Coyote Patrols Still on; Park Stays Closed

Prompted by two more reports of vicious coyotes roaming Cheeseboro Canyon Park in Agoura Hills, National Park Service officials said Wednesday that rangers will continue dusk coyote patrols, and the park will remain closed until at least Friday morning.

For the second consecutive night, a team of armed rangers patrolled a two-square-mile area where aggressive coyotes have threatened visitors.

Rangers on horseback and on foot are acting as decoys, hoping to attract the same coyotes.

Non-lethal traps have been set out, but rangers said they will kill the animals if they display unusually hostile behavior or attack them.

Meeting Set Friday

Park officials will meet Friday morning to decide whether to open the popular park for the weekend. About 200 people a week visit the 2,100-acre preserve in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area to ride horses and hike on eight miles of trails.

Park officials speculate that the coyotes’ unusual behavior may be directed at dogs tagging along with visitors, rather than at humans and horses.

Ranger Phillip Young said Wednesday that two more weekend equestrians reported that a pack of five coyotes approached them at dusk, in both cases surrounding a stray dog that had followed them into the park. The coyotes charged the horses, but in both incidents were scared off and no one was injured.

Two other reports also involved equestrians or hikers accompanied by unleashed dogs. No one was injured in those weekend incidents, but visitors said they were chased by yelping coyotes. One couple on horseback reported being chased for more than a mile at full gallop before the animal backed off.

However, a dog was not present in the most serious incident, in which 42-year-old Michael Rizzo of Agoura was bitten and scratched on the arm by three coyotes. Rizzo is undergoing a series of anti-rabies shots.

Nipped Horse Also

The coyotes also nipped the legs of Rizzo’s horse.

“The last two reports give us a common factor in the cases,” Young said. “It could be the dogs are triggering the coyotes’ aggressive behavior.”

At this time of year, adult coyotes usually have only recently weaned pups, and could still be protective, Young said, adding that it would be a normal parental response for a coyote to feel threatened by another canine.

“But we don’t know what we have up there until we see something or we experience an encounter with the coyotes ourselves,” Young said.

Park regulations prohibit unleashed dogs in the the area.

Park officials said that a dog would accompany rangers on the Wednesday night patrol.

A ranger was posted at the park entrance part of the day to warn visitors that the park was closed. Signs prohibiting entrance were replaced after the first ones were stolen.

It was the first time the park has been closed.

“We need to capture those animals if at all possible and have them tested for rabies,” Chief Ranger Richard Gale said “But, until we are sure that there are no more questions about public safety, the park will remain closed.”

Other wildlife experts have speculated that the coyotes may instead be wild dogs that are not afraid of humans.

Rarely Approach Humans

Normally, coyotes attack small animals and usually hunt alone. They rarely approach humans or larger animals, experts said.

News of the Cheeseboro Canyon incidents has prompted about a dozen other calls from residents who spotted aggressive coyotes in Malibu Canyon, Point Dume and Vasquez Rocks in Agua Dulce, Gale said. However, the Cheeseboro reports are considered more serious because they involve human contact with the coyotes.