground equipment, and a neighbor's yard table, Kamel said the animal did not do much. 

"He was under their table and I know she has two daughters, five and three, and usually they play outside, and today they were not outside." 

Although there is no definitive evidence of a burgeoning coyote population in lower Westchester, Lt. Brian Joseph Ryan said that the Greenburgh Police Department had observed coyotes becoming more comfortable with humans in recent years, and said they are more likely to venture into developed areas.

"I'm not an expert, but from coyotes are not as threatened by humans, and small children are an easy target," he said.

Tariq claimed the coyote was even growling. "It seemed to be growling the whole time," he said, but he wasn't scared. Well, maybe just a little.

"Half and half," he said, explaining how fearful he was. "It's a coyote, and there's been a lot of attacks, but it was kind of small. It was hiding, and then running across, and then hiding, and then running."

His mother did not hide her concern. "I was scared, I mean, to find it in my backyard, because he was there under the tables. I was scared for what happened last time [in Rye]. I told my kids, 'You have to be careful, like, you sit, and the coyote is under the table!' "

Greenburgh police report that they are tracking the coyote with pepperball guns, non-lethal weapons that are used to stun the animals and drive them back into their natural habitat. 

After two coyote attacks on young girls in Rye last week, police have been on high-coyote alert, taking what Lt. Ryan described is a "proactive and reactive approach."

"We both respond to calls when there are sightings and actively try to keep the coyote population contained in wooded areas," he said. "We have specially-trained tactical officers who track coyotes."

Ryan said lethal weapons would be used only in exceptional circumstances, such as an attack like that in Rye. "We are currently not considering sending officers to track coyotes in the neighboring woods," Ryan said. "That is their habitat and if you drive them out, it will only make matters worse where people live." 

Kamel is not sure that will be enough.

"I hope they will catch it. The coyote is in the neighborhood, and if they go on Highland Road, they will find him," she said.

Edgemont resident Jim Lasser, a former Longview Neighborhood Association president and a neighbor, noted that the area is right near Greenville Elementary School, which has a small thicket nearby.

Last month, Heathcote Elementary School had a temporary lockdown after a coyote spotting in the neighborhood, and on Monday two coyotes were spotted near Fenway Golf Club, in a wooded area near Secor Road.

"There is a little wooded area there, but not much. I usually am out at 5:30 in the morning , so it's strange [he hadn't seen one]," he said. "I have not heard [complaints from neighbors], but I am not surprised. They may have come up from the Sprain looking for food, but no, we are unaware of it."

Robin Shaffer, who lives in the Fort Hill neighborhood  that lies just north of where the coyotes were spotted, said coyote reports are uncommon. 

"I haven't seen a coyote in a while," he said. "I've seen them once or twice in 20 years, I know they're around," but he attributes the family pet to the reason they've been rare in his neck of the woods. "We used to have two big dogs, now I have on big dog, so they wouldn't go near my house."

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation advises anyone confronted by a coyote to act aggressively, yell loudly and bang pots and pans.  It should retreat. 

The Greenburgh Police Department asks all coyote sightings in the Town of Greenburgh be reported to animal control at (914) 682-5300.

Scarsdale residents can call Scarsdale Police at (914) 722-1200.