UPDATE: Coyotes Are At It Again At Acres of Hope

Perhaps the new fallen January snow meant readily available food sources were tougher to find, but Lisa Alberte, nurse and director of , reported that coyotes made another try for the animals in residence there on Saturday.

"This early morning three coyotes surprised everyone as they were spotted running the animal grounds at Acres of Hope & Aspirations and were chasing the Creatures of Rehab including the blind pony, disabled mini-donkey, and pet ducks and geese," Alberte said. "With the help of staff and the large one-year-old Mareema sheepdog pups, the coyotes were chased around the grounds and ran out through the area they had dug unknowingly during the night under the steel fence."

It was a little over a year ago that a similar attack left several animals dead, so Alberte was relieved that this was not the case this time.

"Luckily, the coyotes did not have any luck killing any of the animals like they did last year when they killed five disabled animals at our rehab farm.  Staff fear these coyotes may be the scouts for a larger pack that can be heard howling at night in and near the wooded area of Kurth Park and will return again looking for food," she said. 

The hole the coyotes had dug under the steel fence has been filled with big rocks and will continue to be monitored to protect the animals.    

Alberte asked for everyone to protect their pets when letting them out, especially as the recent frozen ground and snow are making it harder for coyotes to find food. She said the residents were pretty unnerved by the event, and, "one of our patients believes the biggest coyote he saw chasing our animals was about 40 pounds."

UPDATE: Alberte reported the coyotes returned Sunday night and killed the "big white goose who took all the younger ducks under her wing and nutured them." 

"Obviously our two young pups may be too young to know how to go after all these predators or the coyotes were too clever to sneak under the fence and outsmarted the big pups.  We are very sad and fear for the two pet deer who refuse to go into any shelter."