Here is Janet DeMaio’s story:
Some research has shown that a population of coyotes that moved northeast around the Great Lakes on an eastward trajectory interbred with red wolves and gray wolves along the way. These hybrid animals are larger and have different musculature in their skull and mandible which enable them to take down larger prey, such as deer. Dubbed “coywolves” these animals demonstrate a common feature in the genus Canid, which is that many species in this biological category can interbreed and produce fertile hybrid offspring. Events like this continually challenge how scientists define the meaning of a “species.”It was the morning of Nov. 6, 2009 and we were getting ready for work and school. We live in a home that has about 2 acres of land, the backyard faces a wooded area that leads to Mt. Biesek behind our house. Since we have lived here we have seen deer daily, coyotes, wild turkeys and even a copperhead now and then. However, on Nov. 6th it was 6:30 A.M. and as my daughters were getting ready to go to the bus stop my husband noticed an animal sitting in the backyard facing the woods. As we looked it appeared it might be a large dog with a lot of fur but because it was sitting about 100 yds from the house we couldn’t tell for sure. Therefore we proceeded to grab our binoculars to get a closer look. As we did this it was almost as if the animal knew we were admiring it as it kept turning its head toward the house to look at us. Once the binoculars confirmed that this was not a dog I proceeded to call my neighbors to tell them. They all have small dogs and I was fearful if the dogs were let out this animal may go after it. We were able to take a few pictures and although they were from a distance we could clearly see that this animal sat about 3 feet tall and once we were able to get it to run toward the woods its body was between 4-5 feet in length when running. We contacted the St. of Ct. [state of Connecticut] and they feel this was a male Eastern coyote although it was quite large. We have seen coyotes plenty of times and all have been about the size of a small to medium sized dog, none ever this large. This animal we saw was much larger and its face had slightly different features than the coyotes we normally see. I suppose we may never know for sure what it was but I will say we were fortunate to have had an opportunity to catch a glimpse of it. He was beautiful!
Judging from Janet’s positive account of seeing the animal in her yard, events like this also bring an element of wonder and joy into people’s lives. From my perspective, wonder and joy is derived from knowing that despite the major transformation humans have inflicted on the landscape of our country, it’s refreshing and surprising and humbling to see that some animals are adapting and thriving; and that despite our major impacts upon large mega-fauna, something new is possibly being generated in the northeast.
Are coywolves the genesis of a new species? Time will tell… perhaps these animals will persist and expand and displace coyotes that don’t have wolf genes boosting their survival chances. Or perhaps they will become reabsorbed into the eastern coyote population, which has conducted its own succesful biological invasion of the East over the past couple of decades, filling in territory long-vacated by the red wolf.
Some scientists, like Jon Way, founder pf Eastern Coyote Research and author of Suburban Howls, believe that coywolves should receive special protections. From a perspective of restoring ecological function, I do too. Not many people know that New England used to have a native population of wolves — the red wolf. I am currently reading Vicious: Wolves and Men in America, by Jon Coleman, which traces anecdotes of European settlers encounters with both wolves and Native Americans. It also chews on ideas about how European’s perceived both wolves and native peoples. The title is as much a reflection of how settlers viewed the wolves as it is a statement of how people treated wolves.
Have you seen larger-than normal coyotes in New England? Would you like to share your story? Drop me a line, or post a comment.
61 thoughts on “Coywolf encounter in Connecticut?”
ulogoni
More info from Dr. Jon Way as posted just tonight on Ralph Maughan’s blog: http://wolves.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/in-new-england-coywolves/
DeLene
Thanks for this note — I downloaded Jon’s paper and I can not wait to read it!
Lori Paturzo
I had just sent the note below to the DEP this morning. My cousin just sent me the link to this site and I read the article above about the coywofs:
Is it possible that there are wolves, or maybe a mix of coyote/wolf in Wallingford?
I was on my way to work yesterday morning, it was around 6:00 am, so it was light enough to see. I was on the back roads, just off of Northford Road, and pulled on to Center Street, heading towards I91.
I was going very slow and I had spotted something running up ahead from my right into the street. At first I had thought it was a coyote, but when it got in front of my truck, I realized that this was too big to be a coyote. It crossed in front of me and ran onto the other side of the street into a field (farm with cows). As soon as he got on the side of the street, he just stopped and turned and was staring at me. I had my truck at a complete stop and watched him for quite a few minutes. Of course, I was too excited to think about getting my phone out to take a picture.
I am a huge animal lover, read up on coyotes, and see them all the time around, so I am familiar with they way they look. This animal was very large, well over one-hundred (100) pounds. The markings were different than a coyote – it was grey and some brownish, but with black around his neck / face area. His face was very full and roundish around the neck. His shoulders and body were very broad. Most of the coyote I see around here are thinner and grayer.
I was told that the Northeast coyote were found to be cross-bred with wolves, but I had never seen one this large with these markings. He was absolutely beautiful.
And since I have your attention –
About two years ago, right around this time, I was going to work on I91 North, and right around the Rocky Hill / Cromwell area, a very large cat ran across the highway. This was not a domestic cat, and I am positive it was a mountain lion. Has there been any reports of a mountain lion in that area?
