SAN ANTONIO — Coyotes haven't just been spotted running around the San Antonio neighborhood of Tanglewood; neighbors here have also discovered them feasting on pets.
Karen Yurconic, a long-time resident, said the coyotes are coming through a dried creek bed before lingering in the area. She said she came close to a coyote in her backyard just two days ago.
"I followed him for 200 feet," she said. "And he just ran away and disappeared in the field."
She said the coyote was in her backyard in the middle of the day.
"He was almost like a dog," she said. "I've seen dogs wilder than this coyote."
Surveillance photos captured the animals in the Tanglewood neighborhood.
"There's coyotes like crazy," she said. "They're all over around here."
Yurconic said more of them are popping up in the area.
"They weren't active for awhile, but now we're seeing them in the daytime," she said.
Now, she and her neighbors are on high alert.
"They're looking for prey, they're looking for food," she said, adding they've killed her two cats. "My husband found his carcass in the front yard, and it was horrible because I've never seen what a coyote can do to a cat. And it was a big cat, it was a 15-pound cat. The coyote totally messed him up."
Just this week, a coyote attacked a jogger in the the Dallas area. Wildlife experts say aggressive behavior is abnormal for coyotes.
However, Yurconic isn't taking any chances.
"Any of these homes around here, on any of these streets, they better not let out their small animals in the yards because if they have holes in their fences, they'll come in," she said.
For some simple tips from the Texas Parks and Wildlife, click here.