NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — It's something people in Bellevue don't see every day: a coyote walking around the neighborhood.
Some people in a Bellevue neighborhood off Colice Jeanne Road spotted a coyote Wednesday afternoon.
Most say they would be surprised to see one of these creatures roaming around in broad daylight, but Jason Harmon says he's not shocked.
“Coyotes have been here a long time, and we're building homes left and right in these city areas and invading their territory, so they're going to be pushed out,” said Harmon, who is with the Tennessee Wildlife and Resources Agency.
Harmon says coyotes usually roam around at night, but it's not uncommon for them to be out during the day if they're looking for food or need to get somewhere.
Jennifer Lantz has lived in Bellevue her entire life and says, until Wednesday afternoon, she's never seen a coyote. She was driving around the neighborhood with her family when they saw one walking around in somebody's front yard.
“At first it was like, ‘Is there a stray dog wandering around?’ And then you kind of look at it and you're like ‘that is not a dog.’”
Her two young kids and her mom were in the car with her, and they couldn't help but try and get another look.
“We kind of did a double-take. We turned the car around and came back around to get a picture of it, and it just kind of wandered through somebody's driveway and back around their house,” she said.
Looking is okay, but Harmon says whatever you do, don't feed them.
“If they get used to humans then they're going to associate humans with food, and then they're not going to be scared of you.”
He said if you happen to see one, you should try and scare it away: make some loud noises, maybe with pots and pans, or throw something at it.
He encourages people to keep their pets inside at night because coyotes feed on small animals, and also to keep your pet food up off-the-ground if it's outside.
If you're into hunting, Harmon says you can hunt coyotes year-round and there is no bag limit, so you can take as many as you want. It's a way to encourage people to help control their population and protect the livestock in the area.