Martha Quinto
I have seen a large coyote-like animal on two separate occasions in the past six months, following the same path across our backyard on North Elm Street, Wallingford, CT.
I compared it with coyote photos, but the animal I saw had a “fuller”, less fox-like face than the coyote pictures, and was as large or a bit larger than a German Shepherd, and well-filled out, with grayish tan coat .
DeLene
Hi Lori, it sure does sound like the coyote-wolf hybrids I’ve read about in both the media and the scientific literature. You may be interested in this story, in the Boston Globe, which has a nice picture of the animals, taken by a coyote researcher. (Boston Globe, 2.17: http://bit.ly/bKE4MO) Take a look at the picture and decide for yourself if it matches what you saw. From what I understand, Wallingford, Connecticut is within the northeastern range that these hybrid animals have been documented within.
As for a cougar, it’s not so likely… you may want to check out this link, to the Eastern Cougar Foundation. (www.easterncougar.org) There are sightings reported every year for cougars in the East, but they rarely ever check out. When they do the animal is typically an escaped pet cougar. No wild eastern cougars exist, to anyone’s knowledge, excepting the Florida panther which has a very geographically-restricted range in southern Florida.
Hope this helps! – DeLene
Steve
We have seen a strange large cat-like (off-white) animal in east Rocky Hill around at night.Almost has a racoon sort of appearance (but for the head) from a distance.Seems to lumber versus run. Anyone else seen this guy?
kathy
Yesterday my husband and I were walking with our 2 labs in the Chebacco woods in Hamilton MA and our 2 year old spun, beared his teeth and we realized that roughly 20 yards away we saw through the trees a coywolf. We were in the middle of the trail not close to any outlet with one older lab and a one alpha 2 year lab, we kept walking grabbed big sticks and stayed on the trail. We needed to double back to get to a more populated trail and our car. When we turned and jogged making as much noise as we could we turned and saw 3 large coywolves a 30 yards behind us. It was very disconcerting. We both got a very good look at the animals and feel very confident it was a coywolf pack. Interested in the behavior of this species, they were not like coyotoes at all very much aggressive and seemed to be working together.
DeLene
Hi Kathy, I wonder to what extent they were interested in your dogs? Out West, I know that in a lot of the Mexican wolf/human encounters that involve dogs, the wolves are much more interested in the other dogs. I’ve heard some biologists say that when campers/backpackers bring dogs into the wolf recovery area, it can actually draw the wolves in to them. (Just wondering out loud here!) I can understand your concern with how close they were, that can be scary, but it sounds like you did the right thing by seeking a more populated trail and picking up the sticks. Maybe it’s not a bad idea to pack some pepper spray or noise makers when you walk your dogs in the woods? For more scientific info on eastern coyote hybrids, try visiting Jon Way’s website: http://www.easterncoyoteresearch.com/.
Pingback: More hybrid lovin’: coywolves, wolves and coyotes… « Wild Muse
Paul Kishel
This story gave me the chills when I read it-back in 1999, I worked at Corometrics Medical Systems at 61 Barnes Park Rd. N. Wallingford, CT. In the early morning I went out the rear door to have a cigarette. Out of the woods came an animal that at first I thought was a large German Shepherd-Then as I looked closer I couldn’t figure out what it was-The animal stopped in it’s tracks and turned it’s head towards me. I was stunned by the amber eyes and the width of its head, and wide jowl mane. This looks like the animal that I saw-but what I saw was not as gray in color.
DeLene
I’m sorry it made you uncomfortable Paul. My understanding is that the coloring varies widely. It’s not unusual for them to stare at people, but it’s not necessarily an aggressive behavior. I should add too that the woman who saw this animal perceived the encounter as something positive, which is interesting because two people can experience the same events but feel very, very differently about them.
Paul Kishel
DeLene
I need to clarify-what gave me the chills about the article of the Coywolves in Wallingford, was that for over 10 years, I was convinced that I had seen a wolf that morning in Wallingford-no one in this state was able to shed any light on the subject. I saw a show on animal planet the other night and a few days later saw an article in National Geographic-both were about the hybridization of these animals.
When I did a web search-your article came up-I felt chills because after ten years of wondering, I was no longer in the dark-finally others witnessed the same-now there was photographic proof. I’m not one to fear something so amazing. And for a moment that morning, I felt a connection when our eyes met. Then in a instant the curiosity broke and it trotted on its way.
DeLene
Oh, I see. Thanks for clearing up my mis-interpretation. In my thesis research (mexican wolves) I talked with many ranchers/agriculturalists and I’m sensitive to the fact that not everyone is mesmerized by an encounter with a wild canid. I was once camping alone in Arizona and heard Mexican wolves howl, and it was a beautiful thing to me… but when I told some people about it the next morning, they turned pale they were so afraid. Everyone brings their own values to bear on these encounters. I’m glad yours was positive, or at least special, and that you feel you have better information about what it may have been. You may be interested in reading Jon Way’s book, Suburban Howls, which is about coyotes in Massachusetts and the northeast and it covers some of the hybridization issues. Also, this post on my blog: https://sciencetrio.wordpress.com/2010/07/10/more-hybrid-lovin-coywolves-wolves-and-coyotes/ is also about coywolves. Thanks for stopping by again, and maybe you’ll see another one some day!
