Sprawl of the Wild

Tom Gassner, who served almost 27 years as Solon's animal control officer, watched coyote complaints explode after that city's population doubled.

"No offense, but usually it's a woman, and usually she sees something on TV," Gassner says. "She'll call up and say, 'I have little kids,' or 'I have a dog.' Every time they see a coyote now, they panic."

Media reports have focused on the coyote as a fearless killer. One of the most notorious examples was a Fox 8 story that described coyotes preying on a dog. The segment ended with a child's swing, swaying empty in the breeze. The link was clear: First they'll get your pet, next your kid.

Parents reacted by calling City Hall and demanding action.

"We have a lot of wealthy and educated people in Solon," Gassner says. "Some of them are so wealthy and educated, they've skipped the basics in life. They think every raccoon has rabies. They think every coyote is going to go after their kids or their little dog."

A coyote did kill a child 20 years ago in Glendale, California, but such violence is extremely rare. The Division of Wildlife must rule an animal a menace to public safety before it will remove it, Beagle says. But Ohio has yet to find a coyote fitting of that label.

"Really, you have a much higher risk of being attacked by your neighborhood dog than by a coyote," Beagle says. "You should consider yourself lucky if you see a coyote."

Gassner says he never encountered a dangerous coyote. Chuck McCleary, Strongsville's animal control officer, recalls a coyote once attacking a local fox terrier, but he thinks the attack could have been prevented. "In my opinion, the coyote was egged on by seeing the dog tied outside for a long period of time. The coyote cased the house and knew it would be easy."

The dog survived after his alarmed owner chased away the coyote with a broom.

"And that's what needs to be done," McCleary says. "If you make a coyote feel uncomfortable, he's going to leave you alone."

But even McCleary has acquiesced to Strongsville's concerns. After numerous complaints, the city set traps this spring. "With people's concerns and the amount of calls we've gotten, we had to try to appease the residents," he says. For almost two months, the clumsy box traps have straddled the city's border with the Metroparks. Coyotes have stayed away.

Perhaps that's for the better, says David Gaillard of the Predator Conservation Alliance in Bozeman, Montana. Since coyotes are monogamous, eliminating one may only trigger the start of a new family or create a renegade "lone wolf" coyote who travels from place to place, mating -- and snacking -- at will. ODNR literature also suggests that, when coyotes are killed, other coyotes will mate earlier and have more babies.

"Their pack structure is a nice mechanism for keeping a rein on their territory," Gaillard says. "If you have ones that are stabilized, that keeps the renegades out. If you kill one, there's only another one that will come after that. It's not a real solution."

For the coyotes living in what will become Martin's Run, time is running out. Lorain Deputy Safety/Service Director Jos´ Escobar says he had no choice but to hire a professional trapper this spring. City officials fretted that the upcoming development would send greater numbers of coyotes into residential areas, this time more hungry and desperate.

"They have their young ones, and they need to get food for them," Escobar says. "Apparently, they were already coming into people's yards."

When city officials announced plans to kill the coyotes, they received zero complaints. Instead, people called to thank them.

"I thought we'd have at least a couple do-gooders trying to stop it," Escobar admits, laughing. "But people were happy about it . . . People out there feel safe now."

As for Latimer, she won't rest easy until every last coyote is gone. The traps may be set, but she continues to worry.

"I still have fear, of course," she says. "They haven't caught them all yet. That's what they need to do if they want me to feel safe."