Teen fisherman fights off coyote in Spotswood

• Bonsante said the coyote lunged at his neck.
• He said he hit the coyote in the face with a stick.
• The coyote yelped and ran away.

SPOTSWOOD – A 17-year-old fisherman reported a run-in with a coyote Sunday evening in the borough.

Anthony Bonsante, of South River, was fishing for catfish in a stream of DeVoe Lake, between Domino's Pizza and Immaculate Conception, an area that came highly recommended by his dad, who fished there in his youth.

"As it started to get dark, I lit my lantern," Bonsante said Monday afternoon. "As soon as it really got dark all around me, I heard something walking around. I thought it was something small like a rabbit or something."

But the noise kept coming closer. Bonsante said he picked up his lantern and started to look around.

"I saw two big yellow eyes in the small patch of woods nearby," he said. "I held my lantern up and it started walking towards me. It bowed its head and started to growl at me. It started to circle up on me. I was panicked for a second. I thought, "What do I have to defend myself?' "

He saw a big stick a few feet away and, without turning his back on the animal, he grabbed the stick.

"As I'm going for the stick, it was coming closer," he said. "It was growling louder and louder. It was like you see in a movie. I yelled at the thing, and as I yelled it jumped at my neck. I took this stick like a baseball bat and I hit this thing in the face as it came at me. It landed on the ground a few feet away, yelped and ran away."

Bonsante then grabbed his belongings and ran.

"It wasn't a dog," he said. "It was scraggly with a tiny rib cage. It was gray and mean looking."

The family alerted police.

Mayor Nicholas Poliseno said the incident is under investigation. He also contacted the warden of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Game.

"We want to alert our residents and to urge them to be very careful with their children and their pets if they go outside after dark," he said. "If you see a coyote, blow a whistle, clap your hands or yell. Do not turn around and run."

Bonsante said it was his third day fishing in the same spot.

"It's probably been watching me the last couple of days," he said. "I really thought I was hallucinating. Thank God there weren't more of them. Coyotes travel in packs. I kind of figured if I had stayed there, his buddies would have come crawling out of the woodwork and I would have been coyote dinner."

The teen said he believes the chicken liver he uses for bait may have attracted the animal.

"The chicken liver stinks really bad," he said. "He's probably been smelling it the last couple of days."

Bonsante said he doesn't intend on fishing again in that area — at least not for the rest of the week.

"I'll be back maybe next week," he said.

But his dad, Roger, said, he won't be alone.

"He's never going there again without me," Roger said.

In May, police and animal control officers in East Brunswick received a number of reports of coyote sightings in a number of areas throughout the town. All of the coyotes spotted displayed appropriate reactions to people, leaving the area.

Reducing coyote-human interactions

While coyote attacks on humans are considered rare in the Northeast, police and animal control offer several preventive measures to reduce coyote-human interactions, such as removing potential food sources like garbage and bird feed so coyotes will go elsewhere searching for food.

In addition, never feed a coyote. Feeding them puts pets and other neighborhood residents at risk. Feeding pets or wild cats outdoors also can attract coyotes because they will feed on the pet food and prey on the cats. Residents are urged to remove all containers as soon as the cats are done eating.

Residents are advised to put garbage in tightly closed containers with locking lids that cannot be tipped over. Remove water sources. Bring pets in at night and do not leave small pets outside unattended. Put bird feeders away at night to avoid attracting rodents. Provide secure enclosures for rabbits, chickens and other farm animals. Pick up fallen fruit and cover compost piles.

Parents are advised to monitor their children, even in familiar settings such as backyards. Install motion sensor lighting around the house, clear brush and dense weeds from around the house to reduce protective covering for coyotes. If coyotes are spotted, make loud noises, blast a canned air siren, throw rocks or spray them with a garden hose.

If a coyote is spotted during the daytime showing no fear of people or is attacking a person or pet, walking in circles or falling over, immediately call police.

Staff Writer Susan Loyer: 732-565-7243; sloyer@mycentraljersey.com