Late January through early March is coyote mating season. Coyotes are very active during the winter while courting mates and defending their territory. Coyotes are in every city and town in mainland Massachusetts, meaning the opportunity for human-coyote interaction is high. The mere presence of a coyote is not a cause for concern. MassWildlife officials are reminding the public to take these 3 simple steps to prevent conflict with coyotes during the mating season:
1. Protect your pets
- Pets should always be directly supervised on a leash when outdoors, especially during the coyote mating season.
- Coyotes can’t differentiate between their natural prey and small pets, so they will view unprotected outdoor cats and small dogs as a potential food source.
- Coyotes can’t distinguish your dog from an intruding coyote, causing the coyote to be more aggressive toward medium- and large-sized dogs as they will view them as potential competition for mates and territory.
- Do not supervise your pet from a distance on your porch or at your backdoor. Most coyote attacks involve dogs that are unsupervised or being supervised from a distance in a backyard.
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