Drought Has Hungry Coyotes on the Prowl : Predators: As the rodents they prey on are forced from the dry hills, the canine scavengers begin roaming the county’s neighborhoods and turning their sights on small pets.

The long drought that has created a water emergency in Ventura County is expected to cause another problem that is especially frightening to pet owners--an invasion of coyotes.

Some, in fact, undoubtedly already have arrived, said Kathy Jenks, director of the Ventura County Department of Animal Regulation.

“Right now, our hills and canyons are as dry as they’d normally be in late summer,” Jenks said. “Coyotes are highly intelligent and highly adaptable. I’m sure some of them have already started roaming hillside neighborhoods at night, seeking food and water.”

As the weather gets warmer, Jenks added, she expects the number of coyotes exploring residential streets to increase. And, she noted, some pet cats that have disappeared probably were victims of the predators.

“I would urge people who live in foothill or hillside areas not to let their cats out at night,” she said. “The same goes for small dogs, such as poodles.

“Even in daylight, if you let your cat out, you’d be wise to stay with it.”

Although such attacks have been reported elsewhere in Southern California, Jenks said she knows of no children being attacked by coyotes in Ventura County. Virtually all parts of the county except beach areas are likely to be visited at one time or another by coyotes, Jenks said. “In Ventura, they’re often seen in Grant Park, above City Hall, and in Arroyo Verde Park and the Ondulando district on the east side.

“You won’t normally find them on the ocean side of Main Street, but they’ve been in recent years in almost every other part of town, especially around Foothill Road. They can live very well in the areas along Ventura Avenue too.”

Elsewhere in the county, Jenks said, coyotes have been seen in recent summers “on practically every street in Thousand Oaks.” Also vulnerable, she reported, are such cities as Moorpark, Simi Valley and Camarillo, all near recent foothill development that has driven wildlife from its natural habitat.

Jenks described coyotes as tannish brown and about the size of small German shepherd dogs. Sometimes, she noted, people mistake them for German shepherds or foxes.

“If it weren’t for the drought, they’d normally stay in the hills, living off rodents and other small animals. But because things are so dry, a lot of these prey are leaving, so the coyotes are coming down, too.”

In the city, you are most likely to spot a coyote going through your trash after dark, Jenks said. Often, the animal will wait until a trash can has been opened and its contents spilled out by other foragers.

Jenks said Ventura is one of the few counties in the state that doesn’t have a coyote trapping program, although animal experts feel trapping would do little to reduce the coyote population.

Jorge R. Gross, a state fish and game warden assigned to Ventura County, says coyotes have been known to lure dogs into joining their packs, then pounce on the unsuspecting newcomers once they have been led into the hills.

Jim Fullmer, a deputy county agricultural commissioner, says coyotes are so clever that in a drought they sometimes chew through plastic pipes to get at water.

Lynne Doria, assistant director of Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Compound, where several coyotes are kept, said, “Sometimes we forget that these animals were here before we were--thousands of years before us. They’re very tenacious and very adaptable. And we shouldn’t be surprised when they react to us like wild animals.”

Last September, a family living in the neighborhood north of Ventura College had a dramatic--and close--encounter with a coyote.

“At about 2 a.m., our daughter, Ann, heard a cat screaming,” recalled Stephanie McMorrow. “Our 6-month-old kitten, Calvin, which had been sleeping in the back yard, was nowhere in sight.

“My husband, Steve, ran out the back door, and I ran out front. I saw what looked like a German shepherd headed up the street. It was trotting, not running. It had what looked like an animal hanging from its mouth.”

Steve McMorrow chased the coyote up the hill toward Arroyo Verde Park. Finally, the predator dropped its prey. Ann, 13, got to the victim first. It was Calvin, whimpering and bleeding from the mouth.

“Fortunately,” said Ann’s mother, “I happen to be office manager for a veterinarian, Dr. Thomas Turner, who lives just a few blocks away from us.

“We called him, and he came right over and gave Calvin some drugs to keep him from going into shock. Then he took him to an emergency clinic, where they treated him for a collapsed lung and a fractured jaw. We weren’t able to feed Calvin anything but baby food for a couple of months, but he’s fine now.”

Turner is convinced that seven or eight cats have been killed by coyotes in Ventura’s hillsides in recent weeks. Police and sheriff’s stations throughout the county, however, say they have not received complaints about roaming coyotes.

“People don’t usually call the police when they sight a coyote,” Jenks said. “They figure there isn’t much that can be done about the animal--and they’re probably right.”