Coyote sightings in Langhorne are making residents edgy, especially considering evidence that a family pet may have been fatally victimized by one. Walter Perez, 6abc, provides details that can keep locals and their animals safe.

Several weeks ago, resident Sydney Lewis looked through a back window of her home to check on her 18-month old Maltipoo, Laila. To her horror, she saw the unresponsive pup lying near the back door of her home, located in a development between Core Creek Park and Playicki Park.

Lewis sped Laila to the veterinarian immediately, but the small dog was already gone.

Worse, a call from the doctor the following day revealed the gruesome cause of death: predation, the preying of one animal on another.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Eastern Coyotes (Canis latrans) have been in this part of eastern North America since the Pleistocene period, a million years ago. In the late 1960s, large populations of Eastern Coyotes migrated south from the Catskill Mountains in New York; by the 1970s, the highest coyote population in the state was as near as the Pocono Mountains.

Bucks County’s topography, with its heavily forested landscapes, is a suitable habitat, the experts say.

Residents spotting a coyote nearby should not approach it and instead call 911.

More information on this story is at 6abc.