It was about a year ago we last featured urban coyotes doing their thing in RVA — munching on a small dog let out to pee at midnight. Well, now they’re back — let’s be honest, they never left — also on the Southside of Richmond, but this time in Westlake Hills (adjacent to Powhite Park and the Powhite Parkway) as opposed to Forest Hill.

Camera traps in the James River Park System routinely capture images of coyotes.

The Times-Dispatch’s Ali Rockett reported over the weekend that a Westlake Hills resident “saw the animal snacking on a deer in an abandoned lot across from her home.”

VCU biologist Anne Wright offers some good context for those who might be frightened at the prospect of coyotes in our midst (FYI, coyotes live in every single Virginia county): “They really provide good functioning for us in an urban setting. We have too many Canada geese deer and rats, all of which coyotes eat.”

Also interesting from Rockett’s article: Wright said looking at the pictures made her think it might be a coyote-dog hybrid, a coy dog, as opposed to a full-blooded coyote, due to its darker color.