On October 19, a deer hunter sitting in a tree stand on a tract of farmland in Orient watched as what looked like someone\u2019s dog approached his stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hunter took his cell phone out and a shot a video \u2013 of a healthy male coyote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe knew it was there as we\u2019d seen it on trail cameras,\u201d said Anthony Babich, the social media director of Long Island-based Elite Long Island Outfitters, the firm that leases the Orient land and whose guide made the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve only seen the one,\u201d he added. \u201cBut there may be more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The video is visual proof of what wildlife experts have talked quietly about for several years \u2013 that coyotes have made their way to the East End of Long Island, after establishing themselves farther west on the Island. They are now part \u2013 presumably in a small way \u2013 of the local ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is no doubt that there are a few individuals around the Town of Southold,\u201d said Craig Jobes, an environmental analyst for Southold Town, who has seen the Orient video as well as trail camera photos of different local coyotes, including one seen in Greenport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We have seen data to support that there could be as many as half a dozen or so individuals here at this point,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Times Review Media Group showed the video to the New York State Department of Conservation office in Stony Brook. In response, Wildlife Biologist Leslie Lupo wrote back and said, \u201cIn the summer of 2018, a coyote sighting in Roslyn\/Searingtown area was confirmed through multiple recorded videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n