Mass. officials warn against feeding wildlife as coyote attacks increase

Once upon a time, many of us associated coyotes with the Wild West.

But coyotes are all around us, from southern New Hampshire to suburban Boston. And the collision between these animals and humans doesn't always work out so well. This year in Massachusetts, there have been reports of six people being bitten by coyotes, with the same number last year.

Now, 12 bites over two years might not seem sound like much. But those 12 attacks make up half of all coyote attacks ever recorded in the state, going back to 1998 when authorities logged the first incident.

We dig into this data with Julie Flaherty, chief of police in Arlington, where three of the six bites this year have taken place, and Dave Wattles, a black bear and fur-bearer biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.