Mar 10, 2010 10:37 pm US/Central
Wheaton Coyote Killing Stops -- For Now
WHEATON, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Coyote (File photo)
Thad Roan/CBS
Four coyotes have been trapped and
killed in Wheaton, but tonight, the trapper says the killings have stopped -- for now. He thinks that may be enough, but it depends on what shows up on camera. CBS 2's Anne State reports.
He says he's got cameras hidden around town. He wouldn't tell us where. He says he doesn't want to kill all the coyotes, just the troublemakers. But some people wish he wouldn't kill any at all.
Randy King has lived in Wheaton a dozen years, and that's about how many coyotes he's seen just this year.
"They walked right down here yesterday," King said. "We see them all the time."
King and his wife Roseanne moved out here because they like being close to trees, open space and wildlife. He showed us the spot where, earlier this winter, he spotted a coyote and took a photograph of it.
King doesn't mind the coyotes.
"No, not at all. Love 'em," he said.
King lives very close to a creek and a golf course where coyotes have been spotted. Four were recently trapped and killed in this area. King's reaction?
"Not really too happy about it," he said.
But the trapper, Rob Erickson, says three of the four coyotes had a bad case of scarcoptic mange. Erickson said he has set up cameras in Wheaton. He wants to see if there are more sick coyotes out there. If so, he says he's got his work cut out for him.
Animals with mange lose their fur. They come close to buildings and homes looking for warmth and food.
Randy King's dogs are big, but some of his neighbors with small dogs worry that coyotes will eat them. Some parents worry about their kids. They want the coyotes gone. King doesn't.
"But I think just to round them up indiscriminately, to put them down isn't necessarily the route to go, because they are just going to come back," King said.
At least one councilman agrees. He thinks this is a waste of money, only good for the trapper.
But the trapper says he is looking for the "Alpha Pair": the male and female that control the area. He thinks he got 'em. He's hoping that will solve most of the problems.
He also says if people wouldn't feed these animals, he wouldn't have to kill them.
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