Bold Coyotes Defy Bid to Halt Forays

In the midst of an effort to control coyotes that has resulted in 13 of them being killed in the last two weeks, a toddler had a close encounter with one of the animals earlier this week in the backyard of a San Clemente home, police said Friday.

The boy was not seriously injured but did lose a piece of his diaper before the animal was chased off by the child’s father, said Fire Chief Tom Daily, who also heads the city’s Animal Control Department.

Antonio (Nino) DeSantis, 2, was on the patio of the home on Ganado Street in a relatively new tract in the north part of the city, his father, Tony, said.

“I heard him making some funny little noises just seconds after I had stepped out back,” DeSantis said, “and there was this coyote. It had him by the diaper. It actually got away with a piece of the diaper when I yelled to scare him away. He didn’t even seem to want to go away; he was that bold.”

The child had two small red marks and, just to play it safe, his mother, Rosalie, took him to the family doctor and a series of rabies shots have been started.

DeSantis said coyotes visit the neighborhood every night, and his wife added that there are many small children in the neighborhood for whom she is concerned.

A local hunter, whom police declined to identify, has volunteered to help in the effort to control the coyotes, Daily said.

“The hunter has killed 11 of the animals in the last two weeks, and police officers accounted for two more,” Daily said. “The coyotes are getting bolder, and their numbers are increasing as the pups born this spring are maturing and reaching the age and size to do their own foraging.”

In order to discourage coyote forays into residential neighborhoods, Daily urged all residents to keep garbage cans tightly closed and not to leave food outside for their pets.

The situation is similar to the one in 1984 when special police sharpshooter patrols killed at least 17 coyotes over several weeks after attacks on two children.