Kerry Adams walked her Airedale puppy, Pippin in the Town Woods by her home on Charles Street everyday, but after last Sunday, it is something she said she will never do again.

Just five minutes after entering the South entrance to the Town Forest near Mast Hill Road,  Adams and Pippin were approached by a big coyote who barked aggressively and made small lunges at them.

When Adams looked behind her, she saw 8-10  smaller coyotes and realized she was surrounded. She then walked slowly back towards the entrance, screaming and carrying the puppy and made it out safely.

“I was horrified and I thought it was going to take the puppy,” she said.  “I didn’t think they were going to do anything to me, I just thought they were going to all move in and take the puppy.  I thought they were going to get it and kill it.”

Adams said the biggest coyote looked like a cross between a wolf and a Siberian husky and was the size of a large German Shepherd.

Although Adams has seen coyotes in the Town Forest and has heard them from her Charles Street home, this is the first time she has seen them act aggressively and she thinks it was because they were hungry due to the lack of rain this summer.

Hingham Animal Control believes the larger coyote could have possibly been training the younger ones to hunt.

Adams said she will not walk Pippin again in the Town Forest until he is older and larger.  She does recommend anyone who does walk in the woods to bring a fog horn or to walk with larger dogs and other people.

Last summer , after a similar incident in Hingham, Animal Control Officer Leslie Badger  said it is not unusual for a coyote to act this way towards a human if the animal’s babies are nearby.

Badger said it’s natural for coyotes to protect their young ones.

Last August, a landscaper was working next to the office buildings at 175 Derby Street which is surrounded by a wooded area, when he was nearly attacked by a coyote. The  coyote ran towards the worker who jumped over a fence to escape the animal. When the worker thought the coyote had left the area, he jumped back over the fence to continue his work,  and the coyote tried to attack again. The worker then threw a rock towards the coyote, and the animal fled.

Badger said anyone who walks in the woods should be aware of their surroundings.  If they think a wild animal is near they should contact Animal Control.