Evidence exists that humans and coyotes have coexisted since the first North American Metropolis arose: Tenochtitlan on the site of modern-day Mexico City. But it wasn’t until the great War on Predators extirpated the Grey Wolf from it’s historic range that Coyotes embarked on their reverse colonization of the United States.

For much of America’s history, coyotes were comfortable in the Great Plains and American Southwest., stretching northward into Canada and south towards central Mexico. In the 30s and 40s, they slunk into the empty ecological niches left behind by the Red and Grey wolves from the Great Lakes to Florida. They first walked onto the scene (verifiably, at least) in New York City around 1995, when the corpse of a coyote was found along the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx.

Unfortunately, fates like their first are all too common in the five boroughs. Upstate, Coyotes hunts are legal From October 1st to March 29th with a standard hunting permit, and there are no bag limits. ‘Problem Coyotes’ that cause property damage or livestock injury may be killed at any time. Inside New York City, coyotes are killed in traffic collisions, by poisoned rodent bait, or infections caused by mange with shocking regularity. Nevertheless, these tenacious canids continue to do more than survive— they’re thriving here.

Opportunistic omnivores, Coyotes will eat everything from small mammals and carrion to invertebrates and berries. They’re well adapted to slipping out of site when danger presents itself—and that includes people! Although our Eastern variants are larger than their western cousins, Coyotes are naturally wary of humans. If you encounter one, a loud sound and sudden movements are usually more than enough to send them back in the undergrowth.