East Lyme — A family of coyotes that recently moved into downtown Niantic is upsetting residents, who say the animals' frequent activity puts neighborhood walkers on edge, threatens the lives of small pets and affects the quality of life in town.

“It was crossing the street from CVS. I was driving down Pennsylvania Avenue and it ran right in front of my car,” Niantic resident Anne Thurlow said by phone on Tuesday, before approaching town officials.

She said coyotes have been sighted all along Smith Street where she lives, as well as downtown; they dart between houses and businesses.

Thurlow was one of six Niantic residents who complained about the coyote invasion in town during public comment at the East Lyme Board of Selectmen’s regular meeting on Wednesday.

First Selectman Kevin Seery said at the meeting that the Waterford-East Lyme Animal Control Office has received many calls about coyotes being around town, but so far there have been no reports of aggressive coyote behavior toward humans.

On July 28, the town will host a presentation from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to help offer solutions. For now, Waterford-East Lyme Animal Control Officer Robert Yuchniuk recommends that the town put up coyote warning signs for residents and visitors with recommendations. He also suggests that residents keep their outside lights on, carry a flashlight at night, make noise like singing or yelling if they see a coyote, keep dogs on a short leash and walk within lit areas.

“I think the current thinking of not relocating them until they become aggressive is not only irresponsible but totally unacceptable,” said Thurlow, a resident of Niantic for 13 years and owner of an 18-pound schnoodle.

She wants the town to take precautions before a possible coyote attack. She cited incidents involving a Massachusetts man whose leg was bitten by a coyote in a shopping area, a 2-year old in Dallas whose head was injured by a coyote on the family’s front porch and a toddler attacked at Huntington Beach, Calif., right in front of adults.

“We pay a premium to live here to be able to walk to the movies and beaches, but you can’t do that anymore in a leisurely fashion. The quality of life is just not the same,” Thurlow said.

She said residents now walk with an air horn or a big stick, constantly look between bushes and fences, and can no longer rely on fenced-in yards for small pets, as coyotes can jump over a 4- to 6-foot fence. Thurlow also is concerned for summer vacationers, especially those with young children who often walk ahead of their parents, who she believes need to be educated on how to react appropriately if they come across a coyote.

“I think it’s a great goal to protect these animals, but I really think you should protect the citizens first,” Thurlow added.

Ann York, who also lives on Smith Street, believes the coyote den, which is estimated to consist of three adults and six pups, is located on the property adjoining hers that has been deserted and overrun by wild animals. She said one of the coyotes went after her dog in her own yard.

“I think the town should do something about these coyotes all over the place. It’s not safe for kids. It’s not safe for dogs. And it’s not fair for the people that live here,” she said.

“I, too, have coyotes going in and out of my yard,” said James McClure of Faulkner Drive, a street off Old Black Point Road. He has a newborn baby, two dogs and a cat and he considers himself to be an animal lover. He would rather have the town address the issue than have to take matters into his own hands.

“I don’t want to see a coyote hurt, but I also don’t want to see my kid hurt," he said.

Jean Mountzoures, also of Smith Street, had her dog killed by a coyote in another neighborhood six years ago. She doesn’t want the traumatic experience repeated. Two months ago, she had to chase her dog, which was on a long leash in her yard, into the woods to prevent a coyote attack.

“We all love animals. I feel like there is something we are not doing appropriately. I’m really disappointed nothing’s been done yet,” Mountzoures said.

Lisa Steinberg of York Avenue, who has been in her home for 20 years, has seen the coyotes daily. “I see them cross my yard, morning, noon and night," she said. 

She said she no longer sees squirrels in her yard and that the pack of coyotes may become permanent members of the community. “They have no predators here.”

Dorothy North, also of Smith Street, methodically logged each time she has come across one for the past couple of months, ever since she witnessed a coyote eating a squirrel in her own yard. She recorded personal sightings of coyotes as early as 10:15 a.m. and later at 3:12 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. She logged them moving on Bond and Sutherland streets and on the corner of Morton Street and Smith Avenue.

North said one of the animals' frequent routes is going through her yard and York’s yard. She spoke with the mailman, school bus driver, senior bus driver and a resident who has seen one outside Snap Fitness Gym, and she said they also have seen the coyotes roaming the streets.

“I don’t know how long these are going to help us,” North said. She pointed out her anti-coyote gear, which includes a waist pack with a flashlight and an air horn, to town officials at the meeting.

At 77 years old, with a bad knee, she said after the meeting, how fast could she move to capture her dog if a coyote were to chase it?

Yuchniuk, the animal control officer, offered information on what his agency can and can’t do to help remedy the current coyote issue in Niantic.

“There are times when my assistant and I deal with wild animals. If there’s a question of rabies, we will remove that animal from the ecosystem so it can’t spread the disease to other animals,” Yuchniuk said.

He said because rabies affects animals neurologically, animal control officers look for signs of the animals appearing drunk or showing any aggression toward humans.

“If we see any of that behavior, that’s when we become concerned and we can take action,” he said. “But for the most part, our hands are tied.”

A nuisance wildlife control company, he said, and residents are allowed to hunt and trap wild animals 365 days per year in Connecticut but they cannot relocate them anywhere else. Because coyotes are a rabies vector species, state law says it’s illegal to capture them in a residential yard and then move them to a forest.

“So, the only other action is for the animal to die,” Yuchniuk said. “But once that animal dies, it creates a vacuum, and another coyote comes in because they’re territorial, so the thing that’s keeping other coyotes out of your neighborhood are the ones you have here now.”

Yuchniuk said while some Eastern coyotes act alone, some are part of a pack and if one is killed, the rest become emboldened.

“I understand what you’re saying about your cats and small dogs and we’re afraid about the children, but as a branch of the government without a statute that allows us to do something, my hands are tied,” Yuchniuk said.

"Coyotes are not new. They are everywhere in the state. In the springtime, they are actively looking for food to feed their young," he said.

He provided residents with a fact sheet about Eastern coyotes and how to live with them from DEEP.

For more information, go to bit.ly/ctcoyotes or bit.ly/DEEPcoyotes.