BREAKING NEWS: EASTERN POINT WOMAN ATTACKED BY COYOTE
An Eastern Point resident was attacked by a coyote at 5:15 this morning. She was curled up in an Adirondack chair drinking coffee and watching the stars before heading off to work. The wolf-size coyote leapt on her back. She jumped to her feet and fought it back with her fists. She next grabbed a broom and in the process hit her truck’s key fob, which sounded the alarm. The coyote slunk back into the brush and observed her as she threw rocks at it and yelled loudly, to no avail. It stayed for some time watching her. The coyote could be rabid.
The woman describes the coyote’s drool as smelling like foul meat and the fur as coarse and bristly. The drool was in her hair and took some time to wash out the smell. She does not inherently dislike coyotes and is an animal lover by nature, owns many pets and chickens, and was the former owner of a horse stable. There are several fences around her family’s property, in place to keep her pets safe, including an electric fence.
The woman called the police, who informed her that the animal control officer was not in. She has not heard from animal control.
Good Morning Gloucester 
Just wondering what the voter who selected one star meant?
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Maybe the “one star” rating meant something like “please get more of the story before you go to press with it.”
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Holy crap that is terrifying! Hope she is ok. Damn I’m an animal lover, too…but come on! Something has to be done about these coyotes!
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She is okay Jenn, thanks for asking. I agree it must have been absolutely terrifying. I think she is fairly traumatized, although really, really brave. More and more coyote attacks on humans are being reported as they are highly adaptive creatures and becoming increasingly emboldened.
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Coyote attacks on humans are not the result of “adaptation.” When a coyote becomes “increasingly emboldened,” there’s usually a story behind it; and we haven’t yet learned the story in this case. Each of us does seem to have our pet theory, though, don’t we?
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I think animal control needs to get a move on! At LEAST respond!
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They need more help with animal control, they are useless now, they never respond back, sad !!!
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Guess the coyotes don’t read those “Private Road” signs out there.
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Wheres Eastern Point Security when you need them?!?!
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Time to get ur guns out and eradicate these animals before someone gets killed…..They didnt even send the cops out?
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Thats a good way to land yourself in jail. No one is going to get killed. This is the only incident like this I have ever heard of. I’d bet the animal was rabid.
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Do you know that it was rabid? Or simply an opportunistic hunter?
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Oh my goodness, what a nightmare! I can’t even imagine the horror of this trauma. Phew.
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The animal must be sick, thats unusual behavior. What a brave woman!
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Really sorry to hear that Lyn was attacked, and I hope she regains her health very soon. I’m amazed to hear about coyote attacks on Cape Ann. In Missouri I have never heard of a coyote attack or bite in the 68 years of my life. But our coyotes are nowhere near wolf size, probably between a fox and a wolf, so I have to wonder if you’ve got an aggressive hybrid on Cape Ann. I’m unnerved by the attack in Gloucester. I guess you have to do what you have to do. Out here, it is still live and let live and I hope that continues. I have to wonder what circumstances might cause the normally reclusive coyotes to attack, if they are coyotes at all. My prayers to you, Lyn.
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I don’t think animal control is a full time position? But I hope someone responded and came to her aid.
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Hope she is okay…how is she..?..and everyone that has a cat or dog keep inside the house..and get the stray animals inside also…get the stray animals off the streets to…
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I hope that she goes to the Dr. and is checked. Who knows if it was rabid.
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I am so sorry for what happened to Lyn. The truth is we humans have been encroaching on their habitat to the point that these animals have nowhere else to go… I am not being callous, I also had a run in with a so called ” coyote”. In the northeast there is a hybrid, wolf-coyote. They are smaller than wolves but not by much. They are not much afraid of humans and are very bold. It is a concern, my fear is that these beautiful animals will be wiped out because they are ” inconvenient” to our comfortable way of living.
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To many critters and not enough food . Watch it .
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You are right. In as much as we hate to have our pets and people attacked by these displaced animals; we do have to remember that we are quickly destroying their habitat. Can we really wonder why they now travel into what we call our habitat?
