The Mokena Elementary School principal said she, the police department and animal control are aware of coyotes in the area Monday that have parents and residents on edge, but there’s little they can do.
Mokena elementary brothers Adley and Blake Harrah described what several students have seen around the school lately.
"They live in a den back there," Adley Harrah said.
The brothers have seen several coyotes in the area, they say, including one that appears to be injured.
"I’ve seen him over by the private school," Adley said of the limping coyote. "Laying on the baseball diamond."
Photos taken by a parent near the school Monday morning, as well as some taken as far back as November.
The school principal here told NBC 5 that police say there's no immediate threat to students or staff.
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"The police department tells us there’s no immediate threat to the students or to staff," principal Anna Kirchner said in a phone interview. "They don’t like people and we need to retrain them by using noise, air horns and bull horns."
Tim Harrah, Adley and Blake's father, noted the woods surrounding the area.
"We’re surrounded by woods and everything," he said. "So you’re going to see certain things here and there."
Melissa Monroe says she sees the coyotes regularly--and now some of her chickens are missing.
"They’re almost as common as the rabbits," she said.
