Spotting an occasional coyote is no big deal in many areas around the St. Louis region, particularly in suburbs occupying land that in the not-too-distant past was inhabited only by wildlife.

But sightings of the animals are making their way to the Missouri Department of Conservation in bigger numbers than usual for this time of year — and some coyotes are emboldened enough to stroll down neighborhood streets. They’ve even been blamed for attacking and killing area pets.

“Their water resources are frozen and food dwindles as winter goes on,” said Tom Meister, a St. Louis regional wildlife damage biologist. “They’re probably in a stage of the season where they’re hungry and out looking for food.”

And that search often leads coyotes, which typically are not a threat to people, to places a bit too close for comfort for humans.

Last month, St. Louis police tweeted that four coyotes were spotted near Willmore Park, which is near the River Des Peres.

Police urged people not to approach them or feed them, with the caveat that there’s no need to dial 911 for sightings of coyotes or any other wildlife.

The calls coming in to Meister are from all over the area, including St. Louis and its western suburbs, especially Wentzville and around St. Charles County.

Sometimes, mistaken identity and grisly discoveries are part of those reports.

A woman from west St. Louis County sent him a photo of an animal she thought was a mountain lion — but Meister identified it as a coyote.

And he got a picture of a gnawed deer carcass on a frozen lake that prompted questions about what type of animal had killed it.

The picture clearly showed coyote tracks near the body, Meister said. Coyotes will chase a deer onto frozen water, where they have the advantage — deer can’t get traction with their hooves, but coyotes can, which allows them to trap deer on slippery surfaces.

Dogs also are targets of coyotes on the hunt, Meister says, recalling that a few years ago in Ladue, six people who lived near each other lost little dogs to coyotes.

He said people should not leave dogs unattended outside, especially at night.

Lori Freesmeier, who has lived in the Cades Cove subdivision just off North Lindbergh Boulevard in Florissant for 26 years, is keeping her dogs inside. The subdivision backs up to Coldwater Creek, and she is accustomed to seeing one or two coyotes.

But recently, a group of five has been hanging around. And they’re brave, she said.

They walk in the middle of the street, and lie on their backs to sun themselves like dogs. They even jump fences.

“They’re almost too comfortable is the best way I can describe it,” Freesmeier said.

She has been spreading the word as much as she can about the increased presence, as has Erika Hartwick, who lives outside Granite City near a small wooded area.

Coyotes likely killed Hartwick’s two dogs, a Siberian husky named Lelu and an Australian shepherd named Murphy.

The dogs got out of her yard near Old Alton and Maryville roads just after nightfall on Dec. 19.

While searching for them, she said she and her boyfriend heard the dogs fighting with coyotes, but couldn’t see them.

“I had never heard them make the noises they were making,” she said.

When they found Lelu, she was already dead. Murphy was badly hurt — his injuries included a fractured skull, missing teeth and back wounds. He had little chance of surviving, so Hartwick and her boyfriend euthanized the dog . A vet told her the dog’s wounds were consistent with a coyote attack.

She had never seen or heard coyotes in the five years she has lived in her house. But since her dogs were fatally attacked, Hartwick said people have been telling her about nearby sightings of a group of eight or 10, and of another dog killed by coyotes.

“I keep trying to get the word out so it doesn’t happen to anybody else, but it has,” she said.

Coyotes breed in February and March, according to the Missouri conservation department. Mothers give birth to four or five pups about 60 days later. In urban areas, those births can happen in storm drains, under sheds, as well as in parks and golf courses.

That means another spike in coyote sightings could happen this spring when the animals are out looking for food to fuel the next generation.