TUCSON, AZ (AP/CBS5) -
The Arizona Game and Fish Department plans to use a professional hunter to kill aggressive javelinas that have chased and attacked people in a Tucson neighborhood.
Department spokesman Mark Hart says one or more "professional wildlife removal expert" will use a silencer-equipped rifle to shoot the 10 or so animals in the coming week.
Authorities say the attacks include a 64-year-old Tucson woman who left her home at about 5:30 a.m. on Aug. 28 to walk her small, leashed dog when she saw a javelina eating out of a tipped-over garbage can. Hart says the javelinas are used to eating garbage and may not be able to find food in the wild.
The woman fell when she tried to get away and she says as many as three javelinas then charged her.
"In this case, she couldn't have done much more. It happened so quickly. But if someone is walking their dog and they see a javelina at a distance, turn around and go the other way. A bad encounter will likely happen," Hart said.
Authorities say she suffered some cuts from the fall and unspecified lacerations from the boar-like animals, but managed to get back into her home.
State Game and Fish Department officials say the javelinas likely went after her because the javelinas saw her dog and thought it was a coyote.
Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. CBS 5 (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation) contributed to this report.
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