Photographer Daniel Keefe captured this fisher outside a Durham, N.H., home in 2003. It was attracted to a suet cage. (Daniel M. Keefe)
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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 from around the state (plus a few outside Mass). 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 re-ignite fear into the public, 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. Regulated management trapping, 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.
Emergency permit targets beavers in Holliston
The MetroWest Daily News
HOLLISTON
The Board of Health has issued an emergency permit for a Cross Street company to use lethal traps to remove beavers whose dam may threaten the building's fire suppression system. The permit gives Avery Dennison Co. 10 days from last Thursday to trap the beavers, said Board of Health Chairwoman Anita Ballesteros. The board gave the office product distributor a previous permit to remove the animals in October. The company did so, but the beavers returned, and so did the problems, Ballesteros said. Last fall, a company representative told the board a dam had raised the level of Chicken Brook within an inch of a bridge used to access the facility. Behind the dam, stagnant water backed up, full of debris that could clog a sprinkler system that pumps water directly from the brook in the case of a fire, the company said in October. Holliston Fire Chief Michael Cassidy called the problem a safety hazard. While the board would prefer different traps be used, worries about the fire system spurred its members to issue the permit, Ballesteros said. "We are concerned because this relates to the fire suppression system," she said. "If there were, God forbid, a fire, and anyone was hurt or killed in the fire, it was left on our heads." Regardless of what traps are used, beavers that are caught are killed. With beaver problems all over Massachusetts, the Bay State does not generally allow the animals to be moved elsewhere. Under the first permit, traps would catch beavers and they would later be euthanized. The new permit allows traps that actually kill the animals. Ballesteros was unsure how exactly the traps work. Board member Richard Maccagnano had opposed lethal traps because he said other animals could be caught in them. Ballesteros said it is sometimes difficult to set aside personal convictions, but the Board of Health's charge is to safeguard public health and safety. This is not the first time Holliston has grappled with beaver problems. In summer 2007, after attempts to find alternatives, the Conservation Commission gave the go-ahead to trap and kill beavers in Bogastow Brook. The animals had caused flooding near one of the town's drinking water wells. State officials warned the town that the potential for parasites to get into the water posed an immediate threat. The state has a regulated beaver trapping season. Avery Dennison needed a first permit in October because that season had not yet begun. The season started Nov. 1, but a permit is required any time a lethal trap is used. A contractor hired by Avery Dennison only uses lethal traps, Ballesteros said. With the holidays approaching, it seemed unlikely Avery Dennison could find another contractor right away, so the board acted to make sure the company could address the potential safety problem. If the emergency permit expires before beavers have been killed, Ballesteros said she will ask the company to consider other trapping methods. "Nobody really wants to use those traps," she said. (David Riley can be reached at 508-626-3919 or driley@cnc.com.) Numbers (and more) show fishers climbing
Photographer Daniel Keefe captured this fisher outside a Durham, N.H., home in 2003. It was attracted to a suet cage. (Daniel M. Keefe)
By James O'Brien
The fishers are coming - or so they say. Earlier this year, an increase in sightings of the elusive animal in this area - including at least two reported attacks in Lexington - prompted wildlife officials to urge pet owners not to let their dogs and cats run free. That advice still stands, and now officials at the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife say they are anticipating a record-setting number of captured fishers next month during trapping season for the carnivorous relative of the weasel. Last year's was the second-highest fisher harvest on record, with 486 animals captured between Nov. 1 and Nov. 22. The year before, trappers nabbed 582. The state has kept such numbers since 1973, officials say, and has seen a steady increase in the number of animals caught. "Clearly, the population seems to be growing," said Lisa Capone, spokeswoman for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Researchers at the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, or MassWildlife, say it appears the fisher, like a number of other wild animals such as bear and coyote, has also become more comfortable in urban settings. "From studying reports and trappings, we can say that they have greatly expanded their range," said MassWildlife furbearer biologist Laura Hajduk. "In areas closer to Boston, they haven't been found there for very long." While the fisher normally eats rodents and small game like rabbits, Hajduk, whose agency receives one to two calls per week for fisher sightings statewide, said kitchen garbage and outdoor pets represent an attractive alternative. "The way we have suburban areas set up - we like private areas, little wooded areas - we provide cover for animals, and then we create a nice artificial food source," she said. Marj Rines, a Living With Wildlife hotline naturalist with the Massachusetts Audubon Society, said she has had more calls about fishers in Eastern Massachusetts over the past two years. Residents in Medford and Woburn have reported run-ins with the fisher, according to the organization. The animal has also been spotted in Billerica, Chelmsford, and Wilmington, as well as Derry and Hollis in New Hampshire, said New Hampshire wildlife photographer Daniel M. Keefe, who has captured close-up images of the animal. Chelmsford animal control officer Erik Merrill said he received 15 to 20 fisher complaints in his area this spring. In March, a Lexington woman reported that a fisher dragged off her dog shortly after a neighbor spotted the animal and another neighbor reported that fishers had killed her cats. "Usually when we have one attack, we have many," said Krista M. Vernaleken, a senior veterinary associate at the Bulger Animal Hospital in North Andover. "Owners who keep their pets indoors are very well aware of fishers - that's why they keep them indoors. Those who let them out don't understand the risk." Vernaleken said outdoor cats are the most likely among domesticated animals to tangle with the fisher, and the results are usually ugly. "They're typically pretty aggressive attacks," she said. "Large wounds, tearing of the skin. They are much more aggressive attacks than another animal would be." Long and low, the adult fisher typically weighs 16 pounds, according to MassWildlife, and can grow up to 3 feet, tip to tail. It hunts with retractable claws and a mouth lined with razor-sharp teeth, and its high-pitched screech is its hallmark. They are prized by some for their soft brown pelts. The creature faced extermination in the Northeast in the 1800s, according to Mass Audubon, as unregulated logging deforested its natural habitat. Its comeback, starting in the 1950s, is also due to logging companies, who used fishers to control porcupines that eat tree seedlings. Negative rumors about fishers abound, according to Hajduk, despite its role in helping to control rodents in the wild. "A lot of people think it's out there to attack everything," she said. "That they're vicious, voracious predators." Merrill said he understands the fisher's nasty reputation. "They're pretty ferocious," he said. "They've gone into chicken coops and killed five or six of them. They kind of get into a frenzy. We had one that tore into a rabbit hut. It was sitting there, eating the rabbit. I wouldn't want to corner one and try to get it out." Hajduk said keeping family pets safe from fishers requires only common sense. "We advocate people should keep pets supervised and, when not, keep them indoors," she said. "Don't let your pet roam free." MassWildlife Central District manager William J. Davis offered additional advice: "Common sense dictates the proper course of action, including not putting trash out until the morning of pickup, not providing artificial food sources like bird feeders." Keefe uses just such a feeder - a suet cage - to capture his close-up shots of fishers. On his website are dozens of stories about the fisher - some warnings and some defending the animal. "Last December, we had one here running in the field," Keefe said from his home in Durham, N.H. "We had our dog out at night, and we yelled at [the fisher], but it would come closer instead of running away. It made an ungodly screeching noise. It made your hair stand up." In Lexington, resident Beth J. Masterman, who lives on wooded Philbrook Terrace abutting conservation land, said she lost her Yorkshire terrier puppy, Ziggy, in March to a fisher that dragged him into the foliage. She said better information could prevent similar tragedies. "We need to know more, sooner," she said. "Maybe animal control officers ought to be used a month before the danger begins, not after." Hajduk said information about fishers and how to minimize contact with the animal is always available. "We have a lot of this information on our website, and it is easily accessible to the public," she said. "And we invite people to call us."