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We are not encroaching on them, they are a hybrid that did not exist until recently.
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Why can’t they tranquilize them and relocate! They have invaded East Gloucester, are all over the place even during the daylight hours! There were two in my front yard that wouldn’t even budge when I tried to scare them away! Hi hope this woman will be OK! This is becoming very dangerous for residents! There are small children in my neighborhood and my fear is they are becoming way to bold and something needs to be done before others get hurt! I am an animal lover and would not want any harm to come to them but we need a solution!
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Its’ illegal to trap and relocate animals.
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If a wolf-sized Coyote had wanted to do damage, Lyn would have at the very least been bitten. I have friends that have been badly bitten in dog attacks. I certainly hope that this won’t be used as an excuse to go on a rampage and slaughter Gloucester’s Coyotes. We, as humans, keep encroaching on land everywhere (40 acres a day in Massachusetts goes under development) and leaves wildlife little space. Hopefully, Lyn can identify the offending animal, though at 5;30 in the morning I’m doubtful she could have seen much. I’ve had encounters in Gloucester with Coyotes and found them to be quite shy. They run as soon as they see me. I’ve had a pair in my neighborhood in Beverly for years and they’ve co-existed with us quite nicely. We very rarely see them. Anyway, I’m glad Lyn is oK, and I hope hysteria does not rule where Gloucester’s Coyotes are concerned.
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“They were here long before us” and Look at the “Pretty Animals” has to stop.Gloucester, we need to start getting rid or Coyotes around here.
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Why? Because there was ONE incident?
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A very frightening and potentially fatal attack. However, my focus here is less on the attack and more on the fact that Animal Control is so busy giving tickets to unleashed, harmless dogs, they can’t answer the phone, return calls, or serve Gloucester’s citizens in a helpful way. By the way, I believe we have not 1, but 2 A.C. ‘officers’….
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Kim, is she okay? Did she get bit or scratched, or go to hospital? Must have been terrifying. Hope she is okay.
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I’m not an expert but this doesn’t sound like an aggressive “attack”. There was no mention of the Coyote biting her. It could be she surprised it or unintentionally blocked it’s path somehow and it jumped over her to get away. I would think a real aggressive attack would involve more than drooling. I think this report is missing a lot of details.
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Looking forward to hearing the rest of the story.
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I am glad she isn’t badly hurt and hope the coyote isn’t rabid or in need of medical attention. The problem is we have pushed these wild animals out of their natural habitat with over development of their territories. I think this is an isolated incident, but feel the authorities should do their best to find the coyote in case he is rabid.
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This is not a first time incident involving coyote/wolf hybrid we have on Cape Ann. It may be the first time they caught a human, but I know of at least 3 aggressive chasings of humans by the animals. All 3 times the people ran into their homes or a passing car (who saw it happening and pulled over yelling “get in!” to save my neighbor). Not one of these incidents were in East Gloucester, and the car incident was 3 years ago.
I have said before that the police have warned children are not allowed to play near O’Maley school because of the pack living there. The ridiculous people who keep repeating “we are encroaching on the animals” are, as always, missing the entire point!! If you don’t care about the adults or pets getting attacked, at least consider the safety of children on Cape Ann.
The police and animal control not even contacting the victim is inexcusable.
Regarding the animal control officers giving tickets to unleashed dogs, in my opinion they do not give them often enough!! How I would love all pets to roam free on every beach every day! Unfortunately there are SO many people who set their misbehaved dogs free on the beach and they run up and attack other dogs. The pet owner being no where near the incident. When they finally get close enough to call their dog off, the quickly turn in the opposite direction so they don’t have to deal with what their dog just did. My dog is so traumatized we now only go to the beaches on leash only days…and even then I have to be on guard. SO SO SO not fair.
