Aggressive coyotes reported in Ahwatukee

AHWATUKEE, AZ - Coyotes are not rare in the Ahwatukee Foothills, but what is raising some concern is a recent incident where two of the animals nearly attacked a woman who was walking her dog.

The Foothills Homeowner's Association, managed by Rossmar, sent out an e-mail to residents Thursday, warning them to be on alert for aggressive coyotes in the area.

The e-mail states that one of their irrigation workers witnessed two coyotes approaching a woman with her dog.  It states they were growling and "ready to strike."  That worker ended up scaring off the animals before anyone was injured.

Long time resident Joe Robinson was a little surprised to hear that the animals were aggressive.  

He says he sees coyotes around his home near 19th Street and Chandler several times a week and normally they run off when they see humans.

"I guess as animals get more tame they are less afraid to get close to humans," he said.

Tom Candon with the Arizona Game and Fish Department said that they get tons of calls about coyotes, but unless there is a threat there isn't much that can be done.

Given the circumstances of the above incident, he encouraged those involved to contact the office.

A representative with the HOA tells ABC15 that they had at least one other report of an aggressive coyote recently.

Here is what a coyote expert with the Arizona Game and Fish Department says you can do to protect yourself, pets, and family if you come across the wild animals:

"Having an air horn; that's a great way to scare off most anything,” Game and Fish employee Randy Babb suggests. “Carry a can or bag of pebbles or coins that you can throw at the coyote; that often startles them. Also, an umbrella opened towards the direction of the coyotes will almost always scare them away."