MARBLEHEAD, MASS. (WHDH) - The Massachusetts Environmental Police scoped out a Marblehead neighborhood Tuesday where it is believed a jogger was bitten by a coyote Monday evening.
The victim described the animal that attacked her as yellow, mid-sized, with pointy ears, according to police. Initially, she thought the creature was a dog without a collar after she was bitten on Brown Street, near the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, police said.
“We pretty much know all the dogs in the area and never really had a problem with a tan dog running around biting people. So when we showed the victim a picture of a coyote, the individual said it was most likely a coyote,” said Dan Proulx, a Marblehead Animal Control officer.
Coyote sightings are not uncommon in the community. Home security videos from the past year show coyotes roaming in local Marblehead yards.
One resident recorded the sound of coyotes howling. Another person living in town took a photo of two coyotes going through trash last week.
“They’ve cut through somebody’s yard and I’m walking down the road and we’re like ‘Oh that’s you, that’s me,’ and we stare at each other and I’m like, ‘I’m going to go this way now and you’re not going to come with me,’” said Kathi Helmes, who spotted the coyotes last week.
In Monday’s case, authorities said the jogger was bitten three times and is getting treated for rabies.
“Whenever there’s an issue like this, we usually look for feeding sources, dens, whether it’s breeding time or pup season,” Proulx said.
However, the officers said none of those scenarios are currently taking place. As investigators try to locate the coyote and figure out what caused the animal to attack, the neighborhood association alerted people living nearby to be on the lookout.
“It’s another thing we think about as we walk outside the front door,” said Nick Walton, president of the Marblehead Neck Association. “The more we understand them, the better we can protect ourselves and cohabitate with all these risks.”
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