Neighbors say coyotes are getting bolder in local park

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A warning to families with small children and pets in Cobb County after neighbors say a pack of brazen coyotes have been following people at a popular park.

The Department of Natural Resources told Channel 2 Cobb County bureau reporter Chris Jose that the behavior is unusual.

The incidents have taken place at Riverline Park, which is full of soccer fields, a playground and walking trails that are popular with families in that area.

Neighbors are concerned that the animals are becoming more aggressive.

“They’re wild animals. You just never know what can happen,” neighbor Wanna Sim said.

Neighbors who live near the park shared pictures of at least three coyotes who they say followed a man and his 90-pound dog on the walking trail.

The barking dog didn’t scare the pack away.

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Parkgoers told Jose they’ve seen the coyotes at the park before, but they’ve never been this brazen in the past.

“You just got to be careful,” Sim said. “Usually they kind of stay away. Usually when we do see something, it’s out in the woods or they’re kind of hidden.”

Sim and his family told Jose they’ll keep their 2-year-old Yorkie-Chihuahua mix close by.

Jose showed the pictures of the coyotes to parkgoer Manuela Hernandez.

She said she walks her dog every day on the walking trail at the park.

“It’s kind of scary. But now that we know, we’ll be more careful,” Hernandez said.

The DNR told Jose that the coyotes do not normally approach people, but it is possible. The time of the year doesn’t make a big difference.

According to the DNR, coyotes in urban settings may become more brazen and bolder as they adapt to people.

“I guess I would just keep walking, or walk faster, and just try to get away from them,” Hernandez said.

Officials recommend families to be loud and bold, or throw sticks or clumps of dirt, if coyotes approach and become aggressive.

Sim said he’ll start taking precautions.

“Some of the dogs have been bitten, so yeah, we definitely have to be careful,” he said.

Several subdivisions surround the park. On Friday, neighbors saw the coyotes near the entrance.

Over the summer, neighbors told Jose that a coyote attacked a 90-pound dog.

Cox Media Group