PHOTO: Rare ‘Coywolf’ Spotted in New Canaan

A rare eastern coyote—offspring of an eastern wolf and western coyote—was spotted (and photographed) in New Canaan up near the Scotts Corner line on Sunday, officials say.

The Proprietors Crossing sighting comes on the heels of an active February, in which eight coyotes were spotted in New Canaan, and also follows a “red wolf” sighting in town in December.

This eastern coyote or "coywolf," a hybrid between a wolf and coyote, was spotted and photographed March 2 in New Canaan, CT. Contributed photo

“This animal is just spectacular,” Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control Unit said of the coywolf, seen at right. The call reporting the sighting came in at about 2:30 p.m. on March 2, police say.

Kleinschmitt says she’s hearing that there could be a pair of the animals in northern New Canaan. Residents, and especially pet owners, are encouraged to be mindful of coyotes, whose birthing season generally peaks some time between March and May, weather depending.

According to the South Salem, N.Y.-based Wolf Conservation Center, the eastern coyote or “coywolf” began to be seen in Canada about 100 years ago and has been seen in this area since around 1960.

Here’s an updated, interactive map plotting coyote sightings in New Canaan so far this year. Click on an orange dot for more info about that particular sighting: