First came the shrieks and howls at 5 a.m. Then came the gunshots at night.

Now city leaders in Roswell concede they have a public safety problem from would-be coyote assassins, if not the animals themselves.

Concerned about illegal shooting, Roswell officials are interviewing professional coyote trappers. Their goal is to reduce the population of unwanted invaders so they can't prey on people's pets and patience.

"At best, you will have a culling," said David Tolleson, a city councilman. "You're not going to get rid of all of them."

A non-native species, coyotes crossed the Mississippi River into the Southeast more than 30 years ago and are now in all 159 counties in Georgia. Trappers have pulled them from a condo complex in Buckhead, sprawling church grounds in Lithonia and suburban neighborhoods in Cobb County.

In Roswell, coyotes have established themselves in a large, wooded tract bordering the city's historic district. Some neighbors whose homes abut the land have heard coyote cries and yips for years but say the creatures are now actively stalking their pets.

Though their numbers are unknown, coyotes are coming into contact more frequently with Georgians.

The state's Department of Natural Resources office in Social Circle, which covers metro Atlanta, received more than 2,000 complaints about the creatures last year, said Don McGowan, a senior wildlife biologist.

"It seems to be increasing every year," he said.

The animals are intelligent and highly adaptable, wildlife authorities say. In populated areas, they can lose their fear of humans.

Joe Polo, a Sandy Springs homeowner, has seen that behavior firsthand.

About a year ago, he opened his front door about 4:30 a.m., as was his routine, to let out his two Yorkies. After Bailey and Satchel sauntered out into the front yard, Polo saw a coyote standing in his driveway.

"I ran out and got the dogs, grabbed them both and ran back in the house," Polo said. Fifteen feet away, the coyote stood its ground. "I stood there and we sat there, and looked at each other for awhile."

Polo, after talking with coyote experts, came to believe the animal had anticipated his door opening.

"He knew those dogs were going to be there."

In Roswell, when the howling in the woods behind her house became a routine wake-up call, Melinda Koscianski adapted. She made her cats come inside at night. She kept a close eye on her two dogs, even the big yellow Labrador.

A few months later, she walked into the backyard one morning and saw a coyote at the back fence, watching the dogs and her.

"Tall as my 90-pound Lab and staring at me," Koscianski said. "I watched him watching me. I said, 'That's it.' "

Koscianski sent out fliers to her neighbors. About 50 people responded, many chipping in to hire a trapper, John Underwood of Atlanta Animal Evictions. The past two weeks, Underwood has removed four coyotes from the Roswell woods.

Then, unrelated to Underwood's efforts, Koscianski heard 13 rounds of gunfire one night and called City Hall. "My concern is, when the gunshots started going off, I knew people were taking things into their own hands," Koscianski said.

Professional trappers aren't cheap. It's a labor-intensive job and highly specialized. Roswell estimates professional trapping will cost $500 to $1,000 for each round of trapping.

Trappers, licensed by the state, cannot relocate the animals because of concerns about rabies. Underwood and Chip Elliott, of Atlanta Wildlife Relocators, said they capture the animals with foot-hold traps and then kill them humanely.

Elliott limits his work to one client at a time because the task is so laborious. Traps need to be checked every 24 hours, under state law, and coyotes are difficult to catch. "They're not going to fall for a caged trap," he said.

A former police officer, Underwood in the past decade has come to appreciate the intelligence of the coyote. He doesn't doubt its ability to adapt. "If that coyote has exhausted the prey population in that area, your dog is threatened."

WHAT TO DO

> Take pets indoors at night. If a pet must be kept outside, install fencing and floodlights.

> Small livestock or poultry should be kept in an enclosed or sheltered area.

> Keep items such as food grills, trash cans, pet food and bird feeders off-limits.

> Never feed coyotes.

> Coyotes are not regulated as game by state wildlife authorities. Contact the local Wildlife Resources Division office for a list of licensed, private trappers or call 770-918-6416 for a referral.

Sources: Georgia Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Department of Agriculture

COYOTE FACTS

> Historically found in the Great Plains, they're now in all continental states and every Georgia county.

> Primary diet is small rodents and fruit, but coyote also eat sheep, poultry, deer, rabbits, birds, frogs, cats, dogs and garbage.

> Coyotes are most active at night but can be seen during the day. Most sightings are around sunrise and sunset.

> Adult coyotes weigh between 20 and 45 pounds.

> Coyotes breed in February and March and typically produce four to five pups about two months later. They live in small family groups.

> In areas where they are hunted or trapped, coyotes are wary of humans. But in urban areas, where they may associate people with easy sources of food, they can become bold.