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COMMITTEE for RESPONSIBLE WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ~Committed to Conservation, Education and the Preservation of our Natural Resources~ "Promoting Science Based Wildlife Management Decisions for a Better Massachusetts"
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Wildlife Conflicts in the Press
This is a partial list of stories in recent years that have made it into newspaper print and a snapshot of conflicts occurring throughout Massachusetts. It illustrates that societal conflicts with wildlife are very real and not just an abstract possibility. These stories underscore the fundamental need for a balanced, responsible approach to wildlife management from both societal and ecological perspectives that incorporate proactive lethal and non-lethal approaches. They give a glimpse into what's really happening on the ground. These stories are not posted here to ignite public fears, but to highlight that a multi-dimensional, scientifically based management approach concerning our furbearers is critical for the continued long-term positive co-existence with wildlife. Highly regulated furbearer harvests, using the best available tools currently banned or extremely restricted may not solve all these issues, but it is surely a critical missing component in dealing with and reducing conflicts. The list will be updated as additional stories come to our attention and as time allows to post them.... If you know of a recent, relative story and the source, please let us know via the "feedback" form. The CRWM is compiling an ongoing database of wildlife conflicts, and your help in building this list is greatly appreciated. Holyoke, MA - January 21, 2010
Dog killed in Hampden coyote
attack
Coyotes Kill Woman on Hike in Canadian Park
Beaver fever found in spring
Lawrence, 2 pesky beavers wage war - Dam near roadway at heart of battle Lawrence, MA - September 29, 2009
Gloucester
Man Links Water Woes To Broken Dam
Busy beavers adding to
soppiness of the season
Police warn of
coyotes after small dog is killed
Increase
in beaver population linked to loosestrife spread
6-foot-tall beaver dams breaks, sends 'wave of mud
downstream'
Coyotes on the prowl in Medford Medford MA. April 11, 2008
Scotland
Road resident warns pet owners after coyote attack
Trapped! Towns losing the war against beavers. OUR
CHANGING WORLD
Beavers, not humans, ruin
Puffer's Pond
Family dog kills rabid fox in his yard
Town grapples with big hazard:
beavers
Beaver dams causing problems
Coyotes maul, kill family pet
Bradford woman
warns her neighbors to keep pets inside
Hingham MA. September 8, 2007
Beaver takes revenge on town
East Harwich couple mourns dog lost to coyote East Harwich MA. May 24, 2006
Hiker
Describes Coyote Attack - Man Fights Off Animal With Mace
Cat seriously injured after evading coyote; Attacks on household pets are
particularly common in spring, state expert says
GNAWING
PROBLEM DOGS BOLTON MAN BEAVERS' DAMS FLOOD HIS YARD
Police officer kills fox following attack; Animal forced woman onto car hood
Coyote snatches, kills dog; Official says cats are missing, too
Weymouth MA. September 5, 2002
Pet dog dies after attack by
coyotes
Beavers driving Ipswich batty a few issue in NJ..
Raccoon, which scratched person in the area of
Heritage State Park and Holyoke Children's Museum, tests positive for rabies
(back to
top)
Dog killed in Hampden coyote
attack
(back to
top)
Coyotes Kill Woman on Hike
in Canadian Park
(back to
top)
Beaver fever found in spring
(back to
top)
Lawrence, 2 pesky
beavers wage war - Dam near roadway at heart of battle
(back to
top)
Gloucester Man Links Water Woes To Broken Dam
(back to
top)
Gloucester, MA - Gregg Smith of Citizens for Public safety thinks a partially destroyed beaver dam may be the reason for the Gloucester's contaminated drinking water. After two weeks, there's no end in sight to the Gloucester water ban. Residents are still under an order to boil their drinking water because of the presence of coliform bacteria. One resident has a theory on what's causing the problem -- just a simple theory, but a pretty good one. We went first to Babson Reservoir, main source for the city's' drinking water. Then, another walk, to the possible source of the problem: a broken beaver dam. Someone partially destroyed the dam sometime over the summer. As a result, mucky water rushed downstream and eventually made it into the reservoir. "Thirty to 50 acres, three feet deep," Smith said. "Since the city hasn't come up with their own ideas, I'm just putting this one out." City officials say they are looking into it. "That information has been passed along to the scientists and the chemists who are investigating this," Deputy Fire Chief Miles Schlichte said. "Along with a couple of other possibilities that citizens have phoned in." As far as the crisis goes, the latest water test results are better, but not good enough to lift the boil order. "It has been very frustrating," Mayor Carolyn Kirk said. "It's been frustrating for the citizens of Gloucester and very disruptive to the business community." Meanwhile, Gregg Smith is hoping his beaver-dam theory gets checked out. "It's just all the particles coming down at once, clogging the filtration system," he explained. "It's all pretty nasty." Today the federal government got involved, sending people from the Environmental Protection Agency. They have toured several sites. The mayor tells us they feel they have a working theory, but no answers yet. Also see these stories from the Gloucester Times:
Boil order lifted - for most
Coyotes terrorize Dartmouth neighborhood
(back to
top) By Curt Brown
Foxes
spotted off Highland Avenue
(back to
top) September 01,
2009
Flooding raises health concerns
(back to
top) August 26, 2009
WEST NEWBURY, MA - Residents living near the old town dump off Georgetown Road fear flooding caused by beaver dams is dangerously close to contaminating their water supply. But despite urging from the local health agent since June that the dams be breached immediately, state officials say they have yet to conclusively determine the severity of the problem. Because the land is owned by the state's Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, the town needs permission to go onto it to remove the dams. The old landfill, which was clay-capped in 1986, has been plagued by flooding - likely due to beaver activity - since early last spring. Concerned that contaminants from the site might leach into their well water, residents alerted Health Agent Paul Sevigny, the Board of Selectmen and Mass Fisheries & Wildlife about the problem last April. "As a lifelong resident who used to make weekly trips to the landfill before it was closed, I can confirm that there is all kinds of dangerous gunk buried there cars, chemicals and other hazardous waste," Kevin Mullen, 118 Georgetown Road, said when reached for comment on Monday. Sevigny conducted four site visits in June, concluding that three major beaver dams located to the south of the landfill were causing excessive flooding in the vegetated wetlands nearby. The dams need to be removed to allow the natural flow of water to resume and recede away from the landfill. "Based on the numerous site visits and data gathered, it is the Board of Health's opinion that the rising water level adjacent to the landfill is creating a public health threat," he wrote in a letter to Patricia Huckery, district manager for the Mass. Division of Fisheries & Wildlife dated June 29. Sevigny, who also contacted the state Department of Health about the problem, also noted that elevated levels of standing water poised an increased risk for mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus and Eastern equine encephalitis. When contacted yesterday for a comment for this story, Huckery said all questions should be directed to Sevigny or to the division's press department. "As far as we are concerned, this is an emergency that requires immediate action, and we are dumbfounded as to why it isn't being treated as such. I mean, if someone from the Board of Health told you that your drinking water may become poisoned, wouldn't you expect it to be taken care of right away?" Mullen asked. In July, the Mass Department of Environmental Protection sent out solid waste engineer Dave Adams to determine if flooding in the area caused by the dams was a threat to neighboring household wells. Adams was involved with the closure of the landfill in 1986. In an e-mail to Sevigny dated Aug. 6, John Carrigan, the Solid Waste section chief at DEP, noted that Adams did not observe anything during his site visit that immediately suggested the higher water level threatens the integrity of the landfill cap. In addition, he noted that no data has been provided relative to the private wells or the groundwater conditions at the site regarding the potential for the groundwater flow from the landfill to be intercepted by the wells. A review of the aerial photographs suggests that the wells may be cross gradient and not down gradient of the landfill, Carrigan concluded. Sevigny then requested a second site review with the engineer to highlight his concerns. "Paul donned his waders to demonstrate that the protective landfill barrier is under 2-plus feet of water, and the test wells are similarly inundated. After about an hour of discussion in the swamp, Dave reluctantly, sort of, agreed that there is a potential health threat," said Mullen, who also attended the site walk. However, when reached for comment yesterday, DEP's Ed Coletta said only that Adams is "currently reviewing the information and data that he has collected and has not reached any final conclusions to date." But residents of Georgetown Road want less talk and more action. "We've already lost several months because of all the bureaucracy. Meanwhile the water level continues to rise and so does our level of concern," Mullen said. "The solution is simple: Once the beaver dams are breached, the natural flow of water will resume, and the health threat will go away."
Lawrence police kill fox that bit man. Victim awaits results of rabies tests (back to top) By Yadira Betances August 26, 2009
|
The
Eagle Tribune
Dartmouth coyote attack brings attention to
predator population
(back to
top)
By DON CUDDY
DARTMOUTH, MA - One thing is known about coyotes: There are definitely plenty of them in Massachusetts. One thing is not known: just how many of them there actually are. A coyote attack on a family dog in Dartmouth earlier this month refocused attention on these elusive predators who have adapted well to both urban and suburban environments. A 9-year-old black Labrador was bitten in North Dartmouth by a coyote, said Cheryl Jackson, Dartmouth's assistant animal control officer. "It's uncertain whether the dog approached the coyote or the coyote attacked the dog first, since no one was in the yard at the time," she said. And fortunately, at 130 pounds, the Lab, which has recovered, had some layers of fat to protect it. Nevertheless, the danger posed to family pets by coyotes is very real, particularly for smaller dogs and cats, Jackson said. Laura Hajduk, a furbearer biologist with Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said that attacks on larger dogs generally result from coyotes attempting to protect their territory. "They would view a big dog as a territorial invader, and coyotes will actively defend their territory." While coyotes are well-established in Massachusetts, populations are difficult to estimate, Hajduk said. "But they tend to be self-regulating. If food is scarce one year, they won't have as many pups." There are more sightings during the summer, since both coyotes and humans are more active, she said. "Coyotes have their pups in the spring, so at this time of the year they are trying to feed an entire family as well as showing the pups how to hunt." Once they establish a territory, coyotes will patrol it, constantly looking for food and intruders and travelling up to 7 miles a day, according to Hajduk. A territory in this region could encompass 6 to 10 square miles, she said. "We have them in the city," New Bedford's animal control officer Manny Maciel said. "They come from Dartmouth and all over. They will travel a good distance at night. A lot of the calls we get are from the Route 140 and Hathaway Road area because they hang around the transfer station." However, they are usually not too common in more populated areas, he said. "We tell people to keep their trash covered. If they can't get food they will move on. In fact, we have a saying: 'A fat coyote is a dead coyote,'" Maciel said, relating the story of a coyote that took up residence in Brooklawn Park in the city's North End about 10 years ago. "People were feeding it. They meant well, but if you feed a wild animal it loses its fear of humans and the next thing that happens is it begins to approach people," he said. "Six months later, it was coming out at (a nearby) school and we had to get a guy from Fish and Wildlife to remove it."
'Lucky'
Jasper the cat survives coyote attack Family warns 'it can happen to anyone'
(back to
top) By Bethany Bray
Staff Writer
Attacking fox is killed after 2 people bitten in Whitman (back to top)
By Jack Nicas, Globe Correspondent |
August 11, 2009
Rabid Skunk attacks Norfolk man (back to top)
Heather McCarron/Staff writer July 30, 2009
NORFOLK, MA - A 70-year resident of Priscilla Avenue was attacked by a rabid skunk Sunday afternoon after he attempted to shoo the animal off his property, according to Animal Control Officer Hilary Cohen. The skunk went after the man, who had swatted at it with his crutches, around 2 p.m. Sunday, even pursuing him into his home, nestled in a wooded area near the former Norfolk Airport. The skunk bit the mans shoes, pant legs and crutches; it is unclear whether the skunk drew blood, since the man declined treatment, Cohen said. "Basically, he saw the skunk in his yard and went outside to shoo it away and it attacked him," said Cohen, who is not identifying the man. "He's somewhat disabled, so by the time he could get away from it the skunk chased him inside. He somehow managed to get the skunk back outside. He said he basically cornered it with his crutches and kept shooing it back out." Cohen arrived following a 911-call, and had two encounters with the creature before shooting it dead. First, as the skunk came at her, she grabbed a snow shovel that was on the lawn, scooped the advancing skunk up and flung it away. At that point, the animal scurried off into the undergrowth, but then came back as Cohen was looking for it. She ended up shooting it three times. Cohen said she hasn't often seen a manifestation of furious rabies, but this skunk clearly had been driven mad by the illness. "This animal had the classic foaming of the mouth, he was very aggressive and he was intent to chase people and hurt them," she said. The remains were sent to the state Department of Public Health in Jamaica Plain for confirmation of Cohen's visual diagnosis. The results came back July 27 positive for the rabies virus, she said. A second skunk was shot at the same property on Tuesday and sent in for testing; those results were not expected back until after the Gazettes press deadline. Cohen said authorities are also working on removing numerous feral cats from the area that were interacting with the first skunk and have clearly been exposed to the virus; they will be euthanized. As of Wednesday afternoon, nine cats had been removed; one cat carcass found in the yard Sunday was also removed, but the remains were in such poor condition that testing for rabies infection could not be undertaken, Cohen said. Cohen said animals suspected of rabies are not unheard of in the town, but Sundays attack on a person is the first she has encountered in Norfolk. She said there are a lot of skunks this year that have been showing strange behavior and, in fact, another skunk on the other side of town was also put down Sunday because it was suspected of having rabies. There was no human exposure in that case. Sunday was also the day another resident was bitten by a bat; she swatted the bat away, so there was no specimen to send in for rabies testing. As a precaution, the woman is undergoing treatment for rabies, Cohen said. The Priscilla Avenue resident may also have to undergo treatment for rabies exposure which, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, includes administration of rabies immune globulin and a series of five rabies vaccine shots over the course of a months (rabies shots are no longer given in the stomach). Cohen said the mans physician and the state Department of Public Health would determine the course of action in his case. The skunk attack is the second one by a rabid animal in the area in the past week and a half. Last Wednesday, a rabid cat attacked a man in Bellingham. In the aftermath of the attack, Cohen is advising residents especially those in the Leland Road and Priscilla Avenue area of town to avoid contact with any stray cats, dogs or wildlife. The worry is that other animals on the mans property or in the neighborhood could have been exposed to the virus. "If you live in this area and have pets, please check them over for any possible bite marks if you have allowed your animal to roam without supervision in the past week," she noted in an advisory on the town Web site. "I cannot stress enough how absolutely imperative it is for your pet to be current on their rabies vaccinations as the rabies virus is fatal if contracted." According to the state DPH, rabies is a fatal disease of the brain and spinal cord caused by a virus. "Rabies in humans is very rare in the U.S., but rabies in certain animals especially wildlife is common in many parts of the country, including Massachusetts," the DPH fact sheet on rabies states. The rabies virus lives in the saliva and nervous tissues of infected animals and is spread when they bite or scratch. The virus can also be spread if saliva from an infected animal touches broken skin, open wounds or the lining of the mouth, nose, or eyes. It may also be possible to inhale the virus in caves crowded with infected bats. Rabies can infect any mammal, but is most common in bats, skunks, foxes, woodchucks, and raccoons. Cats, dogs and livestock can contract rabies as well, and transfer it to their owners. A rabid animal often behaves strangely after the virus begins to take effect on their brains. According to the DPH, "Rabid animals may attack people or other animals for no reason, or they may lose their fear of people and seem to be unnaturally friendly." "Not all rabid animals act in these ways, however, so you should avoid all wild animals especially bats, skunks, foxes, and raccoons," the DPH advises. "Also, you should not feed or touch stray cats and dogs." How can you prevent rabies? Avoid wild animals, especially bats, skunks, foxes, and raccoons. Do not feed or pet strays. Avoid any animal wild, farm or pet that you do not know. Report any animal that behaves oddly to your local animal control official. Teach your children to avoid wildlife, strays, and all other animals they do not know well. Do not handle dead, sick, or injured wild animals yourself; call the police or animal control officer. If you must handle the animal, use heavy gloves, sticks or other tools to avoid direct contact. Make sure your pets are vaccinated against rabies and that their shots are up-to-date. By law, all dogs, cats and ferrets must be vaccinated against rabies. Feed pets indoors and keep them indoors at night If they are outside during the day, keep them on a leash or fenced in so they cannot wander. It is possible for vaccinated pets to get rabies. Pets allowed to roam freely are more likely to get rabies and possibly expose people and other pets in your home. Fasten trash can lids tightly. Garbage attracts animals (like skunks, raccoons, and strays) looking for an easy meal. It is against state law to keep wild animals such as skunks or raccoons as pets. There are no rabies vaccines for most wild species. Cap your chimney with screens and block openings in attics, cellars, and porches to keep wild animals like bats and raccoons out of your home. If you have bats in your house, talk to a professional about bat-proofing your home. Animal control officers, veterinarians, their assistants, and others who have a lot of contact with strays or wildlife should get routine rabies vaccinations to protect themselves before they are exposed to the virus.
