A routine dog walk in Brookline turned into a wildlife horror show Tuesday night when a woman found herself surrounded by a small pack of coyotes, prompting neighbors to rush to her aid. She screamed and waved her arms to scare the animals off, then sprinted to a nearby house where residents pulled her inside. Police say neither the woman nor her dog was injured.
Brookline police said officers responded to reports of screams shortly after 8 p.m. and found a woman who told them three coyotes had encircled her. She reported that one of the animals tried to go after her dog and that she managed to drive the coyotes away by yelling and waving her arms, according to NBC Boston.
How police and neighbors responded
When officers arrived, they learned the woman had made it to the corner of Sargent Road and Codman Road, where neighbors let her inside their home, according to Patch. Deputy Superintendent Russell O'Neill told Patch that "No human or dog was physically touched by the coyotes, they were not scratched or bitten." The animals reportedly followed the woman partway up a neighbor's driveway before finally peeling off, Patch reports.
Why coyotes are showing up more often
Wildlife experts say it is not your imagination: coyotes tend to become more visible in winter and spring as they search for mates and care for pups, and their growing comfort with urban life means they now appear in suburbs and city streets much more frequently, according to Boston.com. The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife urges residents to remove food attractants, keep pets supervised or indoors, and use "hazing" techniques, such as making loud noises, waving arms, or using noisemakers, to re-establish a coyote's fear of people, per MassWildlife.
When to report a sighting
Brookline's police department advises residents to call 911 if an animal poses an immediate threat to human safety. Non-emergency sightings should be reported through the town's online coyote-sighting form or by calling dispatch, according to the department's fact sheet. That fact sheet also notes it is against state law to relocate coyotes and that MassWildlife should be contacted before any lethal removal, per the Brookline Police Department, and residents can file a report using the Brookline Police Department online form.
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