Town of Walden Seeks Solution for Coyote Problem

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Credit Garrett Crowe

Flyer posted around the town of Walden

The Coyote is not a native animal to Tennessee, but on any given night, you may see them in rural and urban areas of Hamilton County.

Since November, the town of Walden on Signal Mountain has reported a number of coyote sightings. Walden's concerns are obvious: Why is the coyote here? What is it hunting for? And is the animal dangerous?

However, these simple questions don't exactly have simple answers.

Jeremy Hooper of Chattanooga believes coyotes and citizens of Walden can co-exist using methods involving food clean-up and hazing, an act that scares the coyote without physical harm.

And in the Narraganset Bay Coyote Study, Dr. Numi Mitchell and her colleagues learned that controlling food resources regulated coyote population.