Neighborhood coyotes have a friend

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Neighborhood coyotes have a friend

Coyotes increasingly encroach on metro Atlanta neighborhoods. One was trapped recently in DeKalb County's Oakhurst neighborhood.

This coyote was captured recently in DeKalb County's Oakhurst neighborhood.

Today the coyote is living at the headquarters of Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort, or AWARE, at Arabia Mountain.

AWARE's Michael Ellis will speak to the Oakhurst Homeowners Association about dealing with the Decatur neighborhood's coyote issues.

"Most people in urban settings are afraid of them," Ellis said. "We are trying to educate the public in what they can expect, what they should be afraid of and how to coexist with them."

"Total elimination is impossible because there are so many of them," Ellis said. "One of the big misconceptions is if you trap the six coyotes that are roaming around your neighborhood, that will be it. But that is not the case. Another animal from another range moves in, or the rest of the species overbreeds to fill that void."

Michael Gaertner, president of the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association, has not seen a coyote, but he said his neighbors have. "I know somebody who said that she had one or two cats disappear," Gaertner said. "There have been people who have seen them late at night along College Avenue."

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This coyote was captured recently in DeKalb County's Oakhurst neighborhood.

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