Coyotes roam parks and yards in Englewood. They are a problem, but the city can manage the issue.

That was part of the comments Englewood Police Chief Tom Vandermee made to the city council during the March 2 study session.

Vandermee and Police Commander Gary Condreay made the presentation to the council in light of the recent publicity about human run-ins with coyotes.

Condreay said he found the Feb. 11 coyote symposium put on by the Colorado Department of Wildlife very informative, including reports from a number of area communities about their programs to deal with the animals.

He said a record check indicated that, prior to two weeks ago, there were four reports about coyotes. Two were sightings, one was a report of two coyotes attacking a cat and one was a report of a coyote attacking a goose.

However, two weeks ago, police officers on patrol were asked to report coyote sightings and there have been nine sightings reported in that time span. Most of the reports are from officers on the late night shift, Condreay said.

At the symposium, the police commander said wildlife officials said in just about every case of human-coyote attacks, someone in that area has been either feeding the animals or leaving food out for them.

The state officials said a cardinal rule is not to provide an easily accessible food source and generally coyotes won’t hang around. Their suggestions, since coyotes eat just about anything, is not to set food for your pets outside the house, keep trash in secured cans and pick up fruit that drops off your trees because coyotes will eat that too.

Englewood police officials said the city plan is to have patrol officers harass coyotes when they sight them by throwing things at them and yelling at them because, according to experts, harassed coyotes will leave the area.

Additionally, the city plans to work with the division of wildlife to distribute educational information about coyotes and how to keep them away.

However, if there are reports of aggressive coyotes, the city will seek assistance from wildlife division professionals to help identify the animal and either move it out of the area, or if absolutely necessary, put it down.

John Watson, an Englewood resident who lives near Belleview Park, said he usually gets home from his job about 3 a.m. and frequently sees coyotes in that area. However, he said none have been aggressive or hung around when he takes his little dog for a walk.

He added that he has been reading about the recent coyote attacks and now carries a number of stones with him to throw at the animals when he sees them.