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Vol. 4 No. 12
Coyote Sightings Cause Concern
Old Fiske Museum Holiday Open House Town History and Art on Display
By Grace Allen Wrentham’s Old Fiske Museum is holding a Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 5 from 10-2. The public is invited to the free event, which will welcome the holidays and showcase
the town’s art and artifacts. The museum will be decorated by the Sohoanno Garden Club. The renovated building, originally the town’s library, is open to the public only once a month. Built in 1894, the museum now houses both the town’s Histori-
cal Commission and Cultural Council. Representatives from both groups will be available to welcome visitors and answer questions at the open house.
OPEN HOUSE
continued on page 3
By Grace Allen In November, some Norfolk residents were notified that Animal Control had received numerous phone calls regarding coyotes in the southwest area of town, including a large animal with an injured paw. Recent coyote attacks on several dogs in Franklin already had Norfolk dog owners on edge. One of the dogs, attacked near the Norfolk line, died. According to Norfolk’s Animal Control Officer Hilary Cohen, the owner had let the animal out into the back yard and “it was over in a second.” Officer Cohen, who is the Eastern Vice President of the Animal Control Officers Association of Massachusetts, said coyotes are nothing new in Norfolk, but people are more aware of them because of social media. In fact, according to the MA Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, coyotes are now in every town in the state. Coyotes are considered opportunistic feeders, and will make a meal from whatever is available, including small pets. “I would not be leaving any small animal outside unattended,” said Cohen.
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The onus is on residents and pet owners to keep coyotes away, preventing them from becoming too comfortable around people, according to Cohen. The animals must be taught to feel safer in the woods than in the neighborhoods. “I think people are innately afraid of coyotes. And if that is the impression that is being given to the coyote, then that coyote feels that it is welcome on the property,” said Cohen. “If people go outside and see a wild animal in their yard and then retreat, the perception in that animal’s mind is ‘this is a safe place to be. I am not going to be harassed by people.’” Keeping coyotes away means doing the opposite of what people instinctively do when they come across one. Cohen said coyotes “basically need to be ‘harassed’ to go back where they should be,” by squirting them with garden hoses, banging together pot and pan lids, or blowing an air horn, for example. “If they are uncomfortable enough, they will change their
COYOTE
continued on page 5
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