Fox attack leaves By Rebecca Hyman Tue Jul 29, 2008, 05:31 PM EDT
Raynham family shocked after coyote attack leaves pet cat clinging to life (back to top) By TIM FAULKNER, Staff Writer GateHouse News Service Posted Jul 27, 2009 @ 11:39 PM
RAYNHAM, MA - Another instance of wildlife migration into a residential neighborhood occurred last week when a coyote attacked a cat belonging to a Cynthia Drive family. At about 11 p.m. Thursday, Lynda and Rick Rose were searching outside their home for their 12-year-old house cat, Wren, when they heard the cat wailing as it was snatched up by a coyote. Rick Rose yelled at the animal as he ran from the back deck with a golf club, causing the frightened animal to drop the white, 20-pound cat and run into an open area along a power line behind the house. Wren was treated for severe bruises and several puncture wounds at an animal hospital in Bridgewater. Back home and feeding through an intravenous tube, the cats survival is very uncertain, Lynda Rose said. Since the attack, her 12-year-old daughter locks the doors at night and has been afraid to leave the house. It's stressful, Rose said. She has sighted the gray coyote several times this year, once at about 10 a.m. on nearby Pleasant Street. And she worried that other pets in the neighborhood are at risk. If it keeps getting animals its going to keep coming, Rose said. Marion Larson, a biologist with the state Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, said the incident will become more common if coyotes find new sources of food such as garbage, small pets and even bird feed. They're going to take any meal wherever they possibly can, Larson said. Noting that there have only been three reported attacks since coyotes were first found roaming in Massachusetts, Larson stressed that coyotes are not known to harm humans. Despite several reported coyote sighting in Raynham this year and the mauling death of a small dog on Locust Street in February, Larson said the coyote population has not dramatically increased in recent years. Rather, she said, coyotes thrive in suburban landscapes that present new sources of food. Unless humans yell and attempt to scare off coyotes, she said, encounters with the animals will be more common. Raynham Animal Control Officer Fred Sylvia said, so far, coyotes appear to be moving around town at will. They are just looking for food and they just have no fear of people right now. tfaulkner@tauntongazette.com
Fox attacks shake up Globe Staff By Jazmine Ulloa,
Coyotes
strike again; cat killed in Georgetown
(back to
top) By Katie Curley - Staff writer
July 21,2009
MA: Coyotes stalk woman, kill dog at Georgetown/Rowley State Forest (back to top)
Georgetown MA - Coyotes attacked and killed a dog that was walking with her owner in the Georgetown/Rowley State Forest last Wednesday morning. Georgetown resident Lisa Burke thinks the coyotes were stalking her and her four dogs during their entire walk. My dogs were staying unusually close to me all morning, says Burke. I did not even see the coyotes coming they came out on the trail right in front of me and were approaching me aggressively when my dogs saw them. By then it was too late. Like many Georgetown dog owners, Burke liked to walk her four dogs in the forest where they could run along unleashed. On July 15, she approached the parking lot after her walk and, with all the dogs right with her, prepared to put their leashes back on before crossing the parking lot entrance. Two coyotes suddenly charged her at trail marker number 15. The two coyotes attacked Burkes little Boston terrier Stella, and that's when Jack Russell terrier Lucy came to the rescue. Lucy died a hero she saved Stella by jumping into the fight and attacking the coyotes when they went for Stella, says Burke, who also sent a mass e-mail to other local dog owners as a warning about the attack. One was holding Stella by the throat and the other had her back legs. When Lucy entered the fight the coyotes dropped Stella and picked up Lucy. Maggie [the new family boxer] protected me, another hero in my eyes. Maggie, a boxer we have only had for one month, chased the coyotes when they picked up Lucy. I picked up Lucy off the path and ran carrying her as fast as I could because I knew she was in shock. The coyotes chased me to try to get at Lucy, but Maggie kept barking and they stayed back. I got Lucy to the vet and she was alive but she went into cardiac arrest and they couldn't save her. I feel so bad and sad I will miss her so much. She was such a terror, but that's what I loved about her. Her motto, I think, was It's all in the attitude. Stella was very badly injured but, thanks to Lucy's heroic actions, is expected to survive and be OK after a few weeks. She has a lot of puncture wounds from the coyotes teeth, and bruises on her chest from when they were carrying her away and shaking her, says Burke. Stella had her current rabies shots and she was given a booster shot. She is in quarantine at home here at home for the next 42 days. Georgetown Animal Inspector Holly Willard stopped by to check Stella out as well. Burke says she cant thank the Bulger Animal Hospital in North Andover enough for the care they gave Lucy and Stella. They did everything they could for Lucy you could'nt have asked for more, says Burke. Stella is still not herself. The vets said she might be mourning for Lucy for a while she keeps looking for her. Burke is warning dog owners to be aware of this new danger to their pets in the forest. The Georgetown Police Report on the incident notes the attack took place in an area behind the Penn Brook School section of the forest while all the dogs were close by their owner. Burke and her other two dogs were not injured in the attack. Georgetown Police Lt. Don Cudmore says people need to be aware of what's out there. Any person walking in the forest should be mindful that coyotes and other wild animals are always present, and should avoid them whenever possible, says Cudmore. He encourages residents to learn more about coyotes and other wildlife by visiting the Mass. Wildlife Web site at
South
Hadley officials hope to resolve flooding problems at Ledges Golf Club without
killing beavers
(back to
top) by
The Republican
Newsroom - SANDRA E. CONSTANTINE
sconstantine@repub.com
Police warn of
coyotes after small dog is killed
(back to
top)
Busy beavers adding to
soppiness of the season
(back to
top)
Earlier fox bite reported
nearby Unclear if attack was same
animal By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE
STAFF
lbock@telegram.com Mr. Blomgren was outside
trimming his lawn at his home at
Mr. Blomgren said
he tried to contact a
Beaver
Dams Cause Flood Problems In Mass. Towns
(back to
top)
Beaver traps were
outlawed in 1996, and now the state's beaver population has skyrocketed from
20,000 to 70,000.
Return of the
Once-Rare Beaver? Not in My Yard
(back to top)
CONCORD, Mass. The dozens of public works officials, municipal engineers, conservation agents and others who crowded into a meeting room here one recent morning needed help. Property in their towns was flooding, they said. Culverts were clogged. Septic tanks were being overwhelmed. Once wiped out in Massachusetts, beavers were repopulated in the 1930s. "We have a huge problem", said David Pavlik, an engineer for the town of Lexington, where dams built by beavers have sent water flooding into the towns sanitary sewers. We trapped them, he said. We breached their dam. Nothing works. We are looking for long-term solutions. Mary Hansen, a conservation agent from Maynard, said it starkly: There are beavers everywhere. Laura Hajduk, a biologist with the states Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, had little to offer them. When beavers are trapped, others move in to replace them. And, she said, you can breach a beaver dam, but I guarantee you that within 24 hours if the beavers are still there it will be repaired. Beavers are the ultimate ecosystem engineers. That was not what Mr. Pavlik was hoping to hear. He is not alone in his dismay, and it is not just beavers. Around the nation, decades of environmental regulation, conservation efforts and changing land use have brought many species, like beavers, so far back from the brink that they are viewed as nuisances. As Stuart Pimm, a conservation ecologist at Duke University, put it, We are finding they are inconvenient. In Florida, alligators were once nearly wiped out by hunters; today the state maintains a roster of trappers who remove thousands of nuisance gators each year. The pesticide DDT once left the Pelican State, Louisiana, bereft of the birds; today wildlife organizations say fishermen must guard their bait and catches from the birds. In California, warnings about marauding mountain lions are posted on hiking trails. There were tens and maybe hundreds of millions of beavers in North America before it was settled by Europeans, whose craze for beaver hats is often cited as motivating much of the exploration of the continent. But by 1900 their numbers had been reduced to about 100,000, almost all of them in Canada. As farming faded and the forests reclaimed much of their lost ground, Castor canadensis made a spectacular comeback. Today there are believed to be 10 million to 15 million of the animals in North America, and they are regarded as pests in much of their range. In 1999, for example, a colony moved into the Tidal Basin in Washington, where they cut down a number of cherry trees before being trapped and removed. According to the Department of Agriculture, states like Mississippi, North Carolina and Wisconsin lose tens of millions of dollars each year from beaver damage to buildings, roads, timber, crops and trout streams. In Massachusetts, beavers had vanished by the early 19th century, killed by trappers and dispossessed by farmers who turned woods into pastures. But they have had a particularly strong comeback here as farmland has returned to woodland. The change has also brought an unwelcome abundance of coyotes, black bears, moose and other species. Wild turkeys, once extirpated, now go one-on-one with suburban pedestrians in what biologists call misguided efforts to establish their dominance in a pecking order. The advice from the experts on beavers is to find a way to live with them and reduce the damage. As Ms. Hajduk said during the Concord meeting, chicken-wire fencing can keep beavers out of culverts or away from prized trees. Companies market water flow devices called beaver deceivers or beaver bafflers that can be installed in dams to lower the water level of beaver ponds. Some people even coat prized trees with paint and sand in the hope that the grit will discourage gnawing beavers. If people want to live in a more natural environment, they must adjust to animals, even inconvenient animals, Dr. Pimm said in a telephone interview. You have to accept Mother Nature as she is, he said. John Livsey, Mr. Pavliks boss and the town engineer in Lexington, has firsthand experience with the beaver problem. The animals are building dams in wooded areas traversed by the towns sewer lines, he said, and as water rises, it seeps through manholes into the sewer pipes. The town must pay for the treatment of this extra inflow. Though Mr. Livsey said he could not put a dollar figure on it, its a lot of money. The town periodically obtains permits to breach dams and trap and kill the animals, but destroying a beaver dam can have unintended consequences downstream, from flooding a neighbors property to destroying habitat crucial for rare amphibians or silting up streams where endangered Atlantic salmon spawn. Some people date the beavers return to Massachusetts to 1928, when beavers were observed in West Stockbridge and greeted with enthusiasm, according to the Web site of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. By 1946, there were an estimated 300 beavers, all west of the Connecticut River. If a beaver dam is breached, it will be repaired within 24 hours. Today, Ms. Hajduk said, there are at least 30,000 beavers [ERROR should be 70,000], all over the state. In her presentation in Concord, Ms. Hajduk said that beavers, which can reach 60 pounds and are the largest rodents in North America, are monogamous animals that mate for life and like to eat plants that grow underwater. They look for places to build a dam and create a pond. Their webbed feet are adapted for life in the water, and their front teeth, four giant incisors, are useful for cutting the trees they use as raw materials for their dams and lodges. (They also eat the bark, particularly in the winter.) Typically, she said, they work at night, building a stick-and-mud lodge in the pond or at its edge, with its entrance underwater for safety. A pair of beavers typically live 10 years, producing a litter of two or more kits each spring. The kits stay with their parents until they are 2 years old, then disperse in search of their own territories. Though the people at the meeting found it hard to believe or irrelevant the beavers have produced many benefits for the states environment, Ms. Hajduk said. She pointed to some of them after the meeting, when she and Mary B. Griffin, the states commissioner of fish and game, met at the Boxborough Station Wildlife Management Area, a state reserve northwest of here. At first glance it hardly seemed like an ideal spot for beavers. Route 2, a major east-west highway, runs along one edge; a much-used rail line runs along another. You are really surrounded by a lot of suburbia and roadways, Ms. Hajduk said. But trees had reclaimed the land between the ancient stone walls. Beavers have taken full advantage of the site, damming a small stream with mud and branches to impound a 45-acre pond perhaps five or six feet deep, with a lodge in the middle. As she and Dr. Griffin neared the pond, a group of wood ducks, alarmed by their approach, went squawking into the air. It was good to see them, Dr. Griffin said they are among the species favored by hunters that the state is trying to encourage. She pointed to an osprey sitting on a dead tree. Ospreys were almost wiped out by DDT but are now back in Massachusetts, and this one was taking advantage of beaver-created habitat. Just then, a great blue heron glided to a landing in the pond, another guest of the beavers. Impoundments like this one absorb water, especially in the spring, when streams swell with rain and snow runoff, Dr. Griffin said. And when the impoundment eventually silts up and the beavers move on, their dam will decay and the pond will drain, leaving unusually rich soil behind. These beaver meadows stand out like rich little oases, Ms. Hajduk said. Dr. Griffin said she and her colleagues emphasized these advantages in urging people to adopt tolerance and coexistence as a first line of defense. Mr. Livsey can embrace this concept, up to a point, perhaps because he admires the animals engineering ability. They're amazingly skilled creatures, actually, he said. They seem to be able to put things where they want them. I wish they worked for us.
