Rye Residents On Alert for Coyote Sightings

NEW YORK (WCBS 880/1010 WINS) - The landscape in Rye, New York is barren and bleak and covered in a blanket of snow. For coyotes, it is the lean season and a time to endure and survive, according to one wildlife expert.

"Sometimes the adults will take the young out of the area because they become competition for food, that's why we get a little less activity around here now," expert Jim Horton told WCBS 880's Paul Murnane.

Other experts, however, warned that the hunt for food combined with mating season made now the time to watch out for coyotes.

During the winter, coyotes look for small rodents, but could even take down a deer, said Horton.

1010 WINS Reporter Kathleen Maloney talks with a parent about coyotes

WCBS 880 Reporter Paul Murnane talks with a wildlife expert about coyote sightings

So what should you do if you encounter a coyote?

Horton said people should not turn away or run from it, instead they should become "big" and "loud." The Journal News also reported that it was important to secure garbage cans in addition to keeping small dogs on a leash.

Some Rye residents, however, said they were not too worried about an impending coyote attack.

"We haven't seen any coyotes so far," one resident said.