After numerous accounts of coyotes spotted in the northern half of Arlington, one has been spotted while apparently en route to South Arlington.
Eliana Kee snapped the photos above while heading westbound on Washington Blvd, just before the Fort Myer exit, around 6 p.m. Tuesday night.
“It was just sniffing around, close to a heavily trafficked road and not very hidden as you can see from the pictures, and didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get back to the cover of the undergrowth,” relayed Brian Kee.
Coyotes (or a lone coyote) have been previously spotted in Potomac Overlook Regional Park, near Lubber Run and in Cherrydale.
The closest thing to a recent coyote spotting in South Arlington happened last fall, when a dead coyote was found on Route 110 near Arlington National Cemetery. It had been struck by a car.
Coyotes are relatively rare in Arlington but experts say they don’t present a danger to humans.
“These animals learn to live next to humans and not mess with humans,” Arlington Natural Resource Manager Alonso Abugattas told ARLnow.com last year. “There have been cases, however, where feral cats and loose dogs, coyotes will occasionally eat a smaller dog, both as a competitor and as prey. Cats are considered prey as well. That’s the only way that they might affect the public.”