The Galveston Daily News
By Scott E. Williams
Published 02/26/04

La Marque— A handful of residents have spotted coyotes in parts of the city, and police are advising pet owners to bring their animals in at night.

Police Capt. Donald Head said residents had reported seeing coyotes near the area of Lake Road and Main Street and said they could have been flushed out by construction near Highland Bayou Park.

“We’ve had several seen by citizens, usually late at night,” Head said. “Sometimes, when it gets colder, it pushes them into parts of the city where people see them.”

Kurt Koopmann, public information officer for the county’s health district, which oversees the animal control office, said development and increased wild animal sightings often go hand in paw.

“A lot of it has to do with our expanding population of residents,” he said. “We’re building in the places where they have been.”

Koopmann said city officials had notified animal control agents of the sightings, but Head said their courses of action were limited.

“Coyotes can be difficult to trap in rural areas, because (officials) set out traps, and people’s pets end up getting caught in them,” he said.

Police in Friendswood caught a coyote during the weekend that could have been involved in the mauling death of a resident’s cat.

Head said no La Marque pets had been reported missing or killed by wild animals.