QotD: Are You Worried About Coyotes and Other Wild Animals This Summer?

In Port Chester and Rye, 2010 featured the .

This year, a mountain lion is giving the canines a run for their money.

Last year's on children and small dogs inspired some locals to take their walks with large sticks or other improvised weapons that could be used to fend off a hungry animal. After two well-documented cases of coyote attacks on small children in or near their own yards, parents also became ultra-vigilant when it came to letting their kids play outdoors.

This week's is a bit different -- the animals are not native to the area, nor are they the result of migrations and changes in range like the coyote. According to the state Department of Environmental Conservation, this is an isolated case, and the mountain lion by an owner who thought it would be a great idea to own a wild cat, but didn't entirely think things through.

With this week's mountain lion spottings on King Street and general agreement that the coyote problem hasn't vanished, are you taking any safety measures before heading out on foot this summer?

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