Karen Brown
Hi Delene. I read the article on Coywolf encounters in CT and I’m another resident who believes she saw a pair of coywolves crossing my lawn. I live in Brookfield, CT. There is a nature center behind my house and I believe they were coming from there. They crossed the road and my neighbor saw one of them as well. I’ve seen Coyotes before and this pair did not look typical. As previously mentioned, their heads and faces were different and reminded me of wolves. They were stronger and bigger looking too.
Twink
Doing some research after an encounter with an large animal yesterday. Was walking my three dogs in Southbury along a well traveled road when I spotted a large animal in a neighbor’s backyard. I thought it was a large dog – maybe a German shepherd mix – but more reddish and then realized it was not a pet. It watched me and then turned and went back into the woods behind their house. It was much bigger than any coyotes I have seen – and much more fur. Anyone else in this area had contact with an animal like this?
Peter Buckley
What Many do not know is how it happens. We have been camping in the foot hills of the Berkshires on the back side of the Quabin and this is a trail rout from Vermont and New Hampshire. I can only say this year has proven to bring light to me they are here and I have seen one four car lengths away. I can tell you it is not at all a wolf nor is it a coyote. The howl at night is earth moving and heard the call twice in the early morn and woke me from a sound sleep. They are not afraid of you at all but command your attention to need to be on watch if you have small dogs or children this could be a problem in the near feature. I saw this animal near late afternoon and it did not seem to care if I was there or not but, looked over it’s shoulder twice before vanishing into the underbrush. There was only one no pack and seemed to want not to be around to cause any problem just passing by.
Linda P
Friday October 30 driving North on Route 8, past Echo Lake Road and before the Thomaston for exit for route 6 in Connecticut. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting what I thought was a wolf running across the highway. It had the distinctive black tip on the tail, the scale of the head to the body was large, and the length of the legs seemed elongated, identical to the animal shown in the photo above. I have seen wolves in our land about 1/2 hour from that location I believe a grey wolf- this looked like what appears to be a red wolf- possible coyote combo.
shirley tracz
I live in northern Il. in a semi rural area, near a river and forest preserves. in mid nov. I saw what I first asumed to be a large german shepard in the field behind our house it saw me and ran. iwent back into my yard and got binoculars to get a better look. it slowly came back up from the woods surrounding the field to finish its meal . it was dark black andhad a coyoteish face but wolfish body. my husband and I have seen it on numerous occasions. and have even taken pictures. it is extremely afaid of humans and will hide whenever it hears or sees anyone. when it snowed, we went out and saw its tracks-definetly not dog tracks they were completly straight single tracks, but larger than a coyote, we measured them-3and a half by 3 inches wide. we havent heard of anyone else seeing it, but anyone that sees the pictures agrees that it cannot be pure coyote. most think it a wolf, except for the skinnier snout.
Kerrin Winter-Churchill
Hi, thanks for the posts on the Eastern Coyote. I have been interested in this subject for some time now. I grew up in Northeastern, Ohio and moved home to my old “stomping grounds” about ten years ago. When I was a kid, I raised dogs and since we live on some property that includes about forty acres of woods – I always ran my dogs after school. Back then, (the seventies) I never saw an animal other than a bird but now that I am back home (and still raise dogs but do not let them run out past the fenced property) I see all kinds of creatures. Most curious to me has been the coyote-like canines that are so bold as to come up to my yard – which includes nine dogs and several horses.
The first time that I saw one of these creatures I was on the back deck enjoying a glass of wine in summer’s evening. Suddenly, one of my dogs started barking an alert and I looked to see the oddest thing – two Whitetails running “hell bent for leather” and at their heels was a black agouti coyote. If it hadn’t been Ohio I would have thought it was a wolf – as I always thought that Coyote a.) wouldn’t hunt deer and b.) wouldn’t be such a dark gray. The creature had a black face and legs and the rest was silver and gray .. it is a wild color pattern that is sometimes seen in German Shepherd Dogs (and other breeds) but I assure you, as an expert in dogs, this was _no dog. I wish I could have taken a picture of it but it all happened too fast.
The next week, my husband said this very same creature came up to the porch and was stalking our cocker spaniel that was outside at the time. He chased it away but it was not afraid.
Since then, I have seen more of these as I hike in my woods almost daily. I have yet to get a picture of them – will now make an effort to try so you can have some more images to see. I have never seen another dark agouti but none of those that I have seen have a lot of red in their coats. They are much larger than the Coyote that I see in photographs and their head pieces have much more bone – and are broader from muzzle to back skull. They _are very smart and always see me before I see them – or get a chance to see them close anyway… I have been sitting on a fallen tree in the mornings and seen deer suddenly running or alerting. This has happened often enough now that I sit quietly and wait knowing a “creature” will be coming.. and sure enough..
