Write a commentIt started on a snowy night in January 2022.
Fresh snow had fallen over Oswego, softening the streets with a white blanket. Enjoying the rare stillness that only comes after a snowfall, I went for a walk. While trekking across the E. Albany Street bridge I heard the unmistakable serenade of a coyote pack.
I stopped mid-bridge, very surprised at what I heard. Coyotes? Here? Within earshot of houses, storefronts, and the glow of parking lot lights? It felt almost out of place.
The next morning, curiosity got the better of me. I headed down to the railroad tracks beneath the Albany Street bridge. The fresh snow made the story easy to read.
Canine tracks, and lots of them. I followed them from East Avenue southward and then north toward Mitchell Street. At one point I was so cold that I briefly questioned every academic decision that led me to kneel in the snow studying paw prints like a frozen detective in a low budget wildlife crime drama. I soon realized that this wasn't the random wandering of a loose dog, but the purposeful and direct trackway of their wild cousins. The coyotes were using the railroad tracks as a highway through the city.
In wildlife ecology we call these highways "movement corridors." Railroad tracks, power lines, even large drainage lines. They offer the path of least resistance. For a coyote it's efficient travel; fewer fences, fewer cars, less human disturbance.
Based on track size and pattern, I determined there were four grown individuals traveling together. Later, I confirmed this with game cameras placed along the rail line. You may be wondering: what exactly is a coyote pack? Unlike wolves, coyotes don't always live in large, rigidly structured packs. Most often an Eastern coyote family unit consists of a breeding pair and that year's offspring. Sometimes with one or two juveniles from the previous year still hanging around. In other words, a tight-knit family group.
The Eastern coyote itself is a fascinating animal, and one I have studied for years. Genetically, it's not identical to the smaller Western coyote. Western coyotes expanded eastward in the early 20th century. Prior to that they were limited in their eastward expansion by the presence of wolves. Wolves will kill coyotes when given the chance. However, European colonists in the 19th century put bounties on wolves, as well as clear cut vast tracts of the land in the American Northeast. This loss of habitat along with the indiscriminate killing resulted in wolves being extirpated from the Northeast. This allowed Western Coyotes to move east and when they did, they interbred with the few remnant wolves that eluded persecution, who were desperate for mates. As a result, modern Eastern coyotes carry a significant percentage of wolf heritage, with an average of about 25% of their DNA being wolf. That genetic blending explains their slightly larger size compared to their western kin, usually 35-50 pounds around here.
My cameras didn't just capture coyotes. They documented white-tailed deer, gray foxes, and a surprising amount of wildlife moving through an area most people associate with errands and shopping carts. All of this activity was happening within view of the Oswego Plaza stores, near Price Chopper, and near the backyards of numerous residences.
Despite living in close proximity to people, these coyotes were avoiding direct interaction. I never once followed their tracks onto anyone's property, though I did lose feeling in my toes and gained a deeper appreciation for fur. Coyotes occupy an important ecological niche. They help regulate rodent populations, scavenge winter carcasses, and maintain environmental balance. They are not prowling neighborhoods looking for conflict. We share this landscape, whether we acknowledge it or not. There's no reason we can't live alongside the remarkably adaptable coyote.
