How do you solve a problem like coyotes, asks council

  Councillor-at-Large Dan Rizzo proposed that the City Council sponsor an informational session about coyote behavior and intrusive interactions and encounters with the city’s growing coyote population. “Like other communities we have a significant coyote problem. Some people have it worse than others,” he said.

  Rizzo said he had heard about a program in Malden led by Northeast District Wildlife Biologist Chalis Bird that helped residents understand the typically shy and reclusive predators.

  “A lot of people with small pets are concerned,” said Rizzo.

  Councillors were quick to support Rizzo’s motion.

  “We’ve had a lot of coyotes down by Stop & Shop and Target because people are throwing out food to feed them and then taking pictures when they come out of the marsh,” said City Council Vice President Joanne McKenna. She said she has asked for a sign warning against feeding the animals to be posted. “It’s the people who are the culprits, not the coyotes. We need to learn to live with them, they are everywhere.”

  Other councillors said they have also been hearing from residents about coyotes. “I received four phone calls this week about coyotes on Reservoir Avenue,” said Councillor-at-Large Marc Silvestri. “People getting up early for work are seeing them in their backyards, and they are concerned about their pets and children,”

  Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto also had a coyote story to share: “We’ve been dealing with coyotes for a long time up on High Street. It’s an epidemic.” Zambuto said he reached out to the state for help and advice but received neither. He added that you can’t move a den or harm a coyote, but he heard recently that in Nahant coyotes are being shot.

  McKenna said if people call the environmental police, they will come and shoot a coyote. “They won’t relocate them,” she added.

  While councillors acknowledged it’s a difficult problem with no easy solution, they agreed an informational meeting is a good start.

  Rizzo said more public education on factors, such as the problem with feeding coyotes, is a good way to begin responding to the animals.

  As City Council President Patrick Keefe put it, “It’s a citywide issue and we need to be more informed.”