#truth
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Gunshots and coyote poaching has been going on in East Gloucester since August and continuing to the present time in October. I have heard gunshots in our neighborhood from Farrington Ave, to St. Anthony’s Lane to Grapevine Road since August. First reported to the Gloucester Police 978 283-1212 on August 17, 2015 and the Environmental Police 1-800-632-8075 on August 24, 2015. I have heard the coywolves cry out in pain after a loud rifle shot on my property or on my street. I have seen strange trucks or cars on my side street in the middle of the night when I hear the shots. There is a neighbor behind my home who had a rifle scope light in his yard on a Sunday night. Most of the shots have been from 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. They have continuously been reported to local police and Environmental Police. They inform me that they need more people to call in as they hear the shots. Two days ago I spoke with the Steward from the Essex Greenbelt who informed me that they have not issued any hunting licenses to anyone to hunt in the Greenbelt properties on Farrington Ave. or High Popples and even when hunting season starts in late October for deer (as coyotes are always protected) they don’t think that they would even issue a permit. He is calling the EPA to report that gunshots were heard on their property. Government needs to step up and catch these people who are illegally killing coyotes in our residential neighborhood so that we are safe and do not have to fear gunshots on our property and in our streets. To quote a famous biologist, Jonathan G. Way, who after studying the eastern coyote wrote ,”I see an incredibly adaptable and family-oriented animal that is personable, social, sentient and an important member of the ecological community.”
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As a point of fact, coyotes are NOT a protected species.
Coyote Hunting Regulations:
In July 2007, the Fisheries & Wildlife Board passed changes in the coyote regulations.
The coyote hunting season was expanded by 5 weeks. This expanded coyote hunting season will begin the first Saturday after Columbus Day and end on March 8 of the following year. For the 2007- 2008 season, the coyote season is open until March 8, 2008. The 2008-2009 hunting season will begin October 18, 2008 and end on March 7, 2009.
For more information visit the website of the Energy and Environmental Affairs coyote hunting regulations page: http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/laws-regulations/coyote-hunting-regulations.html
Hunting is prohibited within 500 feet of any dwelling or building in use, unless authorized by the owner or occupant thereof. http://www.eregulations.com/massachusetts/huntingandfishing/general-hunting-regulations/
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After speaking to Captain Thurlow of the Environmental Police, 2 State Fish Pier, Gloucester, MA 1-800-632-8075 even during a hunting season you may not discharge a gun within 500 feet of residential property. According to the Essex Greenbelt Steward you may not hunt coyotes on the Greenbelt properties at any time. Therefore, there should be no gunshots in our residential areas or the Greenbelts. It is illegal and has been illegal since the gunshots started in August 2015. On September 28, 2015 I called the MA Division of Fish and Wildlife in Westboro, MA 1-508-389-6300 and spoke with Laura, a Fur Bearing Biologist. She said she was not aware of any special permit to hunt coyotes in East Gloucester,MA. She told me to continue to call the Gloucester Police and EPA when I hear the gunshots so that they can be investigated. Please call any of these agencies to confirm this information.
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It is illegal to hunt them in until oct 18th and only during the day.
If people are hunting them illegally these people need to be charged with illegal poaching.
You can’t just go around killing things because you don’t like them
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When a resident reports that “I have heard gunshots in our neighborhood…” he’s not referring to State hunting regulations as much as he is to city ordinances and everyone’s concern for firearms safety. Furthermore (as pointed out here) State hunting regulations prohibit loaded firearms in a residential area. They also prohibit the use of artificial lights for coyote hunting. Coyote kills must be reported to the MA DFW. 2016 coyote season is scheduled from 10/17/2015 to 3/8/2016. Coyote hunting hours depend on the date, location, and type of weapon and ammunution; but never include the hours from midnight to 1/2 hour before sunrise. See also: general hunting prohibitions. See also: MA gun laws.
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Thank you for setting the record straight!
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Some hotshot with a gun hunting coyotes in the middle of the night scares me FAR more than the coyotes themselves. Yikes! And to the folks suggesting they be hunted or removed from Gloucester, good luck with that. They’d be right back as fast as you could sneeze. In fact, if some nut is hunting coyotes in East Gloucester, thanks a lot–they’re likely to step up their breeding as a result. From all the fear I’m seeing on this thread (and elsewhere), I’d suggest a local forum and campaign on how to live peacefully with our local wildlife. Maybe we could get folks from Wolf Hollow, Kestrel, Audubon, etc. to participate. Seems like a lot of disinformation out there. Fearful reactions rarely end well.
