Over the last several weeks, the Cochise County Sheriff's Office says they have received a number of reports from residents saying they had seen coyotes in their neighborhoods.
Many residents also claimed the coyotes had damaged their property, attacked their pets and even calves, which cost about $900 a piece.
Geraldine Rickertsen moved to Sierra Vista 18 months ago and says since then she has seen several pass through her backyard, which does not have a fence yet.
"They come from over that direction because the corner of Pima and Hopi is another lot that is empty and so I know that the animals are over there on that lot and then they come back down and they come across the back of our yard here," Rickertsen said.
Rickertsen says she has never fed any of the wildlife before and sees how doing so could lead to a bigger problem for the animals and other neighbors.
The CCSO says the drought is one of the reasons why more coyotes have been seen in the area and secondly, people who feed them make the coyotes want to return and then end up depending on the food that is given to them.