Twice, I have “bumped right into” young pups who were startled to see me and went running – in opposite directions. They will run – one east – one west – and then, hide behind a tree to watch me.
I live in Cuyahoga County, Ohio and will work to get some shots for you. Thanks so much for your blog. It is of great interest to me and I will subscribe.
Kerrin
DeLene
Hi Kerrin, Thank you for your detailed comment. I’m not very familiar with the canids of Ohio, but it sure would be interesting to know what it is that you are seeing. There was a paper that came out in Sept. 2009 that detailed the coyote’s eastern expansion… some went north around the Great Lakes and some went south. The ones that went north were found to have integrated gray wolf into them, some people have dubbed these “coywolves.” I wrote about that paper here (https://sciencetrio.wordpress.com/2010/03/25/adaptive-radiation-of-coywolves/). To my knowledge, the study authors have not found these coyote-wolf hybrids in Ohio, but to be perfectly honest I would not be at all surprised if a few hybrids did show up in Ohio… the species within the genus Canis can and do interbreed. If you do get a photo of your special critter, I’d sure love to see it. Best wishes, DeLene
Rob Thornton
That fellow in the picture from Janet DeMaio is 100% Gray Wolf. No coyote mix there.
Krista Rescsanski
I saw one of these animals driving to school in Berlin one morning. It was crossing Norton Road heading toward the old barn on the Chamberlain Highway. It was enormous. My very first impression was that it was a wolf. It had an elongated body, five feet long without including the tail, and a light grey furry coat all over. The custodian in my building had said there had been sightings of a coyote living in that area. It’s legs were not as long as wolf legs. I’ve seen a coyote in my yard lately and it was much, much smaller and did not move in the same way. Now, I’m sure this was some kind of a mix.
Sarah B
3/25/12 – Ellington CT on Jobs Hill Road near Somers Border. I have been renting this house for a short term while my house in Somers was getting remodeled. I used to live just up the street from here on Pioneer Heights growing up so I’m familiar with coyotes, bear, dear and everything else in this area. Once about 12 years ago I’m positive I saw a huge white/grey wolf walk across the street in front of me at the intersection of 9th District and Billings Rd about 2 miles from where I am now. He stared at me and slowly walked across the street towards the street. The last few nights my dog (a large 95 lb Husky / Golden mix from Canada) was alerted to something in the woods. I have an underground fence here and he knows his boundries by the white flags on the border of the tree line in the back yard. So he’s been barking like a mad dog at the wood line, running back and forth the width of the yard, hair up, tail straight out. I kept yelling for him to come inside but he would not even listen to me at all. Recently he had hurt his knee (acl) and it had finally healed so he was running without any problems. I could hear the thing in the woods actually breaking branches and walking heavily which surprised me and I wondered if it was a person? My neighbor came over to watch with me as my dog broke through the electric fence and started to rubmle with this “thing”. I heard a yelp from my dog and a cry. I had a tiny flashlight and finally saw very large yellow eyes staring at the flashlight. As I was watching the eyes slowly move left to right and wondering what on earth it was – here comes my dog crawling on his belly out of the woods! We grabbed the dog and carried him inside. He was out of breath and very hurt. I kept looking for the eyes. Suddenly a large (larger than my husky at 95 lbs) came out of the woods and into my backyard. At one point it stared at me and my neighbor was in my house comforting the dog and suddenly the wolf darted towards me! I had my video camera running (ofcourse it was pitch black when you watch it) but you could hear that I screamed and jumped up on the deck and ran towards the house. YUP, everything I learned you should never do when faced with a wolf. You are supposed to stand your ground, YAWN, look the other way and not stare it down and certainly NEVER turn your back toward it! LOL. Oops. So, it did this just to scare me and it worked :) Then it slowly sauntered to the neighbors, back to my yard again, and back to the neighbors. FInally the cops showed up (mind you I had called them becuase I could hear them “walking slowly” through the woods and suddenly my dog went after it. The cops said they had to shoot a fawn here not long ago because of very large coyotes who broke it’s leg. So, later on, I was petting my dog and then looked at my hand to find blood on my hand. I didn’t know where it came from on the dog and couldn’t find anyhting obvious. So, off to the vets we went the next morning. Dr. Mordasky said it was definately a wolf for a couple of reasons – 1) size. The largest coyote you’ll find around here is 55 lbs. No larger. My dog is 95 lbs and this was bigger than my dog. 2) Color. Coyotes can be mangy looking with black and brown and grey fur. This was almost white and grey – very light and even toned. No brown at all. 3) Sounds. Coyotes I read typically have a yip-yap high pitched noise and this only had low pitched noises I later read are common for wolves. 4) attitude. Coyotes will jump and run and hop and be very skittish near humans – not walk slowly and stand their ground to a 95 lb barking dog or a human! And certanly wouldnt come at a human as if to attack I don’t think??!!
