For those of us old enough to remember when Looney Tunes ruled the afternoon cartoon television slot, the name Wile E. Coyote holds fond memories of a scrappy canine and his many failed attempts at catching the infamous and speedy Road Runner. To many children this was their first exposure to Canis latrans, who, next to the Gray Wolf, is North America’s other well-known and often misunderstood wild.

While Wile E. Coyote is known to prowl about on the flat, long desert highways of the American West, our Eastern coyote here in Virginia inhabits a different kind of backdrop. Coyotes are found in almost every environment in our state: forests, fields, suburbs, and city alleys. They are a notoriously secretive and seldom seen species. If you do happen to see a coyote, it is most likely due to chance, illness (such as rabies, mange, canine distemper, etc.), or because the animal has become desensitized to humans, which is often the result of either intentional or unintentional feeding.