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You got that right Funky. The alpha male and female stability and presence keeps only the alpha female in estrous. Kill one or both of the alphas (usually the only ones you see) and the rest of the pack goes into fecundity overdrive which drives the population way up past the normal leveled off population.
So if someone is actually trying to shoot them on Eastern Point they are making the problem much worse which might make incidents like this occur. The shockwave of a missing alpha or two could also kick the other packs on the Cape into overdrive.
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I would be willing to contact the MA Division of Fish and Wildlife in Westboro, MA to send a Fur Bearing Biologist to speak on the topic at a forum. Also, I would contact Jonathan G. Way, biologist and see if he could recommend a speaker from Project Coyote – Fostering Coexistence.
Just let me know.
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ANIMAL CONTROL!! HAHAHA that would require them to actually get out of their car and do the job they get paid for.
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If this is a rabid animal of course it should be killed and tested.
I don’t understand how people refuse to listen to real science about these animals and why killing them doesn’t work and actually creates more coyotes.
The people killing are actually the cause of so many being here and them expanding their range.
Humans are idiots when it comes to “population control”
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There must be a better way than residents shooting coyotes…jeez!!
We residents should not have to be taking matters into our own hands. This has always been my point – just saying “they were here first” does nothing. Random people shooting them is hardly the higher path. I would like to see our incoming mayor step up to the plate and figure this out. Or our police chief! He is doing spectacular things for addiction, in turn lighting the way for other communities to do the same. PLEASE figure out a solution to our coyote issue! So many towns on the North Shore – and all over New England – are struggling with this. Let’s lead the way again, Chief! Why wait until a someone is seriously hurt? I am sending this plea to him.
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HALLELUJAH!!!!
My wish has come true. Informational coyote meeting happening in January…
http://gloucester-ma.gov/CivicAlerts/#899_SingleEntryView
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Based on description alone – this coyote may have been sick. This is very traumatic if she was dozing in back yard and coyote jumped up on here. I would recommend seeking treatment also. This is not just a New England issue but nation wide there are more encounters with humans. Coyotes are very smart and know where the food sources are with little effort too.
I offer this as informational only –
It’s nearly impossible to completely eradicate coyotes from an area. Despite bounties and large-scale efforts to kill coyotes over the last 100 years, coyotes have in fact expanded their range throughout the U.S. and Canada tremendously. One study even found that killing 75% of a coyote population every year for 50 years would still not exterminate the population.
Click to access coyote_conflict_solutions.pdf
Click to access template-coyote-management-plan.pdf
http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/coyotes.html
Click to access coyotesplace_3up_finallayout072709.pdf
http://www.wildlifeanimalcontrol.com/coyotes.html
Click to access Coyote%20Fact%20Sheet%20revSept2015.pdf
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Thank you for being the voice of reason and I’m really happy to see that we have many comments that understand the science of these animals.
The fear and hysteria demanding the killing of these animals is exactly what made these animals so successful.
Killing them doesn’t work and only makes more coyotes.
Only thing it does is sell hunting permits, hunting gear and let’s people who like to kill things get their rocks off.
Killing them INCREASES their numbers!
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Thank you to everyone commenting. We appreciate hearing from the wide spectrum of opinions. There were several comments that were trashed as they were extremely unkind and all future comments on this post will only be approved if they are not made anonymously.
My empathy lies with the victim of the coyote attack. She is a kind caring, compassionate, woman who loves animals and she is torn by what happened. She has asked that her name be removed from the post because of the negative commentary. I hope that people will continue to come forward to share their stories of coyote-human encounters and attacks. Hopefully a humane solution can be reached that takes into consideration not only the fact that we have a growing population of predator living in our midst but equally as important, if not more, the people in our community who are directly affected by its behaviors.
