Backyard buddies?

Ask anyone living in New England, and they can tell you about coyotes. Even if you haven't seen them, you probably have stories of terrifying howls in the night, or a favorite family cat that never came home.

"We think of urban areas as our areas, that it's not natural to have these animals around. In fact, as an animal, it's very natural to go to a place where there aren't more of your kind," said Jonathan G. Way, a UConn alumnus and wildlife expert. "They don't move into neighborhoods to bother you, but to meet their biological needs."

Way spoke Thursday evening in the Ratcliffe Hicks Arena as part of "An Evening of Howls," a UConn Wildlife Society presentation. Way's lecture, an overview of his research into the ecology of eastern coyotes, was part of a night dedicated to understanding and celebrating North America's unique wild canines.

"Of course most people are worried about their kids and small pets getting taken," Way said. "But when you look at the numbers, it's pretty amazing how different the human interaction between dogs and coyotes is."

Way went on to explain that 4.7 million dog bites occur in the U.S. every year, and approximately 1,000 dog bite victims go to the ER daily for emergency treatment. Meanwhile, he knew of only one officially documented coyote bite, which occurred because a 3-year-old was hand-feeding the animal. Way emphasized that coyotes only cause harm when encroached on by humans.

"They're actually pretty shy, and try to avoid people," Way said.

Way then described his wide variety of experiences throughout his years of coyote research. Not only had he spent years tagging and tracking coyotes in Cape Cod and around the north shore of Massachusetts, but he also got a unique opportunity to raise a litter of pups at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Mass.

"It's absolutely amazing the stuff you can learn in captivity," Way said. He described that each animal had a completely individual personality, including one dominant female who would fight to sit on his lap.

Way had spent three years working with the litter, when the zoo decided they no longer wanted the animals to have close contact with humans. He described the end of his time with the animals as "tragic."

"They gave me a howl as I was leaving," he said.

But Way has continued with his research, and explained his findings about their territory size, space use, denning habits, and pack makeup. His latest work seeks to prove that eastern coyotes are actually a hybrid between western coyotes and the red wolf population that existed in Connecticut before European settlers eliminated them. But his greatest emphasis was on understanding and appreciating the animals.

"I still don't know how I feel about coyotes. They keep eating the sheep at the barn," said Liz Hocking, an 8th-semester allied health major with an extensive agricultural background. "I think what I can really take away from this lecture is that it's our responsibility to protect our animals. We can't just keep saying 'Those freaking coyotes!' and shooting them."

"For this event we really wanted to show the distinction between coyotes and wolves. A lot of people around here will say 'Oh, I saw a wolf!' when they really saw a coyote," said Melissa Ruszczyk, an 8th-semester natural resources and wildlife management major, and the president of the UConn Wildlife Society. "Everyone should love coyotes just as much as they love wolves."

The distinction was certainly highlighted when the New York Wolf Conservation Center brought in Atka, their resident Arctic Gray Wolf.

Atka, who stood calmly for the audience's photos, was a living illustration of the Conservation Center's invaluable work to restore critically endangered species to North America.

As Way said: "They bring the wild back to an impoverished area."