The vet said he’s seen enough wolves around here and heard all the stories and it was a wolf. He does not think it was fighting my dog. We think my dog went to sniff it’s behind as normal dog would do and the wolf may have nipped at my dog or bit him in the hind leg as a warning – but not as an attack. My dog may have been startled and turned quicly twisting his knee and ACL torn. The wolf would have “finished the job and eaten my dog” but he didn’t. Huskys are so close in DNA to wolves and mine is very light colored (what they call a red and white husky but he’;s golden colored) that they were probably just very interested in learning about each other. Unfortunately my dog got hurt and thankfully not killed. We are blessed. What a night.
Patty Ostroski
4/15/12
Hi, I believe I saw a coy wolf today when I went for a run. I live in Cheshire CT and I was running down Jarvis St and as I approached a wooded area I saw an animal emerge from the woods about 30 feet in front of me. I thought it was a coyote but I have seen coyotes in my yard and neighborhood and this animal was much larger and much fuller. He was running with such grace. I must admit he did scare me! When I got back home and told my family they kept saying it was a wolf not a coyote. If it was a coyote it certainly was a well kept one. Every coyote that I have seen are skinny and dirty looking. This animal was not and he much bigger,fuller and longer then a coyote. I didn’t know if we had wolves in CT so I was searching the Internet and discovered this picture which is exactly what I saw.
Patty
Joseph Yannuzzi
I was driving by Pennypack Park a suburb in Philadelphia the other day when I noticed a doglike animal staring out from the underbrush. I knew right away it wasn’t a dog but a coyote or coywolf. Over the course of 3 straight days I was able to study, research the animal and photograph it and found it to be a coywolf. I have studied wildlife and nature for many years and consider myself an amateur Naturalist, so being able to see this magnificent predator among the many homes surrounding this large park was an incredible experience.
I only live a few minutes from the park so I was able to view the animal at least a dozen times or more over a 2 week period. I actually approached the animal and was able to get within about 5 yards of it before it casually turned its back on me and disappeared into the heavy underbrush in the park. It never showed any aggression or real concern among people walking their dogs in close proximity to it and all the neighbors are aware of its presence and simply show it respect and give it its space.
I don’t know if it has moved on since my last sighting about 3 days ago but it is a beautiful animal and I will never forget this experience.
Joseph Y.
This is an update on my post. The animal in question was indeed a wolf hybird mix, being about 80% wolf and 20% husky. This was obviously someone’s pet that had been abandoned in the park.
Luckily, we were able to get within a few feet of the animal before it calmly walked into the woods each time we approached it. It was never threatening and for weeks had the attention of all the media and wildlife watchers from several nearby states. We were able to finally trap it and have it sent to the Wolf Sanctuary in Lititz, Pennsylvania, where it lived happily with other wolves, but died suddenly of a stroke from unknown causes. You can read about “Liberty” at the website of Wolf Sanctuary. She is sorely missed and will never be forgotten.
Lynn
I live in a condo in Woodbury, CT, near Southbury. Last week a flyer was sent out that a resident saw a pack of wolves walking single file on a hiking trail here. He described them as mostly brown with some grey.
Nancy
A grey wolf loped across the street in front of me at the corner of McKinley Avenue and Chapel St. in New Haven last night. It was the size of a large German shepherd; long shaggy grey fur; wide muzzle (not pointy coyote shape); no collar. Its lope was not like a dog’s — stronger and easier, and casual, not a full speed run as if it was chasing something, and not a trot like a dog out for a neighborhood stroll. Unself-conscious, as if that was its accustomed pace. This description of its run probably sounds silly, but I’m hard-pressed to describe it in a way that conveys how different it was from a dog. It was a completely surprising, awesome, unforgettable sight, although I was glad to think that because of the weather people had their pets indoors.
Jen Dain
A year ago my sister and I were driving on I95 in Guilford CT we think we saw a coy wolf dragging a deer carcass off the side of the road. We both live in wooded areas in guilford and are accustomed to seeing coyotes among other wild animals,and the occasional Black bear. This was much larger than a coyote,heavier,broader with a large head and beautiful thick fur. Not skinny and scraggly like coyotes. And dragging a deer carcass is not dog behavior!
Frank Hicks
I have seen an animal in my back yard twice in the last several weeks that I have never seen before. My wife & friends are trying to convince me it’s a coyote. No way. This animal is much taller, grey, almost white in color with black spots. The animal does not seem skittish, but curious when I am spotted.
It is definately taller than my golden retriever, & I would estimate it to weigh about 80-90 lbs.
I am convinced what I am seeing is the “CT Coy-Wolf”. My camera is standing by.
Sista SoulJAH
We saw a white wolf today at the street entrance to the Wintonbury Land Trust in Bloomfield CT which is next to our yard.
Both my husband and I saw what seemed to be in stature and gait, a white wolf.
Leaving this siting here for future reference.
Debbie
Hi
I have been seeing a large coyote on the side of my house. I was driving into my driveway today and finally spotted it in the daylight. It was a huge animal. Size of a large German Shepard. It had black circles on his body. He just sat and allowed me to look at him. Does anyone know what kind of animal would have black circles on his body?
