Good point. I was thinking a lot about how accustomed coyotes have become to humans earlier today (at least here, in Myrtle Beach, they have). In fact, a coyote managed to sneak into our local airport thru the baggage claim area just a week or two ago and had some fun darting back and forth through the security area before he was tased and picked up by animal control. A lot of our local wildlife seems to be a lot less skiddish around humans these days. Deer wander into backyards, some type of pumas (panthers, or cougars, or fill in the blank) were forced out of the woods by a huge brushfire a few years back and wound up roaming around nearby residential neighborhoods---despite DNR's previous claims that they no longer live around here---and I spotted a raccoon just hanging out on my balcony last winter (I freaked outttt because I thought it was my roommate's cat at first & I nearly opened the door to let "her" back in the house!)
And, I never expected black bears to live around here, but there are at least 2 or 3 black bears that wildlife preservationists know of that live in the Carolina Forest area.
I don't know how anyone (wildlife specialists or otherwise) can claim with 100% certainty that a specific species of animal doesn't exist somewhere or pass thru there, unless the climate is such that it's not possible. Even scientists have deemed certain animals extinct after X number of years have passed with no sightings, but then one is seen years later and they're proven wrong.
It's scary for me to consider what animals might be lurking out in the woods. I can't imagine how scared a 2 year old would be out there at night all by himself. [emoji22]