COYOTE POPULATION ON THE RISE IN SOUTH JERSEY

New Jersey has seen a significant increase in the coyote population in the past 15 years. Andrew Burnett, a wildlife biologist told The Press of Atlantic City that the Garden State is home to an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 coyotes. The creatures eat plants and small animals, and instinctively avoid humans. The only confirmed attacks occurred in North Jersey in 2007 when two small children received minor injuries from a coyote. Officials in Hamilton and Egg Harbor Townships say that the coyote population has not been a problem for local residents.