Thank you for sending this along.

The individual can call US Fish and Wildlife and speak to one of their wildlife biologists at 508.389.6300.

The most important thing for this area to do is remove all indirect sources of feeding this includes bird feeders, uncovered trash, etc.

The second most important thing to do is amp up the scare tactics. When a coyote is seen it is important to haze the animal. Grab pots and pans or an air horn and yell and make as much noise as possible from a safe location. The coyote will run a couple hundred feet and stop and look back to see if that person was really a threat, it is important at this point to still be standing their ground and yelling/banging pots/blowing air horn.

Per Jeff Thompson wildlife, a male between the ages of 20-50 can also urinate along the perimeter of their yard to mark it as their territory.

All dogs and small children should be supervised at all times and never left alone to play. Dogs should not be tied up, and walkers should make sure their dogs leashes are no longer than 6 feet.

The reports we have had of coyotes in that area have been sightings of coyotes moving through the area, and when someone claps or yells they scare and run away. This is a normal reaction of a coyote.

If the individuals in that area are finding that hazing themselves isn’t working, they can recruit the help of Jeff Thompson of Thompson Wildlife. Jeff is highly trained specifically when working with coyotes and will install cameras to figure out the time of day when the animal is coming and going and then will personally challenge the coyote himself effectively scaring the coyote to a new territory. He would also be able to tell if the animal was sick, though unlikely from the reports we have received thus far. His services do run around $800-$1000, but he is incredible at what he does, will be there multiple times a day at all hours, and is highly trained to do so. His phone number is 508.840.8490.

Kristina O’Keefe, ACO