Rise in beaver population after trapping ban leads to flooded property
(back to top)
Milford beaver dam breaks causing flash floods (back to top)
By Danielle Ameden/Daily News staff
MILFORD, MA - Trying to tackle the beaver problem on Ivy Brook, the Conservation
Commission took a firsthand look yesterday at the problems dam breaks are
causing in north Milford. On a visit to 10 Clarridge Circle, commissioners
met with homeowner Bob Szymanski who worries his property will keep getting
flooded if, as he suspects, people continue breaking beaver dams upstream from
him. "I have lost somewhere over three feet of rock that has slid down,"
Szymanski said of the retaining walls on his property that Ivy Brook flows
through. Szymanski brought the problem to the commission's attention last month
after he suspected someone broke a big dam the beavers had built. He said the
destruction caused a huge rush of water "like Niagara Falls." The morning
after the board's meeting, which he attended, someone apparently tampered with
the dam the beavers had rebuilt because another, albeit smaller, rush of water
occurred, Szymanski told the commissioners.
"Somebody did something up there," he said. Commission Chairman Robert Buckley
told Szymanski the commission will investigate the problem, but it may be
difficult to resolve. "Beavers are tough - there are cases where, really,
they win," Buckley said, standing on a little bridge over the brook on
Szymanski's property. Commissioners need to get in touch with the owner of
the landlocked piece of property where the beavers have built their dams and
habitat on Ivy Brook. When they have permission, they will tour that area,
Buckley told Szymanski. He said the commission will also speak to its
consultant and involve the Board of Health, which has some jurisdiction when it
comes to beavers. Commissioners could issue a "cease and desist" order
against the property owner, even though he's seemingly unaware of the beaver
problem, Buckley said. "The Conservation Commission has to take some
action and usually it's the land owner. They have have to post no trespass
signs, do something," he said. Also along on the site visit were Town
Engineer Mike Santora and Conservation Commission members Joe Zacchilli and
Michael Giampietro. Szymanski showed photos of when water had rushed
downstream. He recounted how there have been five apparent dam breaks since the
end of last year, including the "bad one" on April 25. "That's a very odd
situation to have basically a flash flood," Buckley said. Prior to last year and
since 1986, Szymanski said, there had only been three incidents. One was during
Hurricane Bob and two others were probably during rainstorms, he said.
Buckley said the commission will talk about the beaver problem when it meets
June 18.
Coyote Forces 2 Logan Runways To Briefly Close
(back to top)
Vicious attack of dog in
Middleboro brings attention to seasonal suburban threat By Alice C. Elwell Posted May 04, 2009 @ 01:54 AM Last update May 04, 2009 @ 01:50 PM
MIDDLEBORO, MA - A brown shadow
swooped in and grabbed Hattie, a seven pound Yorkshire Terrier, by the neck just
yards from where owner Wilfred J. Forcier stood watching. It
was 4 a.m. last Wednesday when Hattie pestered Forcier to go outside. Her timing
was unusual, but Forcier a retired police officer stood at the backdoor of
his
neighborhood barely survived a coyote attack. (back to top) Pet Cat Killed By Predator
Weymouth, MA - April 20, 2009 - TheBostonChannel.com
The coyote snatched "Rusty" right off his leash while he was tied to a mailbox. The shih tzu's owner said she saw the coyote running down the street with the dog in its mouth. "I opened the front door and saw the dog was gone. I looked up and saw a coyote with my dog in its mouth. I started yelling, and two houses down, saw the dog with blood in middle of street. I must have scared him away, "said Elyse Quinlan. Rusty survived and was treated for deep teeth wounds to the stomach, back and neck. The coyote's first victim on the block wasn't so lucky. Residents think a pet cat was killed by the animal. "The neighbors cat, too. They were telling me they found his fur in the other yard," Quinlan said. Weymouth police said unless a coyote is reported as sick, there's nothing they can do. The public was advised to stay alert and be careful.
Raynham coyote attacks finally prompt recourse (back to top) www.WickedLocal.com By Tim Faulkner, Fri Feb 27, 2009, 10:42 AM ESTRaynham,
MA - After a gang of coyotes attacked and killed a family dog,
Terry Den Besten, owner of Den Besten Farm
on Locust
Street, is taking action.
"They've started a war and I'll
finish it," he said. Over
the past two years, coyotes have been terrorizing his 30-acre animal
farm, eating cats, young goats, chickens and frightening other animals.
In recent months, the coyotes have become more
aggressive,
jumping four-foot fences into animal pens and entering barns in search of prey.
"They are very bold,"
said the burly former
construction company owner. Wednesday night, about a dozen coyotes ran through
the stable area and the backyard of his
three-story brick house, howling and looking for a meal. Several
family dogs were roaming the backyard when a coyote snatched away
a 9-year-old miniature Doberman pinscher. Den Besten's
wife, Donna, gave chase, yelling in an attempt to scare off the coyotes.
But
a few minutes later the 20-pound dog was found lifeless about 100 yards from the
house lying on a dirt road. "It's
kind of scary
with a pack of them," Terry Den Besten said.
"It was like an attack of the wild."
In recent years he has installed sturdier fences
and brought in a donkey, horses and llamas to frighten the coyotes.
When that failed his only recourse, until now,
has been to lock
the animals in barns and sheds at night. But with two young grandchildren living
in his home, Den Besten doesn't want the next
victim to be a human. Armed with night-vision goggles, a .22-caliber hunting
rifle and a battery-powered coyote caller, the retired
Marine intends to make the hunters the hunted. "They
are going to be dealt with, that's for sure,"
he said. After notifying neighbors
- many of them living in recently built houses on land
that was once coyote habitat - and the police
officials, Den Besten intends to
stalk the predators over the next few nights. Biologist Dick Turner, of the
state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said shooting
one of the coyotes may be enough to scare the rest of the pack from going near
humans again. Coyote encounters, he said, are more
frequent this time of year. "This is the breeding
season and when they're the most vocal." And the
sightings are likely to increase.
Over the last 50 years, the coyote population has spread to every community
across the Commonwealth. Raynham Police Chief
Joseph
Pacheco said coyotes weren't in Raynham 20 years ago.
And the attack Wednesday night, he said, was the first time a coyote had entereda building the shed where the goats were kept. Pacheco condoned Den Besten's
plan to kill the coyotes, saying farmers have the
right to kill predators that attack livestock. As a precaution, Pacheco warned
school officials about the aggressive coyotes. At least
two coyotes sighting have been reported at the three Raynham public schools
since September. Although Den Besten's
farm and the schools sit on opposite sides of the heavily traveled Route 24,
Pacheco noted that both properties are part of a wooded area that extends north
to Interstate 495. "I concerned for family pets as
well as kids, especially when the weather gets warmer,"
Pacheco said. Fisheries and Wildlife Biologist Laura Hajduk said coyotes are
more of a nuisance than a threat to humans. Only
three reports of coyote bites on
humans have been reported in the state, she said, and a single fatality occurred
in California in the 1980s. "Its very very rare
they
ever attack people." Her
advice is to avoid coyotes and never feed them. But if the dog-like animals get
too close she suggest banging
pots and pans and making loud noises to remind them of the consequences of
intruding on humans.
Saving Charro from coyotes Attack on 65-pound Essex greyhound stuns owners (back to top) Glouster Daily Times online (http://www.gloucestertimes.com) By Robert Cann, Staff Writer February 17, 2009
Essex, MA -
Because of this, she's always kept a close eye on her 10-year-old
greyhound, Charro, when the dog is allowed to roam alone in her
grassy backyard, enclosed by honeysuckle bushes. "Otherwise," said Morser,
86, "I don't think we'd have her today." This
past Saturday around 3 p.m., while Charro was sniffing the grass about 50 yards
behind Morser's home, she saw what she thought were two police dogs moving
toward the dog. She said, since Charro likes other dogs, the greyhound went
toward the animals. When the pair attacked
Charro, Morser instantly recognized that they were coyotes and hollered for her
89-year-old husband Calvin. Morser said she then
"grabbed a pot with a lid and tore out into the backward," clanging the top
against the pot. She had read that doing such a thing would scare away coyotes.
She said that, by the time she got outside, Charro and the coyotes
had moved into one of the bushes and that she could no longer see them.
She's not sure if it was her banging the pot and
lid together that scared the coyotes away, but moments after she left her house
Charro began to limp towards her. When Morser and her husband got Charro inside
they discovered their pet had serious cuts and bite marks on its hind legs, back
and abdomen. They called the Gloucester-based Cape Ann Veterinary Hospital, and
the owners, Dr. Jeffrey French and his wife Dr. Barbara Reid, had not gone home
yet. The veterinarians told Morser to bring Charro in immediately. Morser and
her husband wrapped Charro's wounds with a towel and, with a great deal of
effort, lifted the 65-pound dog into the back of their vehicle. At the hospital,
Charro was in surgery for two hours and required between 15 and 20 sutures in
three different areas, French said yesterday. Yesterday, Charro was doing well,
but was being held in quarantine and being monitored for rabies, French said.
Charro was up-to-date on rabies vaccinations at the time of the attack, and was
treated once more when first admitted to the animal hospital. Massachusetts Fish
and Game representatives were unavailable for comment yesterday because of the
holiday. Lt. John Wimsatt, a conservation officer at New Hampshire Fish and
Game, said that rabies isn't as common in coyotes as in raccoons and foxes, but
it can still occur. French also noted that "people often think that large
dogs are not targets for coyotes," but that's not the case. Wimsatt said
that attacks by coyotes on domestic animals are uncommon, though it's not rare
for them to attack prey as large a 65-pound greyhound; they often hunt whitetail
deer. Wimsatt said that such an attack was unusual and that it likely wouldn't
happen again. "The public doesn't need to be overly alarmed," said Wimsatt.
"Take normal precautions with your pets and keep your eyes on them when they're
outside." Wimsatt added, however, that animal control officers should be
notified in case of an attack. French, who said that "people are getting used to
seeing them all the time," added that he planned to contact Gloucester's Animal
Control Department when it opened today. In that
vein, a Rockport man had one of his golden retrievers
tackled by a coyote in December after the wild animal chased his second
golden retriever from the edge of the woods where it was sniffing, unleashed.
The man and his wife yelled at the coyote and it ran away. That dog was not
brought to the vet, and French noted that there have not been any animals
brought
Rabid fox attacks man (back to top) Milford Daily News - January 29, 2009 Danielle Ameden can be reached at 508-634-7521 or dameden@cnc.com.
Beaver dam flood woes
hard to ignore
By Connie Paige
Globe Correspondent
/ January 25, 2009
LEXINGTON, MA - A brook flooded an area
in north
Connie Paige can be reached at connie_paige@yahoo.com.
Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
Emergency
permit targets beavers in Holliston By David Rielly/TAB
staff
Fri. Dec 26,
2008 10:45 EST (David Riley can be reached at 508-626-3919 or driley@cnc.com.)
Officer says he thwarted coyote's attack on woman (back to top) November 27, 2008 By Paul Leighton Staff writer
BEVERLY, MA - A Beverly police officer said he gunned his cruiser between a woman and a rapidly charging coyote to prevent the animal from attacking her in St. Mary's Cemetery two weeks ago.
Patrolman Gene Bettencourt said he grabbed the woman and got her safely into her van as the coyote ran off into the woods. "If I wasn't there, who knows what that thing would've done to that lady," he said.
Police say the city's animal services department trapped an 80-pound coyote in the cemetery last Friday and had the animal euthanized by a veterinarian. Patrolman John McCarthy, the department spokesman, said police can't be certain it was the same coyote, but there have been no reports of coyotes in the area since then. "If somebody does see one, call us at the station," McCarthy said. Bettencourt said he was on routine patrol in St. Mary's Cemetery on Nov. 15 when a man walking his dog told him he saw a "huge animal" on the hill at the back of the Brimbal Avenue cemetery. When Bettencourt drove up the hill, "I couldn't believe my eyes," he said. "It almost looked like a wolf," he said. As Bettencourt called the police station to report the coyote sighting, a woman got out of a green van and walked toward a gravestone. The coyote then took off and started running toward the woman, he said. "I said to the dispatcher, 'I gotta go. The coyote's charging a lady.' I drove my Charger to cut it off. I jumped out and grabbed the lady and got her back in her van. She took off, and the coyote bolted into the wooded area." Bettencourt said the coyote stopped about 40 to 50 feet away when he pulled his cruiser in front of the woman. After the incident, the city's animal services department planted a trap that is designed to pull a leash around an animal's neck as it is feeding. Last Friday, Bettencourt found a coyote caught in the trap in the cemetery, unhurt. McCarthy said the coyote was taken to a veterinarian and euthanized. Beverly Animal Services Officer James Lindley said coyotes are known to attack cats and small dogs but rarely pose a threat to humans. "The way it charged that woman is not ordinary," he said. Lindley said he doubted the coyote had rabies because a rabid animal would stand its ground and fight instead of fleeing. Lindley said he and police have fielded many calls regarding coyote sightings in recent weeks. He said there has been a group of seven coyotes in the Sohier Road area and two or three more around St. Mary's Cemetery, but it's difficult to know exactly how many are in the city. "It's really hard to put a count on them," he said. "They cover so much territory." According to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Web site, the eastern coyote moved into the central and western regions of Massachusetts in the 1950s and now lives in every town in Massachusetts, except on Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Coyotes can reach weights of 50 to 60 pounds, but their weight can be easily overestimated because of their thick fur, according to the Web site. Dogs, red foxes and gray foxes are often mistaken for coyotes. The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife and the Massachusetts Environmental Police Department are assisting Lindley in monitoring the situation, he said. Anyone who spots a coyote should call police at 978-922-1212.
Increase in beaver population linked to loosestrife spread
(back to top)
Wild Animal Frightens Neighborhood (back to top) By Justine Judge
| |||||||||||
| By Aaron Nicodemus TELEGRAM
& GAZETTE STAFF Monday, March 31, 2008 |
Salem News
By Steve Landwehr - Staff writer
February 20, 2008 02:05 pm
Ipswich, MA - It's a little hard to tell if Wenham's culverts on the Miles River are performing up to expectations after being replaced last year. Due to heavy rains and melting snow the past two weeks, there's an unusually high amount of water in the river, but don't blame the culverts. "There's not a lot of flow out there because of all the beaver dams downstream," Tyack said. No Wenham residents have complained of flooding so far, he said. The news is not so good in Hamilton, however, where water levels threaten to submerge some septic systems. State Rep. Brad Hill is pointing his finger directly at officials in his own hometown, Ipswich. Wenham, Hamilton and Beverly, the other three communities through which the river runs, have all done trapping and dam breaching to alleviate beaver problems, and even the MBTA has helped out by clearing one of the culverts under its tracks. "The town of Ipswich hasn't done anything," Hill said. Flooding during the Mother's Day storm in 1986 destroyed three culverts in Wenham. The cost to replace them was $1.8 million. Homes in Beverly, Wenham and Hamilton were also flooded. Ipswich is part of the Miles River Task Force that formed to tackle perennial problems with the river. Besides the beaver population, the river is heavily infested with purple loosestrife, an invasive plant that is choking the river and inhibiting its ability to act as sponge during rain storms. Hill said he hopes to be on the Ipswich selectmen's agenda soon so coalition members can plead their case for more action. "It's puzzling to me why one town is unwilling to do anything when the other three have spent money, and a good deal of money, so the water can get through," Hill said. "It's useless if the water has no place to go. "Ipswich Conservation Commission Chairman David Standley has publicly expressed skepticism about beaver trapping. The commission would have to grant permission for any dams to be breached. Standley says he doesn't doubt trapping and breaching would be successful in the short run, but beavers are bound to return. The rodents are here because this has become good beaver habitat, he said. Hill said the river coalition is waiting for Sen. Ted Kennedy or Congressman John Tierney to place an "earmark" in the federal budget that would provide money for the Army Corps of Engineers to look into dredging the river, but there's no guarantee that will come to pass. In the meantime, Hill hopes he can just get some quick decisions on beaver dams. "I'm very disappointed in the actions of Ipswich," he said.