Leave it to BeaversBy Nan Shnitzler / CorrespondentMon Oct 13, 2008, 10:48 AM EDTBolton -Beavers are skilled dam builders; their lives depend on it. They spend 80 percent of their time in their ponds, from which they access their lodges. But it is not unprecedented for an active beaver dam to fail. Even beavers cant anticipate a 25 or 50-year storm. There are situations where beaver dams have let go apparently without human intervention and have caused significant damage, said Bill Davis, central district manager for the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. Beavers are excellent engineers but not 100 percent foolproof.Town officials are convinced a failed beaver dam on private property caused a washout on Forbush Mill Road about a month ago and twice previously over the last few years. Public Works Director Harold Brown and Conservation Administrator Carol Gumbart disagree with resident Patricia Huckery, who is MassWildlife northeast district manager, that sand and gravel removal from a nearby hillside somehow weakened the dams underpinnings, because the dam is upstream and behind the hill. So after spending nearly $10,000 to fix Forbush Mill Road and watching Hurricane Hanna dump five inches of rainfall on the estimated eight-acre, 8- to 10-year-old beaver pond in the Hansen conservation area, it was not a stretch for Brown and Gumbart to think there was an imminent downstream threat to Green Road. Gumbart ordered a small emergency breach at the side of the dam to relieve the water pressure. Unfortunately, its against state law to tamper with a beaver dam in an emergency without a permit from the local Board of Health. Emergency permits allow three options: breach the dam, install a flow device and/or trap the beavers. Gumbart admitted she should have gotten the permit first. But since the Conservation Commission has to authorize actions that affect the wetlands, she was half right. Paperwork to obtain an after-the-fact breach permit is now in process, Gumbart said. Technically, consent is also required from an abutting private landowner, the Bundys on Vaughn Hill Road. Jeanette Bundy was unaware of the dam drama, but said that she doesnt want the beavers messed with. Gumbart said the paperwork is in their hands. Board of Health Chairman Mark Sprague is aware of the dam breach and is not inclined to be punitive because he understands it was well intended. But next time, those responsible will get their hands slapped, he said. He is considering writing a reprimand for the record. You have to draw a line on whats a reasonable level of hazard, Sprague said. Normally, when an emergency permit comes in, we would hold a hearing on it. And everyone involved could chime in with opinions. There is a legal beaver-trapping season from Nov. 1 to April 15 when licensed trappers may use permissible box or cage-style live traps. Leg-hold and body-grabbing conibear traps were outlawed by Massachusetts voters in 1996 because they can cause slow, painful deaths. Since then, the 18,000 beaver census is estimated to have tripled, according to the MassWildlife Web site. Its against state law to trap and relocate beavers and other wild animals. The Board of Health usually presides over out-of-season emergency permits when applicants want to trap and eliminate the animals because upstream flooding is encroaching on basements, drinking wells and septic systems on private property. Thats what happened on Corn Road and Main Street, near the Historical Society, in 2005. A potential downstream threat is less common. In the last few weeks, the lack of regulatory process seems to have created a free-for-all at the Hansen dam. Locals who feared for the beavers when the breach lowered the water level patched up the gap. How are we to know if the beavers are taking care of the dam if people are doing it for them? Gumbart said. Sprague said it appeared that well-meaning people were working at cross-purposes. Ironically, the Conservation Commission alone has the authority to install a water flow device in a beaver pond to maintain the integrity of a wetland or protect habitat in town-owned conservation land when there is no threat to public health or safety, according to Davis at MassWildlife. To that end, Gumbart brought in Michael Callahan of Southampton-based Beaver Solutions Sept. 18 to assess the Hansen dam. In a Sept. 28 letter, he wrote that older dams and larger ponds, like Hansen, are more likely to fail catastrophically, but its rare. He saw that the beavers are actively maintaining the dam and there was no evidence that a catastrophic breach was imminent. His consultation cost $125. If the beavers stay, Callahan recommended reducing the pond impoundment one foot with a water flow device and/or replacing the nearby 12-inch Green Road culvert with a larger pipe to handle unexpected water events. He also recommended quarterly dam inspections. His solution would cost $1,620 including one year of maintenance. Brown said the engineering to accommodate a 24-inch pipe would mean raising Green Road drastically or building a cement box culvert. In ether case, there should be at least a foot of clearance between the road and culvert to prevent frost heaves, he said, potentially a $60,000 to $70,000 job. Gumbart said that water flow devices had been used successfully at the Bower Springs and Fyfeshire conservation areas. She will continue to monitor both the Forbush Mill and Hansen beaver dam situations while keeping stakeholders apprised. Brown said he is keeping an eye on the Forbush Mill Road dam but leaving the Hansen dam to the Conservation Commission. He does not have a lot of confidence in mud and stick dams.
Green Road for me is off limits, Brown said. It will blow out; I
know it will.
6-foot-tall beaver dams breaks, sends 'wave of mud downstream'Monday, September 15, 2008 COLRAIN -- A surge of possibly contaminated water rushed down the Green River, raising the water level by about 3 feet and causing road damage and closures after a beaver dam in Colrain broke Saturday morning, said Fire Chief David V. Celino. The 6-foot-tall dam that broke held back 3 or 4 acres of heavily silted water, he said, which could have harmfully high bacteria levels. 'It was a solid wave of mud,' said Celino. Apart from light-to-moderate road damage to West Leyden Road, Cromack Lane and Fort Lucas Road, the major concern, he said 'is what kind of bacteria was in that water.' The torrent nearly washed out a road culvert and eroded the shoulders of affected roadways. The Department of Public Works was unavailable for comment on the safety of the Green River. The filter beds in the river, a water source for Greenfield, were shut down, firefighters said. Paul Moyer III, who owns agricultural land on West Leyden Road in Colrain, said his fields were inundated with water, which rose to over three feet in places, before receding. Firefighters stationed at Camp Kee-Wanee in Greenfield at the Wormtown Music Festival on Saturday noticed a darkening of the river's color, but no noticeable surge. As of Saturday evening, there were closures on Fort Lucas Road, firefighters said.