Gary
I didn’t have an “encounter” but I got video of something on my trail cam that looked a lot like a wolf….Im in Dutchess County NY and I didn’t think wolves were up here. I have heard of “coywolf’s” though…..
Stephanie
I think I saw one the other morning! In Woodbridge Ct. My husband saw it the following day. It was BIG!
Ron
Yesterday (11 June 2013) I was at a model airplane flying field in South Windsor with some fellow club members. Near a large pile of discarded leaves we saw a large coyote? wolf? pair with three pups at a distance of 300 yards or so playing on the leaves. I had a pair of binoculars with me and I enjoyed the site with three of my fellow club members until they disappeared into the brush again. The markings on the cubs and the two parents were identical-light brown with white markings. We are not sure what these animals are but we didn’t approach them since that would scare them away.
Melissa Everett
Ran across your site after a conversation with a neighbor about coywolves. While walking near Hebron, CT this spring, I observed a large, silver-grey animal emerge from the trees at the far side if a marsh area. I could tell it was canine by the way it moved. When it saw me, it faced me straight-on and we watched each other. The face appeared broader than I’m used to with coyotes. When the animal realized I was no threat, it proceeded into the marsh and began to hunt mice or frogs, going up on its hind legs and plunging down with its front legs.
Three or four years ago, in Quaker Hill, CT, we surprised a large animal in our yard coming in at night with the car headlights on. At first we thought we had mistakenly left our dog out (a large grey merle Aussie-cross, about 75lbs). It stared at the car, seemingly unafraid, and trotted away. (I later saw what I assumed was the same animal, the victim of severe mange.)
Leo Palliardi
I live on wooded resevoir property in Manchester, CT. I was walking my dog around 7pm at night. He got ahead of me on the trail then out of nowhere a “coyote” popped up from the ferns on my right about 30-40yards away and pounced seemingly towards the trail where my dog had just been. I yelled to warn my dog and the coyote sped away harmlessly to my left. The animal was bigger and more muscular than any coyote I’ve ever seen and did not have any brown, just gray and black. I came across the picture on your website and and it looks exactly like the animal I saw. It all happened very fast but he was definately bigger and stronger than my 65lb Viszla and I was surpised how powerful it was while sprinting past me. I believe he thought my dog may have been a small deer then saw and heard me and just kept running. After seeing your blog, I’m convinced Ive seen a coywolf.
Lejla
I’m am in Westport ct currently and I seen one this morning, grey half the size of a deer.
Deb from Higganum
Hello! Just found this site & am fascinated by the increasing numbers of encounters of coy-wolves, coyotes, bobcats, bear and mountain lion. I live in the western end of Haddam, CT – near the Killingworth/Durham border. We are serenaded nightly by the local coyotes. They den in our “back yard,” about 80 acres of protected in-land wetland. The way to their den site under large overhanging boulders/rock escarpment is through our 2 acre yard and they do come up to the house and around the house, and frequently we hear them running in the summer when we are inside watching television with all the windows open. There aren’t as many as people think-only a few coyotes will sound like dozens. My favorite time is near the end of summer, like now-when the pups are getting bigger and yet they still have juvenile voices, so sweet. Not everyone feels this way I understand, but I enjoy hearing them, and observing them. Many times in the warmer months I will stay in the car after I pull in the driveway and just wait – and if I’m lucky, when my eyes adjust to the dark (after calling inside and asking my family to shut off the outside lighting), I will be rewarded by a sighting. We got to be so familiar with one brood one year I felt like naming them; our big farm cat Bo used to sit with me at times and was not afraid of them at all-we have a photo of Bo in the outside fall leaves after a coyote was wandering down our driveway at dusk. It was the night before Halloween & we had all kinds of food in the garage for the kids’ party the next day and a neighbor drove by, saw a coyote entering our opened garage and called to tell us. We went into the garage only to see him/it sauntering away-not running, and only then did we have the presence of mind to snap a photo or two. All those years sitting with a big camera and telephoto lens in the driveway and one finally appears in GREAT lighting, and not in any hurry to leave and all I have on hand is a disposable camera!!! Anyways, we’ve seen coyotes for all the 18 years we’ve lived in Haddam, and believe now quite firmly-there are mountain lions in the area too. I have a paw print (photo) in the snow not degraded by the sun, with my boot imprint next to it for reference. We also have a nice assortment of black bears, and have heard Bob cats, too.One of the highlights of looking for wildlife in southern CT was last summer 2012, I saw a full grown wolf in East Haddam. No mistaking-not a coy-wolf or a mangy German Shepherd. It was a big wolf, gray muzzle, black and lighter gray mostly, with bristly/spiky shoulder hair, sporting a lovely rabbit in his mouth–that’s how close I was–as I drove by. He trotted in front of me as I came around a bend in the road (Rt. 149). Could have reached out to pet him, as he crossed in front of my car on a diagonal and was within a foot of my drivers side door. I was stunned to come upon him that way. I pulled over and watched him behind me continue across the road into the woods. I will never forget this; it’s indelibly etched in my brain, forever.