By Michael Morton/Daily News staff
Mon Jan 21, 2008, 12:05 AM EST
FRANKLIN, MA - A dam at the DelCarte
conservation area is at risk of collapsing, according to a report released last
week, a development that could threaten downstream homes. Town engineering
consultants did not give a time frame for the possible failure during a
presentation at the Conservation Commission Thursday, but they did categorize
the dam as a "significant" hazard, not a "high" one. "We felt there would
definitely be significant impact to the surrounding area," said engineer Matthew
Bellisle, the president of Pare Corp. While only one of the seven earthen
dams - No. 3, in the middle of the 130-acre property - poses a threat, the
others could collapse, too, Bellisle said. Over the years, trees have
sprouted on the structures, tearing the dams apart with their roots, he said,
and water flow has changed paths because of beaver activity and is now eroding
the man-made structures. "The beavers are causing a tremendous amount of
damage to the area," said Bellisle. The current dam configuration holds back the
Mill River and was made by longtime landowner Ernest DelCarte, who took an old
cranberry growing operation and turned it into a fishing and boating spot. After
his death, his daughter donated the $3 million property to the town, according
to his wishes. While Bellisle cautioned that his team has more work to do,
he suggested repairing three of the dams, including the problematic No. 3.
The rest might be removable, he said. "It might be more cost-effective to remove
those structures," he said, referring to the need to maintain any dams that are
left.
Several Conservation Commission members noted that removing dams could make the
remaining ponds bigger, increasing recreational opportunities. While the
engineering team still needs to assess the impact of different options and make
a final recommendation, Conservation Commission Chairman Raymond Willis said
after the meeting that the removal of four dams could range anywhere from
several hundred thousand dollars to a couple of million. The current study
costs $25,000 and is being funded by fees and fines collected by the commission.
Any further spending would have to come from other sources, Willis has said.
During Thursday's meeting, Bellisle pointed out that there are more than 3,000
dams in Massachusetts, with Franklin's structures unlikely to qualify for the
limited state repair grants available. Commission member Paul Boncek
agreed. "This isn't a very threatening situation," he said. Michael Morton
can be reached at mmorton@cnc.com or 508-634-7582.
City howling over coyotes (back to top)
Two dozen in six weeks; some venture downtown
WORCESTER, MA - City health officials have issued a “coyote alert” in response to roughly two dozen sightings of the animals here during the last six weeks, including some near the heart of downtown. “We’ve had sightings from every part of the city, not just on the outskirts. They’re coming down into the core of the city,” said Derek S. Brindisi, the city’s director of public health.
By Joyce
Kelly/MetroDaily
West News staff
Posted Nov 09, 2007 @ 01:13 AM
HOLLISTON,
MA - Chances of evading a
death trap look slim for the Bogastow Brook beavers.
Water commissioners Wednesday night agreed to try saving the beavers,
which the state deemed a public health threat in
September, by seeking help from the Massachusetts Audubon Society and
the Animal Rescue League. The state Department
of Environmental Protection is advising the town to immediately remove
the beavers, which commonly carry two life-threatening parasites,
giardia lamblia and cryptosporidium, and their dam. The animals'
proximity to a public drinking water
source, Well No. 5, off Central Street, poses an immediate threat to the
water supply and public health. But
using lethal traps appears to be the only way to remove the beavers,
said Water Department Superintendent Ron Sharpin, since transporting
them is illegal. To legally move a wild animal such as a beaver, a
permit must be obtained from the state Division of Wildlife & Fisheries,
which has a policy to not issue permits to transport beavers, said
division spokeswoman Lisa Capone. Yesterday,
the Daily News contacted Mass Audubon and the Animal Rescue League of
Boston to see whether either group would
consider taking the Bogastow Brook beavers and save their lives. "No, we
can't take them. You can't move them. No, you definitely can't do that,"
said Stacy Miller at Mass Audubon in Natick. "That would not work out -
we have enough beavers of our own," she said, laughing. The Animal
Rescue League also indicated it cannot help the
beavers. "If there's healthy wildlife, the state prevents
organizations such as ours from picking up a wild animal and moving it
to another location," said Christopher Smalley, the league's director of
media relations. He suggested the town contact the
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,
which does have a program to manage wildlife. Even
if an organization such as Mass Audubon agreed to "adopt" the beavers
and give them a new home, the Division of Wildlife & Fisheries will not
allow them to be transported, Capone said. Beavers are creating problems
"all over" the state, so Wildlife & Fisheries officials view their
relocation as simply moving the problem from one place to another, she
said. "The Division of Fisheries & Wildlife does not allow relocation of
beavers for any reason," Capone said
yesterday. Sharpin, who has been in emergency preparedness classes with
other town officials all week, said he has not yet contacted the Animal
Rescue League or Mass Audubon. Since the state
passed the law prohibiting the use of lethal traps without a permit from
the local board of health, beavers have caused problems all over the
state, Sharpin said. During wetter
weather, the overflow of Bogastow Brook
created by the beaver dam backed up into neighbors' septic systems. Even
after August's record low rainfall, when the
pond was down to the lowest level it can go, Sharpin said, it didn't
recede from the well. "It's really ridiculous
what the law's resulted in. It seemed to be innocent at first ... but
it's evolved into a real environmental impact
and human impact. "It's a problem we don't know any other solution for,
and I guess the state doesn't either," Sharpin said.
(Joyce Kelly can be reached at 508-626-4423 or jkelly@cnc.com.)
Chelmsford, MA - A woman is getting tested for rabies after she was attacked by a fox.
Police say the aggressive fox bit her and cut her right leg. It even tried to get into her condo.
Animal rescue is testing the fox for rabies and is waiting for results.
Officers say they had to destroy the fox.
By Jeff Gilbride, Daily News staff
Posted Sep 13, 2007
The Amherst Bulletin - August 17, 2007
To the Bulletin:
I found it interesting that the article concerning erosion and giardia contamination at Puffer's Pond avoided mentioning the resident beavers and instead focused attention on the human activity around and in the pond. Having visited the local swimming hole and conservation area for 20 years, I have sadly noticed much devastation, specifically around the pond itself, in the past five to eight years. Sad because not only is Puffer's Pond a wonderful, icy cold swimming spot that makes this area so special, but also because of the loss of important climax forest trees which have taken many years to grow to their mature sizes. What I have noticed in the past years is the construction of a beaver dam, and then subsequent destruction of many trees around the pond, including old beautiful beech and hemlock trees. I believe this has led to the erosion problems more than the human activity around and in the pond, which only occurs a few months out of the year. The beavers are at work for a much longer period. And one has to consider that the ultimate destiny of a beaver-inhabited area is meadow. The beavers will use up all the food available and then leave. It is easy to see the changes at Puffer's that have resulted from the beaver activity. A marsh is growing, and giardia counts are most likely rising. I am a naturalist and love nature, but I am not the type that doesn't believe in deer hunting or getting rid of beavers when they cause serious problems for humans or even the natural environment. Consider that Puffer's Pond is a much-loved man-made swimming hole, and many children enjoy this spot during the summer months. Giardia is a nasty parasite that causes chronic diarrhea, intestinal discomfort, fatigue and weight loss. It requires medication. Children are more likely to ingest the cysts from beaver feces by ingesting the pond water. Giardia cysts can last out of water on toys (perhaps rafts) for a long time. Also, the organism can be harbored by dogs. A beaver is a giant rodent, the largest North American rodent in fact. They feed on tree bark and cambium (the living layer of the tree, underneath the bark), living for up to 20 years. If one were to look up "beaver damage" online, one would find that not only is it a common problem, but one of the main aspects of the damage that beavers cause is erosion. Erosion was the main problem at Puffer's Pond cited in the article by Mary Carey. There seems to be a problem with beaver control in this area. Puffer's Pond is just another victim of the lack of policy for dealing with beaver damage. One has to wonder: Do I prefer a beautiful swimming hole, with lovely trees, or do I prefer beavers taking over, infesting the water with a parasite and turning the swimming hole into a meadow? Personally, I prefer beech trees to beavers. Especially in a conservation area, for the beavers will and have ruined the conservation of other important wildlife species. - Patricia Duffy, Leverett MA
(back to top)
The Patriot Ledger Quincy, MA - Karen
Goulart
September 8, 2007
Hingham MA - It was a typical morning that would wind up tragic for a Hingham dog
owner. Ken Cardillo and his family hope sharing what happened that day
might spare other pet owners - or parents - from a similar experience.
Like countless other mornings, Matilda, an 8-year-old Boston
terrier, woke Cardillo, wanting to be let outside. It was part of their
daily routine; Matilda would do her business while Cardillo shaved for
work. The little dog never wandered far
from the Beal Street house and would wait for Cardillo to return and let
her inside, he said. But one morning last week, just a few minutes after
she went outside, Cardillo said he heard a loud whimper.
He quickly dressed, grabbed a flashlight and ran outside,
searching in brush and briars. His son joined him, they called police,
but Matilda was nowhere to be found. Later, he said, a neighbor told him
three coyotes had been behind Cardillo's house. "They must've come down
and grabbed her," Cardillo said. Cardillo said he had never seen coyotes
on his property. But he has seen them on his street.
In the full light of day, one of Cardillo's daughters, Alison,
went into the woods and found Matilda's body. Cardillo said he didn't
want to know the details, but heard enough.
"She was kinda ripped apart," he said. "I didn't ask my daughter
for more." These days coyote sightings are not uncommon in suburbs like
Hingham or even in cities. During the spring and summer, police and
animal control receive several calls about the canines, but under state
law, there is little that can be done about them.
Usually coyotes, while not shy, will not bother with larger pets
or people. But, state wildlife experts and veterinarians who deal with
attacked pets say it is never a good idea to leave small dogs or cats
unattended when coyotes are known to be nearby.
Coyotes have adapted to the suburbs because food and shelter is easy to
come by. But a hungry coyote may see a small dog as prey and a big dog
as competition. Hingham Animal Control Officer Al Currie said fatal
attacks like the one on Matilda are rare. He believes the last one
happened about 5 or 6 years ago. He said for the most part coyotes "do
what they're supposed to do," but the more they lose remote places to
live and hunt, the more careful people need to be.
"It's not just small dogs, if you've got an old dog, a sick dog,
it's not so much the size," Currie said. "If you've got a coyote around,
don't leave the dog unsupervised and definitely don't let it run by
itself." Cardillo's daughter, Karin, who
grew up on Beal Street and now lives in Maine, said she is concerned for
residents in the area with pets as well as small children. There are a
lot more young families in the area than there used to be, she said.
"People probably know the coyotes are out there," she said. "But
they may not know just how close the animals really are."
Karen Goulart may be reached at kgoulart@ledger.com.
Telegram & Gazette July 19, 2007 - Shirley Barnes
Templeton MA - The worst natural hazard facing
local officials is one they share with many other rural communities -
the beaver. The Montachusett Regional
Planning Commission met with local officials yesterday to help the town
create a plan to mitigate the effects a natural disaster might have on a
community. Earthquakes, sinkholes,
hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, blizzards, lightning strikes,
torrential rains, snow and ice, floods and drought - nothing compares to
the concern officials have about the effects of beavers.
The meeting was a little more than two hours long and one hour
was spent almost exclusively on beaver dams and the problems they have
created on roads, for homeowners, and the light and water department and
sewer departments. Beaver abound in the town, which is full of streams,
brooks, ponds, bridges with culverts and a plentiful supply of trees.
Jason Stanton, an analyst for the planning commission, told town
officials the time they spend on beaver problems is not unusual.
"Typically, these meetings are about two hours long and in rural
communities, the first hour is usually spent on beaver problems,"
Mr. Stanton said. Town officials said
beaver activity near Route 202 in the King Philip Trail area could
create a disaster if the dams were allowed to back water up into the
closed, but unlined, former landfill. Other problems could be created if
sewer lines were crushed or pump stations flooded. One pump station was
flooded several years ago, when water from the Birchhill flood
protection area backed up to surround the station. This was not related
to anything beavers had done, officials said.
Beaver activity is a problem from the southern end of Templeton
at Stone Bridge Road to the northern section near Baldwinville Center
and Royalston Road. There have also been problems in East Templeton, at
the Plant Road sewer pump station, where a broken line could send sewage
into the swamps and wetlands in that area.
Beaver baffles have been placed in some problem culverts in town,
and employees of various town departments spend several hours each week
cleaning culverts and removing dams.
Beaver activity can also create erosion problems, which means more
highway hours spent on repairs, according to Highway Superintendent
Francis "Bud" Chase. A flood in Depot Pond, near Bridge Street, could
wash out a lot of Baldwinville Center, Mr. Chase said.
The town also needs to inspect dams, which could create major flood
hazards if breached. Robert Biagi, project consultant for MRPC, reminded
town officials that global warming floods could increase over the next
10 years. If there is not enough snow and slow snow melt to release into
the earth, the area could face dry vegetation and other drought-related
problems.
The town should also prepare residents for disasters by providing a list
of food and supplies that might be needed. "The town might not face a
major disaster, but even a short time without access to staples can
create problems," Mr. Biagi warned. The
town has faced hurricanes and minor tornadoes, but must prepare for any
big wind event that might occur. Fire Chief Thomas Smith pinpointed
several areas in which fires could spread and create a disaster,
including in downtown Baldwinville. There, old houses are clustered
close to churches and potential fire hazards. Furthermore, at the new
DayMill Town House complex, fire apparatus access is limited.
The town is already working on storm water runoff and drainage
correction plans. The regional planning commission is working with area
towns to develop a Natural Hazard Pre-Disaster Mitigation Plan to help
reduce or eliminate loss of life or property from natural disasters. In
the future, all communities must have a Hazard Mitigation Plan in place
to qualify for federal Disaster Mitigation grants.
By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
Posted
Jul 03, 2007 @ 11:17 PM
HOLLISTON, MA - On a recent Saturday morning, the Ahearn family was
eating breakfast on the patio of their 68 Cheryl St. home when their
German shepherd, Sam, started barking at a noise in the woods.
