Middletown, N.J., is anything but the wild west or the great frontier.
It is a beautiful, peaceful town in Monmouth County, NJ, not too far from the Atlantic ocean, within commuting distance of New York City. It’s far enough away from the ‘hustle and bustle’ of places like Elizabeth, Newark and Jersey City to be considered secure, and it’s really quite a lovely village, certainly not one with wild coyotes in attack mode.
While Middletown’s a gorgeous locale, it’s also home for the Earle Naval Weapons Station, which contains a fenced and heavily wooded 750 acre section. Apparently a number of coyotes have found this to be their haven with the Navy. They have also found a way through the fence.
On May 21 a 5-year-old boy was bitten on the head by a coyote in front of his home near the weapons base. Pouncing on the boy from out of the brush, the mongrel only let go when the child’s older sister screamed at the sight, and their black lab chased it into the woods. The youngster had lacerations from large bites on the back of his head and neck, requiring stitches. Subsequently a grayish-brown female coyote was shot dead near the entrance to the Naval base. Several others have been spotted in the area by local townsfolk. Rabies testing has so far proven negative.
In April, a 22-month-old boy was attacked in his back yard not far from where the 5-year-old boy was mauled. Most recently, a woman opened her front door and when her Chihuahua ran outside it was immediately attacked and killed by one or two coyotes. She also lives quite close to the base.
The Navy has now allowed NJ state officials to enter the base for surveillance and to set traps. Will it be enough? After the earlier attacks the NJ State Division of Fish & Wildlife set up snares for the beasts but have not caught any yet. The town officials have repeatedly issued a bulletin urging all residents to keep kids and pets inside unless supervised.
Estimates put the New Jersey coyote population at over 3000, with sightings in all 21 counties. Until this spring, however, there has been no record of attacks on people in the state. These creatures are more wily than ever, having migrated from the West about 70 years ago. While these predators are bold, they are also skittish, and can be frightened rather easily by loud yelling. Government officials on the local and state level hope that they can “thin out” the growing coyote population at Earle Naval Weapons Station.
The website for Middletown contains the following notice:
On May 29th at 4:15 AM (2) coyotes attacked and killed a small-unattended dog on Highland Ave. Leonardo. The coyotes last seen running up Highland Ave. toward Atlantic Highlands. Residents are reminded not to allow or leave small children and pet’s outdoors without supervision