Charlton,
MA resident asks for help with beaver
damage Worchester Telegram & Gazette September 10, 2008
Selectman Kathleen W. Walker and highway foreman Gerry Foskett joined Wildlife Committee members yesterday to inspect the affected area. Beavers blocked a culvert behind McDonalds on Route 20 and built a dam about 100 yards upstream. Although the rising water affects Mr. Butz, the dam is located on someone elses private property. The owner of that land was not established before the meeting. The dams are not on my property; the water is. "Its not a town problem b ut we dont know what else to do with it, Mr. Butz said. Karen Ogden of the Wildlife Committee recommended the installation of flow devices in the dam and culvert, noting the process has been successful in other problem areas.
For now, the board asked Ms. Ogden to obtain an estimate to install the flow devices. The plan and associated costs for the dam will be presented to the landowner, when identified. If the landowner does not agree to install a flow device, the issue will return to the board to consider intervention.
MEDFORD With its chain-link fences and tidy patches of lawn, Gibson Street in Medford isn't the first place Animal Planet is likely to set up its cameras. So, Joyce Pantone Rodrigues, understandably, was surprised when she looked out her kitchen window on a recent morning and saw a coyote staring back. "At first I thought it was a fox or a wolf. I didn't know what it was," said Rodrigues, who identified the furry, sleek-snouted creature with the help of her husband and quickly notified several neighbors, as well as the state. "I never in a million years expected to see a coyote in my backyard." Most have had the same reaction to the coyotes spotted regularly of late in this section of the city, roughly a half-mile east of Interstate 93 and the Mystic River, although opinions about the presence of the animals vary widely. The children, and some of the adults, are enthralled; others are indifferent, while still others want the coyotes eradicated by almost any means necessary. At a recent meeting, city councilors expressed concern for public safety and demanded immediate coyote relocation or action. Councilor Robert M. Penta suggested the use of a "stun gun." That's not going to happen, because coyotes are protected, local and state wildlife officials said. Relocating them is illegal and could endanger the animals and pose a threat to people. The alternative, euthanasia, is reserved for the rare cases when coyotes become aggressive...... full story link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/04/20/shock_awe_at_coyotes_in_the_city/?page=full
Trapped! Towns losing the war against beavers OUR CHANGING WORLD
With their penchant for damming up running water and chewing down tree after tree, American beavers can create headaches galore for property owners, water department managers and highway superintendents. Theyre also admired for their ingenuity, work ethic and engineering skills. Their thick winter pelts can fetch as much as $23. Beavers have caused so many problems in Westboro, in so many different places, that the towns Department of Public Works has requested $5,000 in next years budget just for beaver-related problems. Theyre everywhere. Its amazing the destruction they can cause in a short period of time, said Edward I. Wagner Jr., assistant manager of the Westboro Department of Public Works. The town recently paid to have five beavers trapped and killed because they were blocking up a culvert under Nourse Street that nearly flooded the basement of a house and could have flooded the street. Once completely wiped out in Massachusetts, beavers have made an amazing come back, aided by a 1996 statewide ballot question that banned many kinds of traps. The law was modified in 2000 to allow for a trapping season and emergency trapping permits, but by then the population had tripled, from 20,000 statewide to more than 70,000. There are no current accurate counts of beavers, state wildlife officials say, because there are no uniform reporting requirements for counting trapped beavers. The trapper hired by Westboro used a conibear trap, which catches the entire animals body. Trappers say it immediately kills the animal by dislocating its spine. Animal rights advocates say many animals survive until the trapper returns. Trap and release is not an option. It is illegal in Massachusetts to catch a wild animal in one location and release it somewhere else, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. It is also illegal to break down a beaver dam without a permit. Mr. Wagner estimated that his department spends six to eight hours a week on beaver problems, mostly clearing away beaver dams from culverts and checking known beaver areas for new problems. Beavers regularly block culverts near the Westboro Tennis & Swim Club on Lake Chauncy, and on Whittemore Pond off Flanders Road. In Suasco Reservoir on Arch Street, Mr. Wagner said the town has paid for about 20 beavers to be removed in the past three or four years. As soon as we trap them, others move right in, he said. The town pays to remove beavers because they build dam after dam in front of the culvert there, which has flooded out the section of Arch Street by the railroad bridge. Every time, the beavers adapt after a dam is removed. The beavers