Brazen coyotes encountering more people

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Coyote sightings are on the increase in Albuquerque this year as the wild critters stroll through parts of the city looking for an easy meal.

Dora Lawrence loves walking the trails near Tramway Boulevard with her dogs.

"I've walked them for 25 years," she told KRQE News 13.

Her walks, other than spotting a glowing sunset, have been pretty uneventful. But last week her heart was racing but not from the exercise.

"I was shocked; I was truly afraid," Lawrence said. "He was very brave and brazen. He just kept on walking toward us."

She was walking down a path right next to a busy Tramway when the coyote stopped right in front of her.

Lawrence clapped at the coyote, and he eventually ran away.

Coyote sightings are happening more often, according to Bernalillo County animal-control officers.

They've seen an uptick in coyote calls compared to last year especially in the foothills, but they can't really say why.

What they do know is the coyotes are looking for food and will go anywhere to get it.

Animal control said coyotes have hopped fences to get to dog food in people's backyards and not just in the Northeast Heights near the Sandia Mountains.

In one case at a home near Fourth Street NW and Paseo del Norte, a coyote jumped a fence and knocked over a barbecue to get to a piece of leftover chicken."

Other walkers told New 13 they've are seeing more of them close to homes

"They will walk with you as you walk up in the morning," one woman walking a Tramway trail said. "They stay their distance but they do come down."

The coyotes prefer to eat jackrabbits and mice, but anything is game--including pets--if they are hungry.

"This dog has a heart conditions and he's slowing down of late," Lawrence said. "I don't think he could fend off the coyote."

County animal control says it hasn't had any reports of coyotes attacking pets this year. Still, if you do walk your dog outside, they recommend keeping it on a leash.