Community Meeting on Coyotes Jan. 29

People are talking about coyotes again.

At 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 29, the Druid Hills Civic Association will hold a meeting for intown Atlanta communities like Decatur that are affected by these wild canine creatures.

The meeting will be held in the parish hall at the Church of the Epiphany at 2089 Ponce de Leon Ave., just outside the Decatur city limits.

The speakers will include:

• Chip Elliott, a coyote trapper who has worked through the metro Atlanta area for over two decades.

• Chris Mowry, head of the biology department at Berry College who has studied coyotes in the southeast and Yellowstone National Park.

• Mary A. Paglieri, a consultant with Little Blue Society in the San Francisco area, which specializes in human-animal conflict resolution.

Decatur neighborhoods have complained about coyotes for years. The last flurry of complaints came in late 2011 after a resident of the East Parkwood Road neighborhood saw a coyote snatch her cat off the front porch.

Decatur officials adhere to the live-and-let-live philosophy with coyotes, saying eradication only allows new groups of coyotes to move in.

Previous Decatur/Avondale Estates Patch stories about coyotes:

• Coyotes in your Backyard: Decatur Residents See Them Often
  

• Decatur Residents Angry About Coyotes

• Decatur City Commission: No Decision on Coyotes

• Decatur Wants Help Tracking Coyotes