Police track large coyote with paw caught in illegal trap… [VIDEO]

Above photos: Taken this afternoon after trapped coyote was spotted near homeowner’s dog.

SANDWICH – A homeowner was surprised when she spotted the wounded coyote in her backyard, just a few feet away from her dog. The coyote didn’t seem interested in her pet she said, it was hurt and had its head down as it walked into the woods.

At about 5:00PM, HN responded to the quiet family neighborhood of Highfield Drive after a Sandwich Natural Resource officer reported there was a coyote with its leg caught in a trap.

Massachusetts Environmental Police arrived and told HN that it’s not only illegal to use leg traps, it’s also illegal to merely possess them.

An Environmental Police Officer entered the woods with a rifle in case he had to euthanize the wounded coyote. The coyote was still able to walk, even with his paw caught in the trap..

The Environmental Officer tracked the coyote for a period of time and told HN he did observe the leg trap. The coyote was still able to move pretty well as it fled toward a larger wooded area. The officer had no choice but to discontinue the track due to darkness. Mass. Environmental Police will resume the search tomorrow.

The Environmental Police Officer told HN the wounded coyote could have wandered into the neighborhood from as far away as three miles. And that sometimes people with chickens or small animals have been known to illegally use the traps.

But the traps are considered inhumane, and in the case of tonight’s injured coyote, it will likely suffer considerably before it either dies or is euthanized. There have been some cases where coyotes have managed to self-amputate a paw and still survive for a period of time….

HN spoke with the homeowner who initially spotted the coyote in her yard. She said police arrived and told her to take her dog inside and remain away from the area. Another neighbor told HN the police did not want people in the area of the wounded coyote, because it could potentially be dangerous.

A jogger out with her dog told HN that the coyotes in the area are very large. She believes they are actually “coywolves,”a larger relative of coyotes, that have been growing in numbers in the Northeast.

An Environmental Officer confirmed that coyotes in the Sandwich area are often larger than the ones you typically find out west.

When asked by a homeowner if it was safe to let the dogs out this evening, the officer replied he didn’t believe the wounded coyote was in the condition to hunt family dogs at this time.

The homeowner, however, stated she planned to keep her beloved family dog inside tonight just to be on the safe side.

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