Rock Island crews will set traps to try to help prevent encounters with aggressive coyotes near Black Hawk State Park.
City Manager Thomas Thomas said the traps were part of the “precautionary steps” the city planned to take after residents reported attacks on their pets and aggressive behavior by wild coyotes in the area.
“Animal Control is coordinating with a wildlife service on trapping a pair of nuisance coyotes who have displayed some aggressive behavior likely attributed to protecting a den site,” said a statement from Thomas.
“By nature, coyotes are timid and shy animals that tend to steer clear of any potential danger; thus posing little threat to humans. Despite these characteristics, problems sometimes do occur,” the statement said.
Thomas promised traps would be set by the end of the week.
He recommended some preventative measures to reduce the chance of an encounter with a coyote. Don’t feed coyotes and don’t leave food, including pet food and garbage, in a place where it would be accessible to coyotes. Coyotes are also attracted to birds and rodents that come to bird feeders, so eliminating bird seed and bird feeder use could also help. In addition, you should not allow your pets to run free.
