A disemboweled deer fawn carcass was found late last week near the Edgartown Water Company station at Wintucket, further confirming the presence of a coyote on Martha’s Vineyard.

The picture of the fawn, taken near the water company off the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road by Dylan Thornton and provided to the Gazette, showed obvious signs of coyote predation according to Island naturalist Gus Ben David. While dogs, raccoons or other potential deer fawn predators will often kill the animals for sport, a coyote is much more likely to eat them — as it appears the predator did in this instance.

“Freshly eaten, typical coyote kill,” Mr. Ben David said. “Coyotes eviscerate animals, chew through the ribcage, and eat the animal. No doubt about it.”

Mr. Ben David said he has experience examining coyote kills on Naushon, making him familiar with what they look like and how to distinguish them from other species predation.

“There are two different behavior styles,” Mr. Ben David said. “Usually when dogs are running and they kill livestock, they don’t eat it. Coyote kills something because he intended to eat it . . . this isn’t raccoon predation.”

Mr. Ben David said the location in Edgartown was similar to the location of previous coyote sightings on the Island this summer. In mid-May, Mr. Ben David viewed video and camcorder footage that showed a coyote on the south side of the Island, confirming the second-ever sighting of a live Eastern coyote on Martha’s Vineyard and the first sighting off the Island’s north shore. Although there have been no confirmed kill sightings since the one this week, Mr. Ben David said a person “who he wholly trusts” has seen a coyote twice near Morning Glory Farm. Other late-night video footage has also shown a coyote in the region south of Edgartown-West Tisbury Road.

“This is the same general area where the pictures have been taken,” Mr. Ben David said.

Mr. Ben David could not say whether the coyote seen in more recent photos was the same as the one sighted back in May.

Eastern coyotes have established a substantial breeding population on the Elizabeth islands in recent years, particularly Naushon. Even with strong ocean currents, coyotes are capable of making the four-mile swim from Naushon to the Island’s north shore. Although the Island has never supported a breeding population of coyotes, as far as Mr. Ben David knows, he said the Island’s abundance of wildlife and natural prey, including domesticated and free-range farm animals, would make Martha’s Vineyard something of a paradise for the hardy canines.

“Livestock and things like that,” Mr. Ben David said. “That’s the beginning.”