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Well said Kim and there are points of view all the way around listen and learn from all! I was taught a different way from native friends on animals and I respect everyone’s differences on the subject…The podcast was very good too I was listening to it while doing research the bottom line in all is respect is always two-way street! Thanks! 🙂 Dave
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She really needs to see a doctor and tell him the animal was possibly rabid. A small scratch can lead to rabies, it doesn’t have to be a bite. People have been exposed to rabies by hawk attacks,because the hawk had tainted blood on its talons from prey. The hawk didn’t have it, it attacked because it was defending its nest, but the animal it had killed recently did. While an animal that feels cornered can attack, usually when they get the chance to escape, they do. They don’t hang around,like this one did. The saliva in her hair could lead to infection, especially if she had a small scratch on her scalp. I hope she’s okay and I really hope she goes to a doctor. Two people have died in the past couple of years because they developed rabies and neither were aware that they had it. One got a scratch on his scalp when a rabid bat flew and hit his head in the attack, another was a little girl who did not tell anyone she got scratched by an animal.
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Thank you so very much for writing Ramona. I am not sure if she is still reading the comments, but I will be sure she sees this one. Many thanks again for your excellent advice.
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http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/usa/surveillance/human_rabies.html
Where are you getting your information? Rabies is an extraordinarily rare disease, and no one in MA has contracted it in many, many years.
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Rabies is rare in humans but it is found in animals in Massachusetts every year.
Skunks and raccoon being the most common testing positive.
Hawks don’t normally kill the type of animals that are sick, but great horned owls favorite dinner is skunk and I would worry if taloned by one.
No one should ever brush off possible exposure.
There is no cure for rabies and it kills.
Getting post exposure shots is the smart thing to do.
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/01/29/mass_man_dies_after_contracting_rabies_from_bat/
From 2012.
Rabid fox attack from 2015
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/29010353/pregnant-woman-8-year-old-attacked-by-rabid-fox
I can’t find the story about the little girl who died, but why would you want to take a chance if you are attacked by an animal that might be sick?
I have only lived in New England 7 years and I’ve seen on the news or read stories about a woman getting bit on the butt by a rabid fox, a mother and son attacked by a rabid animal (I think it was a bobcat) in their garage and a man being attacked by a rabid woodchuck in his back yard, which his dog killed.
I’m not saying it happens every day, but it certainly does happen.
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Just wanted to add my 2 cents…I have spent countless hours observing and photographing Eastern Coyotes in East Gloucester for the last 13-14 months. I have been as close as 8-10 feet away from one of them many times. Other than one incident when an unleashed dog charged a particular male coyote, have I ever seen one inkling of aggressive behavior. I have not seen this particular coyote for a few days. Certainly hope he was not the coyote accused of an attack.
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I would think that spending 13-14 months photographing the coyotes might present a danger in itself. Are you getting these animals comfortable with you? Therefore comfortable with humans in general could cause more harm than good as they will begin to get comfortable with all humans and this could cause their death which is what it sounds like you are against. Take a break and leave the poor animals in the woods. How many pictures do you really need anyway?
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I have heard photographers are feeding meat to the Coyotes on Farrington Ave. to get better shots. This is probably why these Coyotes are not afraid of people now and possibly why this woman was attacked.
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The absolute worst thing and I sincerely hope that is not the case.
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I don’t want to pry in the woman’s business, but did the woman who was attacked go to a doctor?
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Please remove my comment from your story. You allow “anonymous” to bash me. But do not allow me to answer.
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Good episode of PBS “Nature” aired this week on coyotes and coy-wolfs: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/coywolf-meet-the-coywolf/8605/
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Thank you sscap. I’ve seen it. You’ll notice that they use the word coywolf, “Meet the Coywolf,” in the title (to gain viewers I imagine), but for the most part the scientists refer to it throughout the film as a coyote. That is because as the western coyote migrated eastward in the past century, a few bred with wolves (and domestic dogs) because there weren’t many other coyotes around. As the coyote now populates nearly every corner of the continental U.S. and is continuing its migration through Central America, it will most likely breed with other coyotes. The Eastern Coyote is very roughly 10 percent domestic dog and 10 percent wolf. As time goes by the percentage is predicted to shrink because species in general prefer to breed with another of their own kind.
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