Coyotes kill buffalo in Haverhill

By Meghan Irons, Globe Staff

HAVERHILL -- Coyotes lurking in the woods in Massachusetts have been known to attack dogs, chickens, cats, and even, in rare instances, people. But a buffalo?

You better believe it, pardner. Tyler Kimball says it actually happened here on his farm in the dark of night on Saturday. A pack of coyotes entered a pen where his 14 buffalos grazed. When they were done, one was missing.

The coyotes were sly, Kimball said. They separated a relatively young buffalo, 16 months old, from the rest of the herd, dragged it into a nearby swamp, and devoured it.

“All that was left was skin and bone,” said Kimball, who was keeping watch over the pen today as the herd huddled together and grazed on grass.

Kimball decided to raise buffalos a few years ago after he visited a farm in Path, Maine, and ate buffalo meat. He raises the animals for their meat and uses them to protect chickens that are in a coop inside the pen. The animals are also huge attractions for visitors.

After the coyote attack, he vowed to be vigilant in protecting the animals – armed, if necessary.

“I’m going to come out here with my gun, and if I see one, I’ll shoot it,” he said.

It’s not the first incident involving a coyote in Haverhill in recent years. In June 2009, a woman walking her dogs in a wooded area told police she was surrounded by coyotes. A police dispatcher guided the woman out of the woods as officers rushed to help, but the coyotes kept pursuing.