Park Slated to Reopen After Coyote Attack

Cheeseboro Canyon Park in Agoura Hills will be reopened today after rangers failed to sight, trap or kill the coyotes that attacked one visitor and stalked others last weekend, National Park Service officials said Friday.

After three dusk-to-dark patrols by rangers, only five lone coyotes were found. In each case, officials said, the animals shied away when approached. No coyotes have been lured into non-lethal traps, they added.

The 2,100-acre park in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area was closed for the first time in its eight-year history on Tuesday, after visitors reported that a pack of aggressive coyotes was roaming the trails.

In the most serious incident, an Agoura man was bitten and scratched on the arm by three coyotes.

In reopening the park, officials warned that visitors with unleashed dogs will be cited. In four of the five encounters with coyotes, stray or unleashed dogs had tagged along, they said.

Rangers will continue evening patrols “into the near future,” a park spokeswoman said.