Suddenly, a snarling fox charged into their backyard toward Sam.
"My wife had the kids run inside. My wife, at first tried to get the dog
inside, but couldn't get between the dog and the fox - there was nothing
she could do," William Ahearn said. Sam
reared up, "took him on, and took him to the ground," said Ahearn. The
dog stood back, and the fox got up and attacked him a second time - and
that's when Sam killed it, Ahearn said.
Initially, the family thought the black and tan fox, which Ahearn
estimated was about half the size of Sam, who weighs 75 pounds, was a
coyote. Ahearn grew up around alligators, and said he is not too shaken
by the June 16 incident, which the Board of Health reported at its
meeting Monday. The family has seen many
foxes in the area, and as many as seven coyotes, he said. "It certainly
wasn't the smallest fox I've ever seen," Ahearn said. Holliston Animal
Hospital later determined the animal was a red fox and tested positive
for rabies, according to Animal Inspector Donald Kramer.
The fox bit Sam in the head, which left a mark but did not
puncture the skin, he said. Since Sam had his rabies vaccination, the
family was told to just quarantine him at home for 45 days, Board of
Health Agent/Director Ann McCobb said.
Animals must be decapitated to test for rabies, which requires taking a
brain tissue sample, McCobb said. Only a few cats and dogs - typically 1
percent or less - test positive for the virus, according to Michael
Cahill, rabies program coordinator for the state Department of
Agricultural Resources. For that reason,
Cahill strongly recommends owners quarantine their pets for 10 days
rather than needlessly kill and test them, which also costs the state
time and money. Last year, 400 dogs were killed to be tested for rabies,
and not a single one was positive, according to the state Department of
Public Health Web site. "They are tested
way more than they should be ... and they shouldn't be put down," he
said. Rabies is most prevalent in raccoons, foxes, skunks and bats,
Cahill said. Animals are not infectious during the incubation period,
but pose a threat once the virus becomes active: when it reaches and
swells the brain, much like encephalitis, and, three days later, saliva,
he said. The longest dogs and cats live
when they're actively infected is eight days, but typically four or
five, he said. The state averages one positively tested rabid animal a
day, and the distribution of rabid animals is widespread, he said.
Southern Worcester County is busy now, and in June, animals tested
positive for rabies in the towns of Holliston (red fox), Framingham
(raccoon), Wellesley (raccoon), Brookline (bat), and Sudbury
(woodchuck), Cahill said. Massachusetts
was free of rabies until the early 1990s, when southern animals spread a
virulent form of the virus up the East Coast, primarily through
raccoons, according to Wayne F. MacCallum, director of MassWildlife.
Now rabies, which can infect any mammal, is endemic to
Massachusetts and kills most of the raccoons and foxes here, he said.
The population then rebuilds itself, and the virus takes aim again -
about a four-year cycle, MacCallum said.
"There's no way to eliminate the virus unless you eliminated all the
animals," MacCallum said. Signs to watch for: Erratic behavior: animals
do not show wariness or fear of people, and some instances, attack
people. Normally, MacCallum said, foxes are "quite leery" and keep their
distance. When they are infected with rabies - they can exhibit a
"passive friendliness" that can attract children. Foaming at the mouth
occurs in only about 15 percent of rapid animals, MacCallum said.
If an animal starts acting strangely, call animal control, he
advised. "The best way to protect your family and your pets from rabies
is to make sure your cats and dogs are current with vaccinations, which
are safe and effective," Cahill said.
William Ahearn said he is pleased at how Sam reacted. "Having the dog
out there was kind of an assurance (of protection). He certainly did his
job - not that we got him to be an attack dog, but it's something German
shepherds are good at," he said. "Certain instincts are bred in
shepherds to protect, and he certainly was protecting his people."
(Joyce Kelly can be reached at 508-626-4423 or jkelly@cnc.com.)
Many in suburbs fretting as beavers build wildly
By Javier C. Hernandez, Globe Correspondent | June 28, 2007
ANDOVER, MA - In the midst of the Great Depression, beavers were so scarce in Massachusetts after years of unrestricted hunting that the state was forced to acquire three from New York to revive their presence. Now the number of buck-toothed, tree-chomping rodents is exploding across the state, with beavers causing flooded backyards and munching their way through local forests. Wildlife specialists said the state's beaver population has tripled in the last decade to an estimated 70,000 to 80,000. The boom coincides with a record number of complaints about Castor canadensis. As residential sprawl yet again pits human against animal, the large rodents have sparked territorial battles in cranberry bogs in the southeastern part of the state, near wetlands in Western Massachusetts, and in neighborhoods across the Merrimack Valley and the North Shore. While there have been scattered reports of beaver problems around the state over the past several years, Alan French, who heads the Andover-based Bay Circuit Alliance, a coalition of state and local landowners -- said the dams showing up in the Andover area this year are the biggest he has ever seen . Several months ago, flooding from beaver dams closed an 18-mile stretch of the 200-mile Bay Circuit Trail, which rings Boston. French, 75, is working with local landowners to bypass the flooded areas of the trail, but he said the beaver issue has divided residents of Andover, impeding efforts to solve the problem. "If you had 10 neighbors, the other nine would be for nuking them," French said yesterday during a tour of Andover dams. "The polarization is just gigantic." On the tour, French walked past a bench built in memory of his late wife. Because of the handiwork of beavers, it now sits in mud, overlooking a drowning boardwalk near the Skug River. The growth of human and beaver populations, coupled with stronger restrictions on trapping, has led to tensions, especially in Northeastern Massachusetts suburbs, according to Stephen DeStefano, a US Geological Survey researcher at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who studies beavers for the state."In general, what we're seeing is there are more beavers trying to occupy more places," he said. While beavers have a reputation for troublemaking, conservationists point to the positive effect they can have on habitats. Indeed, on Andover's Salem Street, right across from a dam on the Skug River Reservation, Susan Reichter and her family have come to love the beavers' presence. They snap photos of the rare wood ducks, great blue herons, and mallards that dip in and out of the new pond in her backyard created by flooding from a nearby dam. While French pointed to nearby pines and explained beavers' techniques, Reichter bolted out of her house to question him. She said she watches over the dam to prevent other local residents from trying to tear it down."The fact that the beaver has done what he's done is great," said Reichter, a bookkeeper.
In 1996,
Massachusetts voters passed a referendum that restricted the use of
traps. To trap a beaver outside the sanctioned season, which runs from
Nov. 1 to April 15, residents must obtain a special permit by convincing
their local health board that the beaver's presence poses a safety risk.
John Benedetto, 58, has served as a trapper in the Wakefield area for 40
years. He said he has noticed a dramatic increase recently in the number
of residents who have called him for help. "Everybody likes the beaver
until he moves into the backyard," he said with a chuckle. "Some of the
messes people get into are unbelievable. People are suffering." Towns
and cities use several different methods to deter beavers, ranging from
simple trapping to "beaver deceivers," pipes that are installed beneath
dams to stealthily drain ponds, so beavers won't be spurred by the sound
of trickling water to instinctively repair their dams. Some residents
take more drastic measures. In late spring, DeStefano said, when
flooding is common but trapping is illegal without a special permit,
more residents appear to be killing the animals outright.
"We're always concerned about the humane treatment of animals,"
he said. "It feels a little out of control." Underneath
the white pines surrounding the reservation named for his wife, French
paused to point out where cattails used to grow. Only water and mud
occupy the spot now. French said he hopes residents in Andover will
begin to compromise to solve the beaver impasse. "I just want people to
be able to walk the trail again," he said. "But you can see the emotions
on each side," French said. "I don't think we are going to solve it in a
hurry."
Hernandez can be reached at jhernandez@globe.com
By Joyce Kelly/Daily News Staff
June 13, 2007 @ 1:02 am
The MetroWest Daily News
Perhaps they don't like the sound of water, or
the movement of rushing water.
Marlborough, MA -
Whatever the reason, beavers have just one overwhelming drive: to
stop flowing water, according to Robert Landry, Marlborough Board of
Health administrator. "That's what they live for:
stopping the water," Landry said with a laugh. That
devotion to dam-building has led to a lot of headaches.
The dams redirect water from rivers and streams into MetroWest
backyards. In some cases, the beavers' industry has dried up small ponds
and at least one private well, area board of health officials say.
In towns like Holliston,
Beaver damage could be pricey for Sherborn (back to top)
By Steve Bagley/Correspondent
http://www.wickedlocal.com/
Tuesday June 12, 2007
Sherborn, MA - They're back.
Beavers have returned to Sherborn and are already
causing damage, forcing the Board of Selectmen, at their May 31 meeting,
to begin discussing what to do about the damage the animals cause, and
how to pay for it. If left unchecked, the flood damage the dams cause
may have to be paid for by Sherborns residents.
At that meeting, Sherborn resident Eliot Taylor threw
his finger into the air. Due to beavers destructive nature to septic
systems, he said, The Massachusetts Audubon Society and the state
should bear all costs and exterminate all the beavers. They spray for
mosquitoes. Beavers do not belong in Sherborn.
Selectmen Chairman Chris Peck and the rest of the
board are investigating non-lethal ways to solve the problem. But there
was a sense of urgency in the board. We have to deal with the beavers, said Vice
Chairman Paul DeRensis. The board wants to deal with these seasonal
trouble-makers nonlethally, and soon.
Jean Bednor, agent for the
Sherborn Conservation Commission, said that the flooding started in
April, after 4 inches of rain fell in two days. The fire road next to
the Dunstable Dam was flooded, and remains under several inches of pond
water. The access it provides to the
News 7, Boston, Monday, May 14, 2007
WEYMOUTH, MA - A coyote is on the attack in Weymouth. Its target: a rottweiler. Ralph Tarina put his pup on a lease, and a minute later one gutsy coyote attacked. Tarina's dog Daisy is far from dainty. She's a 100-pound rottweiler. The average coyote doesn't even weigh half that much. While the dog and coyote began to wrestle on the ground, Tarina grabbed the first weapon he could find.
By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff
Wed Nov 07, 2007, 11:58 PM EST
HOLLISTON, MA - Water Commissioners last night decided they are going to try and save the Bogastow Brook beavers one more time before bringing in the trappers. "I just have to believe there's some way we can (remove the beavers without killing them)," said Water Commissioner Michael Nagle. At Nagle's request, Water Superintendent Ron Sharpin will contact the Animal Rescue League and Mass. Audubon Society to see if they have a viable alternative to lethal traps - specifically, getting around the state's policy of not allowing transport of live beavers. On Sept. 21, the state inspected the public drinking water at the Well 5 site off Central Street and concluded beavers there pose an immediate threat to the public health. Beavers commonly carry two life-threatening parasites, giardia lamblia and cryptosporidium, and their dam has created a massive pool of water within 200 feet of Well 5, the state Department of Environmental Protection wrote in a letter to the Water Department. The state requires a 400-foot buffer zone. The state advised the town to immediately remove the beavers and dismantle the dam.
Felled tree causes outage
By George Barnes – Telegram & Gazette Staff June 29 '07
Phillipston,
MA - Beaver justice may have been behind a power
outage that left the entire town in the dark for four hours
yesterday. I'm calling it a revenge of the beaver. Police
Chief Richard D. Valcourt said. Chief Valcourt said he was called
out about 2:15 am for a report of a car crash on Route 2A that might
have caused a power outage. The chief said he was aware of the
outage because his own power was out. When he arrived, he learned it
was not a car crash, but a case of beaver-caused damage. I found a
beaver had cut down a large poplar tree in front of Athol Ford, he
said. The chief, who also is a state forester, said the tree was
about 60 feet tall and was laid neatly across the power lines. He
said what made him suspect revenge as a motive was an accident a
little more than eight hours before. At 6 p.m. Sunday, at the same
spot where the tree was cut, a beaver crossing Route 2A was killed
in a hit and run accident. The chief said the furry accident victim
was likely from the same family as the tree cutter. He said the
downed line could have been a simple logging accident, but he thinks
otherwise. I think he lost his family member and that was his
revenge, the chief said...
Bradford
woman warns her neighbors to keep pets inside
(back to top)
The Eagle Tribune online, Jason Tait
April 20, 2007
Haverhill, MA. -
The sound outside his dark bedroom window was
eerie, like a little girl screaming in distress, said 14-year-old Joey
Greenwood.
His father, Richard, stepped outside to check the noise
and found the familys dog, Buddy, being attacked by a coyote on the front lawn
of their Bradford home. The wild canine was on top of the 27-pound cockapoo,
chomping on its throat.
Buddy is being treated at an animal hospital for a damaged
thorax and severe flesh loss, said Joeys mother, Barbara. The dog is not
conscious and may not survive, she said.
Wednesday nights scary experience is spurring
Barbara Greenwood to warn her Bradford neighbors to keep their pets inside to
avoid Buddy's fate. I'm just concerned, she said. Her concerns are justified,
based on what wildlife officials are reporting about coyotes in the area.
Suburban sprawl has encroached on the coyote habitat, causing more sightings of
coyotes as their forests and open space disappear.
Haverhill Conservation Officer Mark Sheehan said
coyote numbers also have been growing over the decades, in part because the
animals only predator human hunters are dwindling. Coyotes also are
prolific breeders, and their numbers can multiply quickly.
Were taking away their only natural predator,
Sheehan said of hunters, though he said motor vehicle collisions are helping.
The population is there to grow if they are not culled out.
Coyotes also enjoy living around golf courses,
which provide wooded cover to stalk prey in the open fairways, Sheehan said.
Haverhill has five 18-hole golf courses.
The typical coyote is the size of a small dog but
with longer, thicker fur. The largest can weigh 50 or 60 pounds. They primarily
eat small rodents, rabbits, deer, birds, frogs and insects, but also will eat
fruits, vegetables and pet food left outdoors. They are most often spotted at
night or at dawn or dusk.
It is against the law to trap and relocate coyotes, so
residents have to learn to live with the animals, said veterinarian Dr. Tumkur
Narasimhan, owner of Main Street Animal Hospital of Bradford. He occasionally
treats animals harmed by coyotes, he said.
The best way to limit coyote attacks is to properly
dispose of food -
do not throw food outside for wild animals to eat, and use
trash cans with lids.
As long as we are good in our disposal habits, the
attacks wont happen, Narasimhan said. Animal Control Officer Michelle Hamel
said coyote sightings are commonplace in Haverhill, seen near Northern Essex
Community College, the animal shelter off Primrose Street and the Bradford
commuter train station.
She said coyotes look for easy meals, often from garbage
or staking out bird feeders, where smaller animals stop to eat, she said.
Sometimes they cross paths with the family pet.
They are very opportunistic animals, Hamel said. They will eat whenever food
is available.
She said owners should always be aware that their pets can
be attacked by wild animals anywhere in Haverhill. Im a firm believer that
everyone should keep an eye on their pets, because you never know, Hamel said.
