BEVERLY — A coyote spotted enjoying the afternoon sun in Beverly on Wednesday was quickly scared away by an animal care and control officer.
Officer Ricardo Aguilar was responding to a call of a coyote in the area when he observed a healthy-looking coyote in a front yard at 10520 S. Longwood Drive.
Aguilar quietly approached the animal, who quickly fled. The officer gave up the search after the coyote disappeared into a maze of residential fences, trees and bushes.
"We just try to take them so nobody gets hurt," Aguilar said.
While a coyote has been spotted in the area before, this was the first call Aguilar said he's received.
"We only relocate them. We don't harm them," said Aguilar, adding that captured coyotes are released in a suburban nature preserve.
Aguilar said the coyote in Beverly was particularly close to both St. Barnabas School and Barnard Park.
"Kids could think it's a dog," Aguilar said.
And while it's very difficult to catch a coyote, Aguilar claims he's done it. The trick is to corner the animal and snare it with rope attached to a special stick, which keeps the coyote from harming the officer.
Aguilar hoped he permanently scared away the coyote on Wednesday. But if residents happen to spot the animal again, he urged them to call 311.
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