Citizens concerned about abundance of coyotes
Published on June 22nd, 2005
It originally started out as a visit to the Board of Selectmen with a petition of 100 signatures from people concerned about the growing coyote issue in the Town of Stoneham...but by Monday night the issue had turned into a full-blown discussion in the Town Hall Banquet Room.
"Those of us in public office care about the issue and we wanted to follow up with a formal presentation," said Selectman Tony Kennedy, who introduced several representatives from Mass Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. "We want to get information out about coyotes, so we can minimize the chances of them attacking children or animals."
Stoneham resident Rita Covelle had originally brought the issue before the Selectmen and recounted her story with a "three-legged coyote" that started her crusade to get more information about the animals.
"I had my back to the street watering the flowers with my back to the street and went to give my four year-old grandchild the hose," said Covelle. "I turned and saw the three-legged coyote just standing there staring at us, and I just grabbed my grandson and went inside. I'll tell you right now that we're intimidated. We as human being, and especially women, aren't equipped to deal with the coyote."
"It takes courage to stare into the eyes of that coyote and do something to try to get rid of it," added Covelle. "When they can walk up Wagner Road and cross North Street...are they afraid of us? I don't think so."
"We think it's important because me manage wildlife," said O'Shea. "You probably want to minimize conflicts. You're going to see a lot of coyotes in the summertime as the adults are taking the young pups out and teaching them how to hunt.
"The whole key, I believe, is to make it as uncomfortable as possible for the coyotes when they pass through your yard," said Tom O'Shea, Assistant Director of the Mass Division of Wildlife, who suggested spraying coyotes with a water house, throwing tennis balls at them, or simply making loud noises to scare them away. "
According to O'Shea, gray foxes and coyotes are sometimes commonly confused with coyotes resembling small dogs about the size of a Labrador - the only difference being the long, dense fur and the pointed, erect ears.
The eastern coyote is distinguished by fur-coloring ranging from grizzled gray to creamy blonde to red or solid black, and have a long, black tipped, bushy tail.
"The question we have today is why are we here?" said O'Shea. "We've seen coyotes begin to adapt to the suburban environment with their opportunistic feeding...feeding on pet food that's left outside, small animals, garbage left out, insects and any other easy foot target."
"Basically what we're telling you is that if you see coyotes in your neighborhood, someone is either knowingly or unknowingly feeding the coyote. It's the old adage that a fed animal is a dead animal...it's a practice that's dangerous for both the people and the animals," said O'Shea, who noted that it may be only one or two family groups of coyotes currently inhabiting Stoneham. "The key is that the more often coyotes are in a suburban area, the more comfortably they become around people. That is not something we want to happen.
oDon't feed pet outdoors.
oKeep the trash picked up and try to bring trash out the morning of collection.
oKeep dumpsters and compost piles properly secured so animals can't get into the area.
oKeep bird feed area clean.
oKeep the cats indoors to keep them safe from coyotes
oDon't feed foxes and coyotes directly or indirectly.
"Seeing a coyote coming through the yard shouldn't necessarily be a problem, they could just be coming through," said O'Shea, who said there's only been two documented cases of coyotes attacking human beings in Massachusetts. "They could just be walking through. Traveling up to your front porch, chasing your pets around the yard or losing their wariness of humans are activities we would want to investigate a little further."
O'Shea noted that Mass State Law makes it difficult to trap coyotes with only box traps at their disposal, relocation not a possibility as an option, and Town Bylaws don't make it possible for licensed hunters to take care of the coyotes - as there is a 500 foot requirement from a residence to discharge a firearm which makes it virtually impossible in a densely populated town such as Stoneham.
O'Shea noted at the end of the informational forum that Mass Wildlife officials will likely make a visit to Stoneham and investigate the coyote population in town.
O'Shea recommended calling local police officials or the Animal Control Officer when a coyote is spotted. Mass Wildlife can also be reached at the Northeast Wildlife District in Acton at (978) 263-4347 and more information about coyotes can be found at www.masswildlife.org
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