People can easily scare away coyotes with loud
noises and bright lights, according to MassWildlife. A water hose also is
effective.
The Greenwoods live on Chadwick Road, north of Chadwick
Pond in Bradford, a semirural area near the Boxford line, and said Buddy often
spent time outside at night.
The attack happened at about 10 p.m.
Wednesday. Joey said he was on the phone when he
heard the screaming, looked outside and saw nothing.
I thought maybe it was down the street, like a
little girl or something, Joey said of the yelping.
He heard the screams again so he warned his father,
Richard, who ran outside and saw the wild animal on Buddy, a cross between a
cocker spaniel and poodle.
He yelled at the coyote, which ran off. He carried
the bloody and muddy dog into the house and then rushed it to Bulger Animal
Hospital in North Andover.
It just seemed unreal to me, Barbara Greenwood
said of the attack. Sheehan said that in his 20 years as a conservation
professional, most coyote attacks involve cats, chickens and very small dogs,
such as Chihuahuas.
Thats not commonplace from what I've seen, Sheehan said
of the attack on Buddy. Very seldom do we ever see a coyote get into an
altercation with a large dog.
He said the coyote may have needed extra food for a
litter of pups, or Buddy threatened it somehow.
Coyotes maul, kill family pet
By Christopher Loh/
The Daily News Tribune
Posted Mar 28, 2007 @ 12:01 AM
Newton, MA -
Coyotes are being blamed for two separate attacks on dogs in the past week, one
of which was fatal. The first attack took place near the Brae Burn Country Club
in Waban. The second incident took place about four miles away near Hammond Pond
Parkway. On Thursday afternoon, a woman on
Bonnybrook Road in Waban let her small Cairn terrier out for a break in the
backyard. A few minutes later, she returned to find the dog in a coyote's mouth
with another standing nearby, police said.
The pair of coyotes fled into the woods and was
chased by a neighbor wielding a broom. The neighbor chased the coyotes until
they dropped the dog, dead from the attack.
Newton Police were called and the state Division of
Fisheries and Wildlife was contacted, but nothing could be done.
Yesterday, a Beacon Street resident in the Hammond
Pond Parkway area heard her yellow Labrador yelp and when it came into the
house, the dog had a wound to its rear leg.
The owner went outside and was able to illuminate a
pair of eyes in the woods with a flashlight; at
approximately 3 a.m., she heard coyotes howling
nearby.
Newton Animal Control Officer John O'Connell said the
Bonnybrook Road incident is the only coyote attack to be confirmed, but that the
Beacon Street report seems likely as well.
O'Connell said coyote attacks are rare in Newton,
but have been known to happen."Last year, between Newton and Brookline, there
were about five attacks," said O'Connell. "Bonnybrook is the first one to be
confirmed this year."
O'Connell said coyotes are typically more aggressive
during this time of year as it is breeding season."Coyotes are going to be more
active," O'Connell said. "They're going to be more territorial and will
potentially get into attacks with larger dogs."
What to do ...
Marion Larson of the Division of Fisheries and
Wildlife said she had heard of Thursday's attack, but that the division had no
direct involvement."Statewide - I get an e-mail at least once a week (about an
attack)," said Larson of the frequency of wild animal attacks on domesticated
pets. " Probably, an animal is attacking someone's loose pet several times a
week in Massachusetts."
And while Larson didn't want to alarm people, she did
provide plenty of information regarding coyote
safety."Coyotes are wild animals, and like other
wild animals they generally try to avoid people," Larson said. "What I recommend
is if you see a coyote spending a certain amount of time, or if you know of one
that hangs around, go out and run and yell and scream and holler and run
straight at them - the coyote is going to turn to leave."
While Larson said she understood this seems like
"insane" behavior that it is "coyote language" for "you're not welcome to be
here."Larson said the "little things" matter when trying to deter coyotes from
an area. "Our behavior is going to influence a
coyote's behavior," Larson said.
So do you leave pet food outside? Do you take the
trash out the night before or the morning of pickup?
It's the "little things" that a person can do like
taking the trash to the curb the morning of pickup that helps in the long run.
Larson also warned that this time of year is
breeding season so larger pets, such as golden retrievers or Labradors, can be
seen by coyotes as threats to their territory.
"They will want to defend their area," Larson said.
Still, in the end, Larson stayed with her message
of not over exaggerating a problem."There have been three documents of attacks
on people by coyotes in the last 50 years," Larson said. "I'm sure there have
been more dog bites in one year in the (city) of Newton. But I also understand
people are anxious about what they don't understand."
Christopher Loh can be reached at cloh@cnc.com.
MassWildlife Advisory: Coyotes Incidents in Massachusetts (back to top)
February 2, 2007 MDFW report
This past week, the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) received a number of calls from concerned citizens, municipal officials and the media regarding an incident over the past weekend involving a coyote attack on a small dog and subsequent shooting of coyotes by local officials in Framingham. Inquiries included concerns regarding the coyotes involved in the incident and the actions of the municipal officials. A number of questions about coyote behavior, pet and child safety and relevant laws about coyotes have also been fielded by MassWildlife biologists. As the state agency responsible for wildlife in Massachusetts, MassWildlife has been working with local officials on this incident and providing information to the public regarding coyote behavior.
East Harwich couple
mourns dog lost to coyote
(back to top)
Cape Cod Today - Donna Tunney/
dtunney@cnc.com
May 24, 2006
He was gone in an instant, snatched out of his own
backyard while his owners were nearby with another family dog. Bear, a
13-year-old, 25-pound, miniature sheltie-Chihuahua mix, was recovered an hour
later, after a panicked search through the woods near his East Harwich home,
dead from a coyote attack...
Dog Recovering After
Coyote Attack
(back to top)
Experts Urge Owners To Keep Pets On Leashes
WCVB TV TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 5:26 pm EST December 19, 2005
Hiker
Describes Coyote Attack - Man Fights Off Animal With Mace
(back to top)
WCVB TV
TheBostonChannel.com
POSTED: 6:20 pm EDT April 20, 2006
Royalston, MA - A hiker spoke out Thursday about a coyote
attack in Royalston. NewsCenter 5's David Boeri reported that John Melvin, of
Gardner, is receiving rabies treatment after he was bitten by a coyote in the
town Monday.
"I began making my dinner. At that time, I noticed coyotes
coming down the ridge. They were across the river at that time. I didn't think
much of it," Melvin said.
When Melvin saw three coyotes, he said he thought they
wouldn't cross the river. He was wrong. "That's when I looked up. I noticed the
three in the corner. I had a stick -- a long stick -- near me. I slammed it down
to scare them and that's when the one lunged on my arm and shook it like a rag
doll," Melvin said.
He suffered eight puncture wounds before he sprayed the
coyote with some bear mace. "We are saying that the coyote is very much a public
threat," Royalston resident Chet Hall said.
The coyote that bit Melvin was presumed to be
rabid. Signs have been posted to warn hikers. "We are suggesting that anyone in
the town of Royalston that sees a coyote in the daytime that is acting
abnormally, if they have the ability to do so, to shoot the coyote if they can,"
Hall said.
Since 1992, eight people have been bitten by coyotes known
to be rabid, officials said.
Coyote in attack was rabid, state says Northborough man, 76, was bitten multiple times (back to top)
By Kristen Green, Globe Correspondent | October 8, 2005
State health officials have determined that the coyote that attacked a 76-year-old Northborough grandfather on an afternoon walk with his grandson was rabid. Arthur Cole, who was bitten multiple times, received a rabies vaccination yesterday. Cole said he was walking with his 4-year-old grandson, Nicholas, along a trail on the Assabet River near his home Wednesday afternoon when the coyote jumped out of nearby brush and bit him on the rear. ''I was trying to kick her away," he said. ''She was more agile than I was."
Dog is killed by coyote in Boston yard (back to top)
By Heather Allen, Globe Correspondent | May 3, 2005
Boston MA - In a quiet neighborhood atop a hill with groomed
lawns and tulips in bloom, it was the last interruption anyone expected
to the serene city setting. Late last
Thursday, minutes after he let his dog outside, David Sherris responded
to chirping behind his house in Jamaica Plain. He was horrified to see
his beloved West Highland terrier, Maggie, in the mouth of a coyote.
When Sherris approached the wild animal, it dropped the 18-pound dog and
fled into the woods. The small bundle of white, shaggy hair, which
Sherris described as part of the family, did not survive.
''The fact of the matter is that this is a residential area; this
should not be happening," said Sherris in the home on Neillian Crescent
that he shares with his wife and 14-month-old son. ''Additionally
shocking is that it could have been my baby. It happened in less than
five minutes." Dismayed that Maggie, his companion for 12 years, was dead, Sherris
called police to see if they could kill or trap the coyote. He was told
that under state law, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, and other wild
animals are protected. The city's Animal
Control officers searched for the coyote Thursday and Friday, but failed
to locate it or a den. Had they found it, they would have had to release
it back into its habitat, which could have been a few miles away, said
James Cahill, director of animal control in Boston.
Cahill said the number of coyote sightings in the city has increased in
the past year, especially in West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and Mattapan,
which he attributed to construction in suburban areas that is forcing
coyotes to go elsewhere for food.
''Someone's going to get hurt; it's inevitable," Cahill said. ''It's out
of our control. I hope it doesn't
happen. Some little tyke is going to get
bit some day. Something could happen. I hope it never does on my watch.
Your hands are tied a little bit." Because of the pet's death, Councilor John M. Tobin Jr. announced plans
last night to go before the City Council tomorrow to seek a hearing on
the issue. Tobin said he would like representatives from animal control
and from the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife to testify at the
hearing, which he hopes will happen soon.
''Clearly, those laws weren't written for what's going on these days,"
said Tobin, who lives in West Roxbury and came across a coyote in his
backyard three months ago. ''With all due respect to coyotes, the law
seems to favor coyotes over people's pets or their kids. I can almost
see it in a country setting, but for a city like Boston, that's not
acceptable." To counter state law, the City Council may be forced to file a home rule
petition to change the way the law is enforced in Boston. The
Legislature would then have to vote for such a change.
Reached last night for comment, a spokesman for the Executive
Office of Environmental Affairs, which oversees fisheries and wildlife,
said the agency is willing to work with lawmakers.
''A proper balance always needs to be struck between public safety and
concern for protected species," said Joe O'Keefe. ''We would always be
willing to work with the Legislature on a responsible response to
concerns of Boston residents." Sherris, a consultant who works from his
house, said Maggie was sweet, curious, and loved children. She often
perched in the window and stared outside. Now, Maggie is buried in the
backyard, Sherris said, and reminders of the pet are everywhere. His
daily routine, he said, has become difficult. His wife is afraid to go
outside. Sherris said he is waiting to see what happens with the City Council
before he takes action. ''The loss of this dog is just really gut-wrenching," he said. ''It's
just not been easy."
Coyote attacks off-duty Police officer and daughter (back to top)
April 2005 Wilmington Massachusetts - Reported in the 'The Lowell Sun' Newspaper
Wilmington, MA - There are some things in life that not even 17 years as a prison guard and police officer can prepare you for. Wilmington Police Officer and former Concord prison guard Louis Martignetti found that out the hard way Saturday when a coyote attacked his daughter and then him while his family did yard-work at their home off Burlington Avenue. Martignetti, his wife, 7-year-old son, Gino, and 4-year-old daughter, Tia, were outside when the animal ran up and bit his daughter in the leg about 10 a.m. Martignetti, who was in his shed at the time, heard his wife's screams, but at first did not know what was going on. "She started screaming something like, ‘Pick up the baby, pick up the baby,' but it happened so quick I didn't understand what she wanted me to do," he said. That's when he turned and saw a coyote lunge at his daughter, who only weighs about 28 pounds, and bite her in the leg. Full Story Here
It's only the second such recorded attack in Massachusetts; no such attacks are on record in R.I.
04:10 PM EST on Friday, February 18, 2005
The Associated Press
BARNSTABLE, MA - A Cape Cod woman who was bitten on her left hand is believed to be the first person ever attacked by a rabid coyote in Massachusetts, according to state wildlife officials. Cindy Parker-Kelley was attacked by a 45-pound female coyote in the back yard of her Marstons Mills home yesterday when she went to check on her Norwegian elkhound, Dakota. Her husband, David Kelley, beat the coyote with a piece of lumber, and police later killed it.
By Cristina Silva, Boston Globe Correspondent | July 14, 2005
SAUGUS, MA - Kathy Sullivan returned home last week to find a coyote chasing a neighbor's dog on her driveway. She beeped at the creature, but it just stopped and looked at her. Sullivan tried to continue driving, but the coyote wouldn't budge. Afraid that she was trapped in the car with her 2-year-old niece and 8-year-old daughter, Sullivan kept honking at the coyote until it finally crossed the street and ran up a nearby grassy hill, giving her enough time to run into the house with the children. ''I'm telling you, that thing was not afraid of me," Sullivan said yesterday. ''Somebody is going to end up getting hurt if they don't do something about this."
Coyote bites country club security guard in Mashpee (back to top)
Portsmouth Herald - Seacoastonline.com, July, 12 2005
MASHPEE,
Beaver dams contaminating water
By Mark E. Ellis – Telegram & Gazette Staff
Sterling, MA - Contamination of town drinking water caused by an overflowing beaver pond may be a preview of more widespread water-quality problems. Unless the trapping restrictions are eased, state and local officials said yesterday. “We have a growing concern about the burgeoning beaver populations, given the lack of natural predators and the prohibition imposed on trapping opportunities,” said Joseph M. McGinn, director of watershed management for the Metropolitan District Commission. “The population is certainly expanding by leaps and bounds.” Because of the proliferation of beaver in the state’s major drinking water supplies, the MDC has implemented beaver tracking and eradication programs at Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs, McGinn said. In Sterling, where E. coli contamination was discovered in the municipal water system last week, water tests indicated that coliform contamination remained present in minute amounts in recent test results. “The most recent sampling was on Monday and of 12 samples, 10…. Please take a look at the article written by Louis Manning then Superintendent of Public Works for Sterling Mass. Written in 2002. click here
By Heather Allen, Boston Globe Correspondent | May 3, 2005
Boston, MA - In a quiet neighborhood atop a hill with groomed lawns and tulips in bloom, it was the last interruption anyone expected to the serene city setting. Late last Thursday, minutes after he let his dog outside, David Sherris responded to chirping behind his house in Jamaica Plain. He was horrified to see his beloved West Highland terrier, Maggie, in the mouth of a coyote. When Sherris approached the wild animal, it dropped the 18-pound dog and fled into the woods. The small bundle of white, shaggy hair, which Sherris described as part of the family, did not survive. ''The fact of the matter is that this is a residential area; this should not be happening," said Sherris in the home on Neillian Crescent that he shares with his wife and 14-month-old son. ''Additionally shocking is that it could have been my baby. It happened in less than five minutes."
