Coyote activity getting ugly in Gr. Lynn

NAHANT – After losing her beloved cat, a heartbroken pet owner is imploring residents to protect their pets from coyotes.Elaine Caira said Dusty was torn to pieces on the Kelly Greens golf course by either coydogs or coyotes.?Dusty is a tomcat we got from the shelter,” she said. “He was a gentle little soul. He would see a bird in front of him and just look at the pretty colors. It’s just so sad.”Caira lives near the seventh hole at Kelly Greens Golf Course. She said when a golfer told her husband Paul Caira they saw the remains of a cat head in that area, he set out to look for Dusty on Thursday.?Paul went to the golf course and looked,” she said. “He found pieces of Dusty. He found the tail and pieces of fur. Retrieving our pet’s partially eaten and scattered remains was not a pretty sight. It’s really sad. I know it was the coydog that lives in the area.”A coydog is the hybrid offspring of a male coyote and a female dog.Paul Caira said he was with his son Michael Caira on Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. when he saw a coyote or coydog just off a path that leads to the golf course.?It had a long body, long tail, low bushy fur and was totally unafraid.” Paul Caira said. “When we approached the animal, it at first walked toward us but turned, lay down, rested, got up, walked a bit further, rested and finally trotted off into the bushes.”Nahant Police Lt. Thomas Hutton said the department has received several calls from residents regarding coyotes near the golf course.Animal Control Officer Michael Kairevich said this was not the first missing cat in town.?We’ve had reports of three or four cats missing,” he said. “I found remains of a feral cat at East Point last week. The coyotes around here have mixed with eastern wolves so coyotes in the Northeast are larger than the ones out west. Because many have bred with wolves, it gives them a pack-hunting instinct.”Kairevich added the woodchuck population has declined so the coyotes are looking for other food sources, which can include domestic animals.Marion Larson, a biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said the coyotes are exhibiting natural behavior.?Coyotes will prey on small cats and dogs that are left unattended,” she said. “It is a completely natural behavior and we don’t consider it a public safety threat ? There have been three coyote attacks on people in the last 50 years and two of those animals were rabid.”Larson added there is no reason to trap and relocate the coyotes.?First of all it is illegal to move wildlife from one place to another in this state,” she said. “There are some very good biological reasons for this. The animals can return. The animals do not know where food, water and shelter are in the new place and other coyotes will not welcome them with open arms.”Kairevich said there are ways residents can discourage wildlife from visiting their property.He suggested securing trash, removing bird feeders and keeping property clear of brush.?If someone sees a coyote they could make a lot of noise or shine bright lights to scare it off,” he said. “People should be aware of their surroundings and not let pets out unattended.”Caira said she has a dog and another cat that she will not be letting out anytime soon.?We’re not letting them out unless they are on a leash,” she said. “All residents should be aware of the danger these wild coydogs present to our pets.”Kairevich, who is also the assistant animal control officer in Lynn, said there haven’t been many problems with coyotes in Lynn, but that is not necessarily the case in other North Shore communities.Saugus Canine Control Officer Harold Young said a pack of coyotes took down a deer in town on Wednesday night in the Walden Pond area, which backs up to the Lynn Woods.?Wednesday night a woman heard them howling and a deer leg was found on their property,” Young said. “When they make a kill, they will howl to tell other members of the pack to come eat ? .”Young added the wildlife populat