Coyotes in Cambridge

Bill Phillips files this report via e-mail from the wilds of Montana Central Square:

For the last three nights, I have heard the most outlandish noise at some point - it didn't last very long, and I didn't note the time (i think I was - uncharacteristically - in bed each time - pretty drowsy in any case).

The first time I thought it was some very strange sort of dog someone might have been walking very early in the morning.

The second time I thought pretty much the same.

Last night, it was louder and closer, and much more like a series of high-pitched howls, more or less in groups of two (howl ... howl ... longish pause ... repeat), and at first I thought of some sort of large bird - a huge owl? - but it was similar enough to the other nights that I also thought "dog", but strange, which led me to think "coyote".

I looked up coyote howls on the web just now, and am virtually certain that was what it was (a quite weird sound if you care to look it up, btw).

It was quite nearby, could even have been in the side yard of our apartment building.

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