Main Street Beaver
Situation
(back
to top)
April 7, 2005
Town of Bolton Selectmen meeting.
Present: David Lindsay, Russ Karlstad, Tim Fiehler, Pat Bensetler, Cia
Boynton, Jack Quinlan, Martha Remington, Betsy Cussen, Karen Augustine,
Conservation Commission member
Bolton, MA - Karen Augustine, Conservation Commission member stated that
the Conservation Commission has spent about $3,500 so far on the beaver
situation. Initially the Conservation Commission sent Beaver Solution
out and problem was mitigated for a while. With recent rain the level
has risen. Ms. Augustine stated that the Conservation Commission can go
back and try to extend the contract with Beaver Solutions.
Mr. Quinlan took a walk through the area starting at the town
park through path at Emerson School where Playground is all flooded. A
number of saplings have been taken down by beavers. He continued walking
down the cart path passed Emerson where there is a dam with a pipe which
seems to be running pretty well. There are at least two beaver ponds and
a giant beaver dam and he does not see a pipe there. He suggested a site
walk be done. Mr. Quinlan strongly urged that beavers be taken out to
eliminate the habitat. Tim Fiehler
stated that the beaver fencing was installed and it does help to the
extent that he does not have to go down every day to pull things out.
The beavers are active and it looks as though they will be dropping some
large trees behind the historical society building soon. The historic
bridge has eroded away. Pat Bensetler
suggested taking beavers out and then cleaning up the dams. Martha
Remington, as a resident reiterated the need to get rid of the beavers
so that the dams can be taken down. Cia Oschenbein agreed with what
everyone has said. She feels we have gotten to this point because each
year the water has gotten higher and higher and the runoff has created
this huge problem. The bridge from sheep field to Emerson has huge holes
in it again. Mr. Quinlan stated the
immediate solution is to take the beaver dams down to draw the water
level down to solve the problem of flooding the properties. The Board of
Selectmen was favorable to the breaching of the dams with understanding
that it would be coordinated with the Conservation Commission and the
Board of Health.
What about the Beavers? (back to top)
To trap, or not to trap: Question lingers in light of beaver
problems
By Chronicle Staff
Thursday, December 30, 2004
"[Beaver population growth] feels like a larger
issue than just a matter of not trapping," said Lash. "But you do have
to thin the herd, so to speak. If populations aren't thinned by man, we
can end up with all kinds of severe issues."
The CLA, according to Lash, has reluctantly accepted trapping in an
outlet brook where beavers have, in the past few years, dammed Chebacco
Lake and caused severe flooding and health problems for lakeside
homeowners. "It's the only effective short-term management solution we
know of," said Lash, who explained the CLA has been allowed to enlist
the help of trappers using cages because of the ecologically valuable
alewife fish that spawn in the outlet brook.
Certain water-flow devices, referred to by Jacobson, may discourage
beavers from doing their work, but have been found to hinder alewife
spawning, thus prompting a trapping alternative to the problem. The
Chebacco Woods Trails Association has installed two of the so-called
"beaver deceiver" contraptions between Beck's Pond
and Chebacco Lake, and
Lash is a bit leery of that strategy. "While it's a non-trapping
solution, alewife have been known to spawn in Beck's Pond," said Lash,
"which means we have a less than perfect solution there because it
further shrinks adequate spawning areas for the alewife."
The International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies report
concluded the 1996 no-trapping law in Massachusetts caused the beaver
population to explode, thus creating economic hardships.
Massachusetts
municipalities spent $500,000 to repair road and infrastructure damaged
by beavers in 2004, said the report, and
IAFWA officials said that expenditure was "minor" compared to the costs
associated with beaver-related personal property damage, contamination
of public water supplies, flooding of private property and costs
associated with removing nuisance beavers. Lash, however, sees the
economic impact from a broader perspective. "To me, beavers are more
than just a nuisance. In terms of the larger economy of New England,
beavers don't have as great an impact as alewife," he said. "We should
be giving far more attention to alewife because it helps sustain our
marine fisheries industry."
At this time, noted Lash, there are beavers at Chebacco Lake's outlet
brook, but they are not causing the severe problems encountered earlier.
Still, he said added, the CLA is currently initiating contact with a
trapper to use a cage that will help keep the population in check. The
use of cage traps, according to Lash, does not require a permit from the
Board of Health. Any property owner is allowed to enlist the aid of a
cage trapper during the appropriate season. "We haven't had a big
problem lately because there have been far fewer beavers," said Lash.
"But if we were to ignore the situation, within a year we'd have a large
colony and be back with same problems as we had a year ago."
The reason for Massachusetts' burgeoning beaver population, which has caused humans so many difficulties with flooding, especially on Chebacco Lake in Hamilton, is one not readily agreed upon. A recent report from the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies insists the state's 1996 law restricting the methods of trapping beavers has been followed by an explosion in their population and an increase in related damage to roads and personal property.Based on the projections included in the report, "Potential Costs of Losing Hunting and Trapping as Wildlife Management Tools," the problems will get worse unless trappers regain wider access to trapping devices. However, Cheryl Jacobson, coordinator of the Living with Wildlife program for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has a different perspective. Calling the report incomplete and misleading, she noted, "Beaver populations were increasing before the 1996 law and studies indicate that beaver populations, if left untouched, will eventually regulate themselves because beavers are territorial and will not grow beyond available territory. Trapping is a Band-Aid solution." Jacobson further believes specially designed water-flow devices, some of which have been installed in Hamilton and Wenham, "work to alleviate beaver-related damage and provide assistance to landowners in a cost-effective and long-term manner." David Lash, former president of the Chebacco Lake Association (CLA) in Hamilton, feels Jacobson's perspective is more accurate, but doesn't dismiss the value of some trapping, specifically with cages instead of kill traps. J.J. Bowman, of the State House News Service, contributed to this story
Cat seriously injured after evading coyote; Attacks on household pets
are particularly common in spring, state expert says (back to top)
The Patriot Ledger - Joe McGee
April 30, 2004
Hanson MA - A 15-year-old cat that fell from a
tree in Hanson after being chased by a coyote will probably be
euthanized. Haley, a black shorthair
belonging to Laura McColgan of Adams Circle, bolted up the tree
yesterday morning to escape an adult coyote. It suffered serious
injuries when it fell while trying to come down.
Veterinarians at Roberts Animal Hospital in Hanover put the cat
on intravenous fluids and pain medication and said surgery would be
needed if Haley was to walk again. But McColgan said the operation would
be too expensive, making euthanization likely.
"It's just so sad," she said. "My daughter was crying."The state
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife warns pet owners that coyotes give
birth in the spring and are looking for food for their pups. Keeping
small pets, such as cats and toy-breed dogs, indoors is strongly
recommended. "Breeding season is January
through March, and there is a 63-day gestation period, so they're having
their pups now," said Chrissie Henner of the Department of Fisheries and
Wildlife. "We're receiving more calls about (coyote) litters under decks
and porches." McColgan's 15-year-old
son, Michael Calley, spotted the coyote at about 7 a.m. on his way to
school. The animal was under the tree, waiting for the cat to come down.
Although surprised by its size, Michael shooed the coyote away.
"He started coming towards me," he said. "I had to make noise to
get it away from me.""It was pretty big. It was tall and had a skinny
face and nose and large tail. I've seen a little coyote before, but this
one was big." When the coyote ran off,
Michael and his mother tried to coax Haley into a clothes basket, but
the cat couldn't make the leap. "I just thought, 'That poor cat,'"
McColgan said. Adams Circle is close to the Hanover border, and near
Harvey Circle, where packs of coyotes scared neighborhood residents two
years ago. Although land is being
cleared in the area, Henner discounted the notion that coyotes are being
forced out of their habitat and into subdivisions. Like rats, raccoons
and opossums, coyotes are scavengers that can survive in close proximity
to humans, she said. "They do well
around humans. They're highly adaptable." Police filed a report on the
Adams Circle incident, but officers are allowed to shoot or remove a
wild animal only if it is sick or injured. Police Lt. Richard Gredler
said calls to the department about coyote sightings are more frequent at
this time of year. Gredler said the calls aren't limited to the Hanover
side of Hanson. Henner offered these suggestions to suburban residents
who want to keep coyotes away: Keep
trash barrels tightly covered. Don't put crumbs in the yard as bird
food. Block openings to crawl spaces and the space under decks. Keep
small pets inside at all times. If a coyote approaches, make loud
noises; it should instinctively run away, Henner said.
Joe McGee may be reached at jmcgee@ledger.com.
National Geographic News November 23, 2004 - Brian Handwerk
November's full moon, coming this Friday, is traditionally called the full beaver moon, because it signals the time to set traps for beavers before swamps freeze. A gentler interpretation of the name given to the November moon, according to the Farmers' Almanac, is that this is when busy beavers are feverishly preparing their dens for winter. Whatever the name's origin, the 2004 full beaver moon serves as a spotlight on North America's largest rodent. Harvested and driven from its habitat until it disappeared from much of the northeastern U.S., the beaver is now making such a strong comeback that it is becoming a nuisance in some areas. From the mid-1600s through the 1800s beaver trapping helped spur European exploration of North America. Beaver pelts became a prized commodity and were traded as currency in many parts of the frontier. Fortunes were made in their fur. Beavers were pursued so relentlessly that by the early 1900s many beaver populations were in trouble or wiped out. The situation was aggravated by the clearing of much of the beaver's habitat for agriculture. "In the 1930s they were at a low point," said beaver expert Dietland Mueller-Schwarze of the State University of New York's College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. "But the latter half of the century has seen large growth in populatons all over North America." Multiple factors favored the beaver recovery. Federal and state authorities, supported by hunters and trappers, enacted sustainable harvesting regulations. Beavers were reintroduced into their former range throughout the northeastern U.S., where the decline of agriculture enabled them to thrive and expand. Meanwhile, plunging demand for pelts at home and abroad has reduced the number of trappers in the field. Some U.S. states have even banned trapping. Scott Hartman is the national director of membership and state affiliate relations for the National Trappers Association (NTA), which is based in Bedford, Indiana. He notes that the market for furs and pelts dropped precipitously in the mid-1980s and remained depressed until 2000. Since that time it has seen a slow recovery, but profits remain low for the time-intensive pursuit, which is still practiced by an estimated 150,000 U.S. fur trappers. The reduced trapping pressure has coincided with the longer-term reforestation of former farmlands. "With the reforestation of our state, the beaver population has rebounded," said wildlife biologist Peter Picone. Picone works for Connecticut's Department of Environmental Protection at the Burlington field office. "In 1800 Connecticut was 75 percent pasture. Today it is 57 percent forested and the [restored] forested habitat is prime for their recovery." But as beavers flourish and expand, their habitat is increasingly human habitat? and the two mammals often butt heads.
"Nature's Engineers"
Beavers (Castor canadensis) can gnaw through a 6-inch (15-centimeter) tree in 15 minutes. A single busy beaver chews down hundreds of trees per year. The trees are used to build lodges and large dams that provide their aquatic habitat. Dams can range from 2 to 10 feet (2 to 3 meters) in height and stretch more than 100 feet (30 meters) in length. Streams and lakes are favorite stomping grounds, but water sources like farm ponds, wetlands, and other areas will do, as well. Picone notes that beavers are among Connecticutt's most problematic animals for humans, likely ranking just behind deer in terms of economic damage. Their tree-felling and large-scale flooding can damage timber and agricultural crops and wash out property and often roads. "Where humans and beavers can coexist, we encourage it," Picone said. "Beavers create great habitat for other animals. Wood duck, great blue heron, river otter? they all benefit from that habitat that beavers create." Other benefits include, ironically, flood control through water management, and water storage and purification. "Everybody sees the negative impact, Mueller-Schwarze said. "People remember the beaver that took down the cherry trees in the [Washington, D.C.] Tidal Basin. The positive effects are harder to see." The positives are real, but unfortunately for the beavers, so are the negatives. "The benefits have to be balanced with the damage [beavers cause] to people's property and with flooded roads," Picone said. "It's a tough balance."
Trapping: Cruelty or Conservation?
Solutions such as fencing off trees and installing free-flow water devices through dams can mitigate beaver problems and leave habitat intact. But reviews on their effectiveness are mixed. Another beaver control method is contested for both its results and its application - trapping. As trapping for valuable pelts has declined, nuisance-control trapping has grown. States like Connecticut and New York facilitate the process. "Here in New York they have a management plan where they want to keep the population limited to 20 or 30 percent of the available [habitat] sites along streams, with food and water, in areas where they won't do damage to human works," Mueller-Schwarze said. "The idea is that when the colony produces young beaver [who go off in search of their own turf], they will have a suitable place to go. Using the remaining 70 percent of those sites." The policy is managed by lethal trapping, though Mueller-Schwarze would prefer to see the animals relocated when possible. The Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) opposes lethal trapping. "We oppose the kinds of traps that drown these animals," said biologist John Hadidian, director of HSUS's Urban Wildlife Program. "We oppose the traps that crush them, those that are supposed to break their backs but often don't." Hadidian argues for better management methods that can help mitigate beaver problems and leave the animals in place with naturally determined numbers. "We understand that there are people who have trouble dealing with these conflicts, but we don't agree that they need to be lethally disposed of in order to solve these problems," he said. "Even if it was necessary, there are humane ways to do it. These devices that trap them and drown them are inhumane." NTA's Scott Hartman says that modern traps are a humane way of controlling beaver populations. He notes that in states like Massachusetts, where trapping has been banned, debate rages over the costs and impact, for good or ill, of the policy of not trapping beavers. "The animal rights folks have made it an emotional issue," he said. "They're dealing mainly with quality of death and we deal with quality of life. You can't stockpile wildlife, you can only have so many animals living in an area. When populations become too high you get disease and you have more animal-human conflict," he said. For some that conflict's bottom line is defined by dollars and sense. "It depends how tolerant the local people are," Mueller-Schwarze said of reactions he's seen to beavers in the neighborhood. "Some are excited and some are annoyed, and the same person may tip from one to the other if the damage gets worse. There was a Cornell University study some years ago that determined that the magic number was 400 [U.S.] dollars. People didn't mind up to that point, but after more damage was caused, they often wanted someone to 'take care' of the beavers," he said.
GNAWING PROBLEM DOGS BOLTON MAN BEAVERS' DAMS FLOOD HIS YARD
(back to top)
The Boston Globe
November 20, 2003
Matt Viser, Globe Correspondent
Bolton MA - It's become a fierce turf war
between families. A $70,000 yard has
been flooded; trees felled; 15 lives lost.
But Ethan Harris says, by rights, he should emerge the victor.
Unlike his neighbor, he pays property taxes - and he's not in the habit
of gnawing on trees and building destructive dams.
Yet for the past 2 1/2 years, Harris has had to think like the
family of beavers that has set up camp near his Corn Road home. He tries
to anticipate their every move, staying "glued to the weather" to see
what they might do next, since they dam in the rain.