Jim
I just spotted what looked like a coy-wolf in Old Lyme near Nehantic state forest in mid afternoon. The animal was far larger than a coyote with a thicker coat. Last winter I had also spotted 3 similar coy-wolves in North Branford on Totoket Road in a farmer’s field at night. All were bigger than a large german shepard.
Nick D'Alfonso
Had an encounter with a very large coywolf in Natham Hales Woods. My Golden is big at 80 lbs, but this one appeared about 20 lbs heavier.
David Turco
Yes, they are in RI too! I have a trail cam set up in my yard to get a pic and I have several now of our coywolf. In addition on RT 95 in Stonington CT I saw the tell tale blood splatter of road kill that I assumed was that of a deer. As I quickly glanced over to the side of the highway, I was either the carcass of a very large coywolf or a wolf. We’ve had coyotes here in Westerly, RI for many years and lots of them, but these animals are very different much larger with beautiful costs much like that of a husky.
Last year I had my first coywolf sighting which prompted me to get a Bushnell trail cam. It took less than a month for the coywolf to show up. The odd thing to me is that he is always alone, is that normal for a coywolf?
Of course if there are coywolves, then there are wolves here too, not form breeding on the way to get to New England. A friend of mine is the grounds keeper at the Shelter Harbor Golf Course on the border of Westerly and Charleston RI. He said he often sees real wolves on the edge to the property. Another friend from Charleston,RI who is originally from Maine and is a hunter said she has wolves for sure.
As far as DEM goes, they are useless in admitting we have any wildlife beyond cats and dogs. When the black bear first moved back about 15 years ago, I brought some scat as evidence and the joker tried to tell me it was from a deer. When I challenged him he just said alright it’s a bear but it won’t bother you. Soon after locals had pics of it running through their back yards.
One last note, we also have Lynx in Rhode Island even though DEM says the closest population is in Maine.
Stephanie Tonon
I’m pretty sure I saw a coy wolf in my front yard in Avon, CT today. I have pics I can send in.
Jim
CPTV is running a show on the Coywolf…..
http://www.cpbn.org/program/nature-program-page/episode/nature-meet-coywolf
Rob
I’ve seen these in Branford, CT on several occasions in broad daylight. The most unsettling sighting occurred when one was trotting down a quite road like it was a dog during the middle of the day. I thought it was a German Shepard it was so large. This was in a neighborhood where young children play.
Ron
“This was in a neighborhood where young children play.”
It is important to remember that if the female/male coywolf is out with the pups it is even more dangerous to approach them. Such was the case when I saw a coywolf or coyote in the spring at a model aircraft field in S. Windsor. A male and a female were out with 3 pups. Nice to watch with my binoculars from 300 yards but not good to be too close to them. Children should be warned about what might happen if they are too close.
Georgia Falk
Have a Coywolf taking up residence in my back yard in Waterbury’s Town Plot area. Have seen him/her many times in my yard and passing through other neighbors yards. Have not posed a problem for me and enjoy seeing it. Do watch my small animals carefully.
Arline
I think I just saw one yesterday morning on my walk, 7 AM, Quaker Hill, CT. Popped out of the woods and into the street but went quickly back into the woods when it heard a car coming. Headed back several yards but stopped and watched me for a bit. It looked too big to be a coyote and fairly healthy – not scruffy or too thin – matches the google images I have seen of Coywolf or a small sized wolf more so than most images of coyotes.
Carine
In the ’80’s, I grew up in a largely wooded area (at the time-sadly most of it is now sub-divided with McMansions) in Burlington, CT (about 100miles south of MA, extremely close to Route 8, Thomaston and Avon, which are mentioned above) that teamed with wildlife, including packs of what my parents told me were coyotes. However, now that I’ve lived in several other states with coyotes, I’ve noticed that these coyotes are much smaller than what I saw growing up in CT (and no, it wasn’t because I was little- the one time I got a really good look at a whole pack at the end of our driveway, I was a teenager). They were very tall-probably about the size of a large German Shepard, as others say, with particularly long, skinny legs and all grey but not very thick coats. I never thought wolves were in that area since about the turn of the 19th century. I recently learned about coywolves, however, and thought I saw a documentary that said there was a very rare sighting of one in Maine or something, so I thought I’d do a search to see if coywolves have been sighted in CT, and if maybe that would explain the size of what I saw. After reading these posts, though, I’m now wondering if they were grey wolves. They did have high-pitch howls, barks & yips at night, though…Unless we had both coyotes and wolves. We certainly had plenty of deer, rabbits, bobcats, wild turkey, and grouse to eat.
By the way, regarding people’s comments about strange wild cat sightings in the area; my step-mother (same era, maybe a little earlier) said she once saw a very odd cat come out of our woods to the edge of the garden that was about the size of a bobcat but very bushy fur (I think grey) and let out a loud, eary almost scream, unlike any domestic cat she ever heard…bizaare.
Carine
Carine
In response to David Turco’s comment about Lynx’s in Rhode Island, I googled pics of them just in case I was wrong in thinking they couldn’t fit my step-mom’s description of the strange wild cat. It turns out the differing image I had in my mind exists, but there is also an all grey Canadian variety that exactly fits her description.
