Cliff the Coyote was finally tranquilized and captured on Wednesday morning near Annandale Road in Newport, according to multiple sources.

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) is expected to be released in a undisclosed location off of Aquidneck Island.

Due to the an online petition and public outcry for Cliff in September, Councilman Florez asked Middletown Police Department and Middletown Town Council for 3-5 days to raise funds to tranquilize and transport Cliff. At that time, Councilor Florez stated that he had made arrangement with a Massachusetts zoo and he created a GoFundMe page to aid in the campaign with the goal of $8,000.

The option of relocating him to a zoo, proved to be too costly according to Councilor Florez.

Councilor Florez told us  that the funds raised from the online fundraiser will be used to raise awareness and hopefully prevent this from happening again;

“ALL funds raised will be donated to Numi’s group and help create an awareness program in Middletown and Newport. The public needs to be educated on the dangers of leaving garbage out. The proliferation of these creatures is a real concern.”

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Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...