Indeed, the beavers have wreaked havoc on Harris's property,
washing out his yard and chomping down the trees that screen his view of
nearby Interstate 495. The first
incident was in April 2001, six months after he and his wife moved to
Bolton to retire. Water gushed from a stream on town-owned conservation
land that flows under I-495. His meticulously groomed front yard was
transformed into a 3-foot-deep pond - so much for the $70,000 he had
spent just months before for mulching, fencing, trees, and a stone
driveway. "I was watching it from the
front porch," Harris said. "It happened really quick, all of a sudden."
After town officials declined to get involved, Harris obtained emergency
permits that allowed him to do some of the work himself. With a
sledgehammer, he busted the beavers' dam so that the water would drain
from his yard. He also hired someone to
kill the animals - 15, at a total cost of $1,500. This month, the
beavers were back. Again the front yard was flooded, and it was left to
Harris, with the help of his son, to destroy the dam. But about a dozen
beavers remain. And rather than pay for someone to remove them, Harris
wants the town to do something about it.
"This is getting to be a real problem here," he said in an
interview at his home. "I took care of things the first time with the
notion that it would buy time for the town to figure out a more
permanent solution. They never did
anything about it." At Harris's
prodding, the town has started to look into the issue, but it is unclear
whether it will do anything. "Really, in a way, what the beavers are
doing is a natural process. Maybe the people shouldn't be there," said
Kenneth F. Troup, selectmen chairman.
But Harris said town officials have an obligation to protect his land.
"They do have the liability and responsibility not to flood people's
property," he said. "And I can't afford to pay every three months for
someone to come and get rid of the beavers. I pay taxes for that kind of
stuff." At a recent meeting, the Board
of Selectmen asked Carol Gumbart, the town's conservation administrator,
to look into the issue and report back. Gumbart, in an interview this
week, said she is calling other towns to see how they have tackled such
problems. She is also getting price estimates from companies
specializing in beaver removal. The
beaver population has exploded over the past several years, particularly
in rural towns like Bolton. State officials estimate that it has gone
from 18,000 in 1995 to more than 65,000 today. The
reason, they say, is a ballot initiative approved by voters in 1996 that
prohibits certain traps, because they cause a slow, painful death.
An amendment to the law, approved in 2000, allows local boards of
health to grant emergency permits to residents to breach dams, fence off
culvert openings, or use pipes to drain off ponds.
Harris said if the town has not addressed his concerns within a
few weeks, he will consider filing suit. "If I had beavers on my
property and it was flooding my neighbor' s yard, you bet he'd be all
over me," he said. "I'd be in court in two seconds flat."
Matt Viser can be reached at viser@globe.com.
Police officer kills fox following attack; Animal forced woman onto car hood (back to top)
- Paysha Stockton
April 3, 2003
Abbington MA - An aggressive fox attacked a
dog, a woman, a bicycle and a police officer on Plymouth Street Monday
night. Janice Abbatangelo was on her way
into her home, at 825 Plymouth St., after grocery shopping when she was
attacked at about 6:30 p.m., Abington Deputy Police Chief David Majenski
said. When she first saw the
strange-looking animal coming her way, she wasn't sure what it was, he
said. She quickly realized it was an attacking fox. "She was quite
frightened and jumped up on the hood of her car and called us on her
cell phone," Majenski said. The fox got
a grip on one of her legs with its jaws but was unable to bite through
her thick pants, he said. The fox ran
off after Abbatangelo hit it with one of her bags, Majenski said. She
wasn't injured in the attack and was treated by firefighters at the
scene, Majenski said. Police actually
received another call about the fox a few minutes earlier, he said. "The
fox was acting strangely throughout the
neighborhood," he said. It previously
tried to fight a dog. "It was a fox with a bad attitude. It was totally
looking for a fight," Majenski said.
Police found the animal in the woman's cellar. It was nipping at a
bicycle tire. It then came after officer Kevin Sullivan, who shot it,
Majenski said. "He killed it with one
shot." Abington's animal control officer took the carcass away to be
tested for rabies, he said. With spring
here and the weather warming, people should watch out for foxes,
raccoons, coyotes and skunks behaving strangely, Majenski said.
"If they're near people, that's not normal," he said. Paysha
Stockton may be reached at
pstockton@ledger.com.
Coyote snatches, kills dog; Official says cats are missing, too
(back to top)
The
Patriot Ledger - L.E. Campenella
November 15, 2002
Hull, MA - After nearly a year of sightings
with few attacks, a coyote carried off and killed a 25-pound dog this
week. Hull Animal Control Officer Megan Hanrahan said King, a
12-year-old Pekinese, was snatched off the porch of Joan Thompson's
Summit Avenue house on Tuesday. "When the fall and winter comes, food
starts getting scarce for them," Hanrahan said.
The dog had been attacked previously, about nine months ago.
Thompson said King was let out at about 7:20 p.m. Tuesday. A family
member couldn't react quickly enough when the coyote grabbed the dog by
the throat. King was only about five feet from the back door, Thompson
said. Family members scoured the neighborhood and spotted the coyote on
a hill less than a half-mile away, but it was not carrying the dog. The
coyote ran away. Thompson said the family found King dead the next
morning in the back yard of a neighbor several houses away.
"We searched and searched, because we didn't want him to be out
there somewhere hurt," Thompson said. "Megan (Hanrahan) told us that she
didn't think he felt any pain." In June 2001, a 12-year-old, 17-pound
poodle needed 12 metal staples in her back after a battle with two
coyotes in the back yard of her Atlantic Avenue home. Earlier last year,
a 9-pound terrier was carried away and killed by a coyote that witnesses
estimated weighed 55 pounds. A trapper hired to hunt the coyote caught
and euthanized a 40-pound coyote suspected to be the terrier's killer.
The coyote that killed King is believed to be about the same size.
"What is going to happen come winter when there's no food? Are
the coyotes going to come up on my porch when I bring my granddaughter
out," Thompson said. Hanrahan said the town is "doing everything in our
legal power" to capture wild coyotes. She said coyote hunting season is
from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28. Only trapping is allowed during November,
however, and though shooting is allowed by December, it's illegal to
discharge a firearm within 2,000 feet of a dwelling in Hull. "Towns
don't want you shooting in town, and the coyotes aren't going to go in
the traps. I've been trapping for 50 years and you might catch a gray
fox, but coyotes are too smart," said Fred Frazier, a hunter and trapper
trying to help the town. Frazier said
the best way to eliminate the coyote problem is to allow trappers to use
the soft leg-hold traps that were banned in 1996. "The best thing
residents can do is call your state senator or representative and get
that law changed," he said. Frazier said
from the signs he has observed, he estimates five coyotes are roaming
the town. Hanrahan said coyotes have been seen and have built dens in
the area of Summit Avenue, Atlantic Avenue and School Street. A lot of
house cats are missing, too, she said. "Wild cats are smart, they see
the coyotes coming and get out of the way. House cats, who often grow up
with dogs, don't know enough and are the ones who get caught," Hanrahan
said. Hanrahan said residents also could be reacting improperly when
they encounter coyotes. "Don't run away from them. They'll only chase
you, and it gives them the impression the neighborhood is theirs," she
said. "Yell, clap your hands. If there's a hose, squirt them with the
hose. Do anything you can to scare them."
L.E. Campenella may be reached at lcampenella@ledger.com.
(back to top)
The Patriot Ledger - Cathi Jeffrey
September 5, 2002
Weymouth MA - I'm a handicapped senior citizen from East Weymouth and recently we have had three pets killed by coyotes on our street alone. I'm sure there are many unreported cases, too. A pug dog, a beautiful elderly Golden Retriever and my 13-year-old pet cat have been brutally attacked from their own yards and killed. I've also heard of toddlers and their moms attacked defending them. Because there was a question of rabies, they had to endure extensive treatment. Is it going to take the death of a child before something is done? Karen Wilbur, Weymouth
(back to top)
The Patriot Ledger - Anne Trafton
July 24, 2002
Duxbury MA. - Coyotes attacked and fatally injured a Duxbury family's cocker spaniel early Sunday morning, police said. The dog's owners, whom police would not identify, let the cocker spaniel outside around 4 a.m. Sunday. Three coyotes attacked the dog in the family's Maple Pond Lane driveway. Upon hearing the sounds of the attack, family members turned on outdoor lights, sending the coyotes fleeing, said Duxbury police Lt. Lewis Chubb. The dog was taken to Roberts Animal Hospital in Hanover, where it later died from its injuries. It is not unusual for coyotes to hunt small animals like cats and small dogs, said Richard Turner, a wildlife biologist for the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. "A small dog wouldn't stand much chance against them," he said. Coyotes are very common in southeastern Massachusetts, Turner said. "It really is amazing what close proximity they live in with human activity," he said. Several cats have disappeared in Duxbury over the past few years, and they may have been eaten by coyotes, Chubb said. He said he could not recall any other cases of coyotes killing a dog. Turner suggested that pet owners who want to keep coyotes away should be sure to not leave anything in their yards - food and compost heaps, for example - that might attract the predators. Food attracts not only coyotes but also small mammals like rabbits and squirrels that could draw coyotes into the yard. Turner advised pet owners not to feed their pets outside unless all of the food will be eaten immediately; leftovers could attract coyotes. Because coyotes can eat so many different things, including small mammals, birds, vegetables, berries and trash, they are well suited to suburban environments. Coyote pups are born in April and May, so parents are hunting not only to feed themselves but also their young. "These coyotes have got to be hunting hard to get enough food to feed the entire family," Turner said. He said a good way to scare coyotes away from yards is to "show authority" by making a lot of noise and throwing things at the coyotes. Coyotes rarely carry rabies, but Turner warned that people, especially children, should stay away from any animal that might be rabid. Anne Trafton may be reached at atrafton@ledger.com.
Roads, backyards, trails being flooded
By Coco McCabe – Globe Correspondent December 31, 2001
Ipswich MA - A pond, some gently flowing water, tall pines, fruit trees – sounds like a nice place to set up house. Paul and Josephine Brouillette thought so when they bought the parcel on Essex Road in Ipswich next to Norman Pond. But others had designs on the same place: beavers. Since the rodents moved in, they have been busy staking out their turf with a dam an rising water levels that are turning portions of backyards (including the Brouillettes’) into wetlands, soaking nearby Heartbreak Road like a sponge, and transforming a horse paddock into a puddle of goo. “It’s like having a big toilet that doesn’t flush. After a while it get ugly,” said Neil St. John “Ted” Raymond, who lives on Heartbreak Road. “It’s adversely affecting the value of people’s property.” Beavers, it seems are everywhere. Across town, water is creeping toward John Barowy’s hay field from the dam beavers built on the Miles River in the past couple of months. Not far away, in Hamilton, workers recently replaced a bridge on Moulton Street where beavers repeatedly clogged the flow of water. Member of the Essex County Trail Association, which promotes trail preservation in Essex, Wenham, Topsfield, Ipswich, and Hamilton, are worrying about keeping some of their connecting trails open now that beavers have started to flood them. And Elizabeth Brown, who lives on Farrington Lane in Hamilton near the Miles River, has watched her evergreens topple and puddles appear in the woods from beavers raising the level of water in the marsh nearby….
Coyote attacks a child; first time in State (back to top)
Boy, 3 is rescued; Questions raised
by Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff July 31, 1998
SANDWICH, MA – A coyote sprang from the woods and attacked a 3-year old boy Wednesday evening as he played on his back yard swing set here, the first documented case of a coyote attacking a human in Massachusetts and one of only a dozen cases nationwide. The boy was rescued when his mother kicked and punched the coyote, wresting her bleeding son from its clutches. The animal then began growling at the boy’s 5-year old sister, who was at the top of the swing set, before police officers arrived and killed it. Daniel Neal was treated and released early yesterday at Children’s Hospital in Boston for bites to the head, arm, chest and back. As a precaution, he was given the first battery of shots for rabies.
Dog recovers after coyote attack (back to top)
Rouge River Valley, NJ - May 17, 2007
Kevin Hill Staff Writer
First, Janice Palis stopped to admire the three coyotes peeking through the brush at her and her 10-year-old golden retriever, Duke. Then, there was no time to think at all. The animals descended on the 95-pound dog as he stood 6 feet away from Palis. In the frenzy, Palis grabbed the first stick she could find, waved it in the air and shouted at the coyotes. They backed off, she said, but didn’t retreat very far. “That’s what I think was the scariest part for me—is that they didn’t seem to have the fear of me or him,” she said. The incident occurred May 8 in the Koppernick section of the William P. Holliday Nature Preserve. In March, a coyote attacked a poodle in the backyard of a Westland home near Hines Park. That case was different from the attack on Duke, said William Craig, president of the citizen-run Holliday Nature Preserve Association. “Coyotes going into your backyard is another thing. That is a matter of citizens and their local government,” he said. There is no prohibition against bringing dogs into the Holliday Nature Preserve. Wayne County, which owns and oversees the land as part of the parks system, is currently studying its rules and regulations. Vanessa Denha-Garmo, a county spokesperson, urged caution when entering the preserve. “We’ve been telling people to stay in a well-lit area and in open areas of the park, and to keep your dog on a leash.” Craig said a leash is a good idea, but not bringing dogs at all is an even better one as coyotes multiply in the area. “It just warrants some caution under those circumstances,” he said. Palis, who said the beauty of the preserve made it her favorite place to walk Duke for the past eight years, never thought she had a reason to fear. “I have seen coyotes in the past, but nothing that’s come close to challenging us, scaring us,” she said. “From a distance, and typically when I’ve seen them it’s rare and it’s beautiful, and then they’re off, they’re gone.” Not this time, though. Palis said she and Duke had walked 200 yards into the woods from an entrance to the preserve in Canton Township. After the attack, she said, the coyotes stalked her and a limping Duke all the way back to the car. Duke was recovering nicely this week, taking longer and longer walks through the friendlier environs of the Fox Run subdivision in Canton. On Monday, he dozed in the living room as Palis recalled once seeing Brownie troops in the preserve. “Would it attack a child? If someone were small, trailing to pick something up?” she asked. “I was in a nature preserve. So, I understand I’m in a special area. But still, if it’s not safe, that’s an issue. “I would love to go back, but right now I’m not going to,” she said. “I don’t know. I mean, I want to, just because I love it there so much.”
Youth Foils Coyote Attack on Boy in N.J. (back to top)
Posted by the Associated Press April 12, 2007
Wildlife officials are investigating what could be the first coyote attack on a human in New Jersey following a backyard attack on a toddler that was foiled by an 11-year-old. Playing in the back yard of his Middle Township home with his 22-month-old nephew over the weekend, 11-year-old Ryan Palludan first thought the animal that bolted into the yard just before dark was a deer. But when it grabbed little Liam Sadler in its jaws, Palludan instinctively sprang into action, yelling and kicking at the attacker which was later determined to be a coyote.
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