Carine
I thought I left a reply to myself about this before (whilst apologizing for replying twice to my own post), but that I wanted to correct a piece of content in my original message: I meant to say Litchfield, which is mentioned by another poster, is very close to where I grew up (Burlington, CT) seeing the coywolves or whatever they were…rather than Thomaston. I won’t take even more space correcting spelling typos, though-Sorry for not proofreading better before hitting send!
richokun
I live in Bethany, CT near the old airport and have for over 30 years. For the past several years around this time of year – we get a visitor who stays on the property for a while and then moves on.
Yesterday I took my dog to the airport to run and in the gated area where the sand is kept for the roads in the morning I saw the largest Coywolf I have ever seen – very healthy and looking for a meal – it was extremely cold so all the predators are out.
This one actually looked larger than those I have seen in the past = but did have the coloring of a coywolf.
They are definately in the area, and so beautiful.
Joseph Y.
Try to always remember to not be too specific about where you see these animals simply because this alerts hunters in that area who are salivating for info like this so that they can add yet another innocent animal to their so called “trophies.”
Good story though, lets hope he survives.
Jack
On Tuesday February 10, 2015, at 9 pm i was driving on xxx Road, close to Route 69, in Woodbridge Ct when i saw what i thought to be a deer run across the street in front of me, as I got closer, i realized that it was not a deer, and my second thought was that it might be a bobcat, because it had long shaggy fur, but it was way too large to be a bobcat. Obviously it was dark outside, but if i had to say what color it was, i would say it was the color of a deer, or kind of a tannish color, like a bobcat or cougar. This thing was dog-like in appearance.
It ran across the street and up the embankment on the other side, through the 3 or 4 feet of snow, like it was chasing something. As I got closer, the head looked like a wolf.
Not sure what it was at the time, what struck me was the length of the fur and the width of this animal. It was not a skinny coyote. This thing was big and stocky. I did a little research on the internet and i am quite sure that this animal was a Coy Wolf. It was quite a sight
Nancy
This animal you describe sounds very similar to the one I saw on McKinley Avenue in New Haven a few years ago (only a few miles from your sighting), although the one I saw was more gray than tan. To me, it appeared to be 100% wolf. Perhaps genetically it was part coyote, but in appearance (size, girth, fur, coloring, head shape, gait) it was not at all.
Kevin
Coywolves are plentiful in NorthEast Ct. My wife and I have lived in Rogers, CT for 15 years and have about 3 acres whch is directly infront of, and surrounded by another 45 acres od dense brush ,woods and some fields. Right behind that acreage is the river. We used to see coyotes frequently several years back but in the last five years the coywolves have taken over. We have old apples trees on the edge of the property and when the apples are plentiful, the deer come. When the deer come the coyotes…and now coywolves follow. These animals are much larger, stronger looking and just dont look has skinny and “mangy” has the coyotes we have seen in the past. We have an 85 lb rottie/shepard mix and these animals are larger and resemble a big dog. The heads seem large and wide with the body being more muscular. When we see them, the dog gets brought in ….nothing I want to mess with, but they do seem to avoid us also. It’s just that their all over our yard at night and it creeps us out.
benjamin
Yes I have seen coywolves in Connecticut. I live about about 15 minutes S of Wallingford. I believe I started seeing them 3 years ago. I also see them at about day break or just before. Our coyotees are scraggly looking. Weak and sick looking. These coywolves sre the same size if not.larger than my pure bread german shepard (95lbs). My puppy Archer has even gotten in a fight with one that wondered into Archers territory around 5am. The coywolf only got away because he rolled over the electric fence line, and was able to run off. I have seen dark grey and snow white coy wolves as well as bones where they lay. The first time i saw one I thought it was a pure white german shepard, until I noticed its fixed ears. I hear coytees crying or barking usually but there is that distinct wolf howl I hear once in a while, sometimes with the coyotees .
Robin Keohane
This was in our yard. My daughter’s house and I adjoin on acreage. It was actually North Haven and yes we have dogs. Beautiful sighting and I pray they live happily. Thanks all!
Starlet Jacobs
I just saw one of these animals trotting through my backyard in Guilford, near Chaffinch Island Park. Not being from here originally, I had to look up exactly what it was, and it fits the description of a Coywolf, or Eastern Coyote. Glad to see there’s something at the top of the food chain around here, to keep the rodents in check!
Eileen Geriak
I live in northeastern Ct (Ashford) and one morning we look out in our backyard and there is a very large coyote standing under one of our trees. Granted…it was early spring so it still had it’s winter coat…but it was a gorgeous animal….in very fine health I’d say….and ‘very’ large for a coyote. It had a short hunch back look to it…so not the long back gangly look of a normal size coyote…and it was standing under the tree looking up at a squirrel. I went for my camera but it must have heard us and headed for the trees. It was in the woods by the time I had gotten back with the camera, but I can still see it in my mind’s eye.
DeLene
What a wonderful memory to cherish! It always amazes me how experiencing the presence of such an animal strikes awe in some people, but fear in others.