Whether coyotes are a neighborhood nuisance or a natural inhabitant has sparked heated debate among homeowners in the Huntcliff subdivision in north Sandy Springs.
Nearly 50 residents met Nov. 1 to discuss a recent decision by the board of directors of the Huntciff Homes Association to hire wildlife trappers to reduce the area’s coyote population.
“We understand this is controversial,” said Dane Seibert, president of the Huntcliff Homes Association, who has received several calls and emails regarding coyote sightings and attacks on pets since he took office 10 months ago.
“We have to push back the population. They’ve gotten too comfortable with us,” Seibert said.
Seibert received a great deal of pushback himself.
But Guy Sommers has lived in Huntcliff for 22 years and says he has only seen one coyote.
“Some of us are dead set against this,” Sommers said. “This is our first notification. I feel the board is jamming this down our throat.”
Many Huntcliff residents agree that coyotes have become a problem, but want to look into options other than trapping them. “Why do something that doesn’t work?” said Mary Young, a five-year Huntcliff resident. “Everything that I’ve read says that they come right back.”
Seibert feels that the issue comes down to whether to kill the coyotes.
“What if we know we have a problem and we don’t do anything and something happens to someone?” Seibert said.
One homeowner recently witnessed her pet cat in the jaws of a coyote while it violently thrashed its head from side-to-side in an attempt to snap the neck of its prey.
Teresa Proctor’s quick instincts saved the cat’s life. “I acted like a big mean dog,” Proctor said. “I was growling and barking.”
The attack was in broad daylight. According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, coyotes primarily hunt at night.
“This is a natural progression of behavior in urban and suburban areas,” said Don McGowan, a wildlife biologist with Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Division. “As coyotes get used to people, their behavior modifies.”
McGowan urges pet owners to modify their behaviors as coyotes modify theirs.
“These are incredibly intelligent animals,” McGowan said. “Now they are just as active during the day as at night.”
Beth Hunger, who has served on the Huntcliff board for five years, said this was not a unanimous decision.
Hunger says past boards felt that it was not their responsibility to police back yards and feels that each homeowner should be make his or her own decisions about their property as well as spending their own money if they want to trap.
The cost of trapping is between $2,300 and $2,800 and lasts about two to six weeks.
“I know this is not popular,” Seibert said. “I stand by my decision to do this.”