Coyote spotted on Boston Common and killed by officials

A coyote was shot and killed yesterday morning near Louisburg Square on Beacon Hill, after police determined it was suffering from a painful skin condition and may have presented a threat to public safety, authorities said. Boston police first spotted the roughly 25-pound female coyote on the Boston Common near Frog Pond and called Massachusetts Environmental Police for assistance at about 10 a.m., said Environmental Police Lieutenant Gary Duncan. Boston officers pursued the animal and had it cornered in an alley near 38 Pinckney St., Duncan said, when environmental police arrived on the scene. Duncan said the coyote had mange, a condition marked by rawness from heavy scratching, on its left side. Based on that, he said, officers decided there was a danger it might attack a person or a pet...more