are smart. I have a lot of respect for them, he said. If you remove the dam, the next time, they start to dam up inside the pipe first, so we cant get to it. Paul McNulty, Westboros director of public health, said the town issues only one or two emergency trapping permits a year, although the department is aware of residents hiring trappers during the trapping season, which lasts from Nov. 1 to April 15. The beaver population has just exploded, he said. Communities throughout Massachusetts have battled with beavers, whose dams flood out roads, basements, wells and septic systems. They can also chew down a wooded lot in a short time, leaving areas open to erosion. But simply trapping and killing the animals is a short-term solution, since beavers tend to reappear in areas where there is running water and plenty of food. Beavers are beavers, theyre wildlife, and weve got to balance the human and the wild, said Ginny Scarlet, wetlands and soil specialist for the town of Spencer. She said that while plenty of private landowners in town have called trappers to remove beavers causing problems, the town has tried to co-exist with them. In three different spots in Spencer along the Cranberry River, on private property off McCormick Road and on land at Buck Hill Pond beaver pipes have been installed to allow water to flow through beaver dams. It becomes a maintenance issue at that point, she said. Youve still got to clear it out regularly; the beavers will try to clog it up. In 2006, an emergency beaver trapping permit issued by the West Boylston Board of Health sparked an outcry from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. But Board of Health chairman Robert J. Barrell Jr. said the board has issued only two such permits in the nine years he has been a member. Weve got to learn to live with beavers, he said. Removing them isnt a long-term solution. Its only a matter of time before a family re-habitats the area. In several locations in town, private landowners have installed water diverters, usually pipes which help mask the sound of running water, which attracts beavers. The town of Templeton has had success keeping beavers away from culverts with six beaver deterrent fences. The beavers still try to plug them, but with a few modifications, weve kept them clear, said Templeton Highway Superintendent Francis Chase. But the beavers dont give up. All they do is go upstream, and they flood other peoples properties. He said each fence cost about $1,500 to install, and requires regular maintenance. Mr. Chase said the beaver population is out of control. People in the cities, they think theyre beautiful when they drive down the country roads and see them working away, he said. But theyre causing a lot of trouble for somebody.
Earthen dam poses risk to development By Michael Morton/Daily News staff Mon Jan 21, 2008, 12:05 AM EST FRANKLIN - 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, . City howling over coyotes Two dozen in six weeks; some venture downtown WORCESTER 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. Weve had sightings from every part of the city, not just on the outskirts. Theyre coming down into the core of the city, said Derek S. Brindisi, the citys director of public health.A coyote attacks in Weymouth and kills a dog News 7, Boston, Monday, May 14th 2007 WEYMOUTH, Mass. - 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. Beavers elude death again By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff Wed Nov 07, 2007, 11:58 PM EST HOLLISTON - 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. Beaver takes revenge on town Felled tree causes outage By George Barnes Telegram & Gazette Staff June 29 '07 Phillipston Beaver justice may have been behind a power outage that left the entire town in the dark for four hours yesterday. Im 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 ... Coyote in attack was rabid, state says Northborough man, 76, was bitten multiple times 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." Coyote attacks off-duty Police officer and daughter April 2005 Wilmington Massachusetts - Reported in the 'The Lowell Sun' Newspaper 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
Rabid coyote attacks Cape Cod woman 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, Mass. - 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.
Saugus residents howl about town's coyote sightings By Cristina Silva, Globe Correspondent | July 14, 2005 SAUGUS -- 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 Portsmouth Herald - Seacoastonline.com, July, 12 2005 MASHPEE, A guard patrolling the grounds of Willowbend Country Club was bitten
on Thursday night after apparently disturbing the coyote as it was rooting through some
bags of illegally dumped household trash for food, Mashpee's animal control officer said. Information from: Sterling may offer preview of problem Beaver dams contaminating water By Mark E. Ellis Telegram & Gazette StaffSTERLING 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 states 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 . Dog is killed by coyote in Boston yard By Heather Allen, Globe Correspondent | May 3, 2005 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."
Comeback Beavers Butt Heads With HumansStrong population recovery
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