Worcester To Create Coyote Map For Pet Owners

WORCESTER, MA — We now know that Worcester is a prime spot for moose. So it shouldn't be a surprise that the city is also home to a fair number of coyotes.

Worcester Councilor Morris Bergman recently heard about a few coyote sightings in his own Tatnuck-area neighborhood. That left him concerned that city residents might not be aware that the whip-smart predators are lurking, ready to dine on cats or small dogs let out at night to go to the bathroom. So Bergman is now working with the city manager's office and animal control to create a map of coyote sightings in Worcester.

"Obviously, if you can go on a website and see they're in the neighborhood, you might take the dog out at a different time," Bergman said on Tuesday.

The Worcester map could be like one created by the town of Natick, Bergman said. The map shows where all coyotes have been seen in an area that includes Framingham and Wellesley (although the map appears to have last been updated in 2018). Over summer 2018, Natick saw an increase in coyote sightings, and two small dogs were attacked.

According to state wildlife officials, the eastern coyote can be found in Massachusetts from Provincetown to the New York border. The canines feed on almost anything they can hunt or scavenge — roadkill, human food left in the trash, fruit — including unattended pets.

"In suburban areas, they have been known to prey on unprotected pets, including house cats and small dogs," according to the state Division of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Coyote attacks on humans are extremely rare. The last fatal attack was in Nova Scotia in 2009 when singer Taylor Mitchell, 19, was mauled to death at Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

Bergman's coyote map isn't meant to target the animals, just as a way pet-owners can be smarter about where and when they let animals outside.

"We have to coexist, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be smart about it," he said.