Orange County Is Put on ‘Coyote Alert’

Alarmed by a sharp rise in coyote sightings and attacks on pets, authorities have issued a “coyote alert” in Orange County, warning that the animals are becoming brazen about approaching homes and people.

Reports of attacks and sightings are coming from the hills of Tustin, Orange and Yorba Linda and also from the new tract communities of South County. In June alone, 63 Orange County residents had reported that their cats had been killed by coyotes, the highest such number in more than two years.

By far the most serious incident, however, occurred April 25, when a coyote attacked a 2-year-old Coto de Caza girl in the back yard of her family’s home.

Authorities said that screams from the girl’s mother scared the animal away and that the child was not seriously injured. They added, however, that the incident shows the seriousness of the situation.

Earlier this year, a coyote was shot as it prowled the grounds of the Yorba Linda Middle School while classes were in session.

State and local wildlife officials Friday blamed the drought, development and a shrinking natural habitat for the increasing numbers of coyotes being spotted near residences. Because they are not finding natural prey, the animals are foraging for food in residential areas, often hopping fences to get to garbage cans, officials said.

“The problem has gone up terrifically this time of year,” said Curt Taucher, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Game. “With five years of drought, the numbers are higher because the coyotes are coming out for water . . . and they are getting a bonus because some residents are feeding them too.”

Orange County animal control officers, convinced that many residents do not know of the dangers coyotes pose, are going door-to-door in neighborhoods where the animals can be found to distribute flyers and answer residents questions.

Some cities, Tustin and Irvine among them, have issued warnings of their own to residents after a rash of coyote attacks on pets. In Tustin, for example, necropsies showed that 19 cats killed last June were the victims of coyote attacks, county officials said.

In South County, Capt. Doug Storm, commander at the Sheriff’s Department Laguna Niguel headquarters, has called for a meeting with wildlife authorities and officials of nearby cities to “see how we can discourage these animals.”

County animal control officer Marie Hulett-Curtner, who monitors coyote activity in Orange County, said that on some days as many as 10 people will report that their pets have been carried off by coyotes.

“It’s a sad and gruesome sight when some people come home and find only the remains of their pets on their lawns,” Hulett-Curtner said.

Most alarming, she said, is the fact that coyotes have begun roaming in areas where they have not gone before.

Residents of a densely populated area of Garden Grove, for example, have reported seeing coyotes in their neighborhood recently, while not long ago Fish and Game officers trapped a coyote that had taken up residence at the Magic Mountain amusement park, she said. The animal has since been taken to Irvine Regional Park.

Wildlife officials say coyote sightings are increasingly common in Orange County because residential developments have replaced the animal’s natural habitat, depleting the populations of small rodents and birds that coyotes normally hunt.

Hulett-Curtner said the animals are becoming less fearful of humans, who sometimes feed them out of a misdirected notion that they are helping a wild coyote survive. In one case, animal control officers discovered that a family was leaving a 50-pound bag of dog food outside for the coyotes at night.

“When some residents who feed the coyotes throw out Fluffy for his nightly romp, the coyotes think it’s just a change of menu and help themselves,” Hulett-Curtner said.

Taucher warned that throughout Southern California, “coyotes are being habituated to handouts and housing developments.”

“They are teaching their pups how to get food in these new ways ways,” Taucher said. “It’s becoming a tremendously vicious cycle.”

Evidence of this, officials say, came be seen in communities such as Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and San Clemente, where coyotes are spotted almost daily. The animals prowl the canyons and golf courses, letting out eerie howls.

“These coyotes aren’t afraid of anybody,” said James Glenn, a security officer at the gated Crest de Ville community off Crown Valley Parkway in Laguna Niguel. “They walk on the sidewalk at all hours, and people follow them all the way down the street. They are within a few feet of the residents, but they don’t even look back.”

Laura Rivas, who moved to Crest de Ville a year and a half ago, said she has lost four cats to coyotes. Only two weeks ago, she said, she watched in horror as two coyotes pounced on her cat, Freeway, seconds after the feline walked out the garage door.

“I was shrieking, but in less than 30 seconds, they ate her up,” Rivas said. “My neighbors tried to shoo them away, but they were not scared. I cried and cried. Freeway was like a member of my family.”

Hulett-Curtner visited the Crest de Ville neighborhood earlier this week to hand out flyers and to give residents advice about how to prevent coyote attacks on their pets.

Hulett-Curtner, who also speaks regularly to schools and other civic groups about precautions against coyotes, said trapping and other eradication measures have not proven effective.

She advised Crest de Ville residents to make loud noises when they see the coyotes and to throw rocks at them.

“We have to make them fearful of humans again,” she said. “We must realize that we are invading the coyote’s territory, and we have to use some common sense to control their population. If we don’t feed them and scare them away, they will find their own sources of food.”

Tale of the Coyote

Mark Twain called the coyote “the most friendless of God’s creatures,” but it is also one of the most adaptable. Historically an animal of the West, the coyote has adapted far better than most large mammals to human encroachment and now ranges from San Diego to Alaska to New England to Costa Rica. Numbers continue to be as high as six per square mile in the West.

This native member of the dog family closely resembles a medium-size German shepherd, with the exception of its elongated snout and bushy, black-tipped tail. Most adult coyotes weigh 30 to 50 pounds.

They will eat almost anything, animal or vegetable, but rarely attack anything larger than themselves. They have no natural enemies, other than man. Lured by abundant food sources provided by people, the coyote has become accustomed to human sights and sounds.

Residents can help to minimize unnatural increases in urban coyote populations by following these tips:

PRECAUTIONS:

Feed pets indoors or promptly remove dishes when pets complete their meals outside. Store bags of pet food inside.

Use trash barrels equipped with tight-clamping lids.

Remove fallen fruit, particularly avocados, from your yards and orchards. Clear brush and dense weeds from around property. This deprives rodents that coyotes eat of shelter and reduces protective cover.

If coyotes begin frequenting your neighborhood, let them know that they are not welcome. Make loud noises, throw rocks or spray them with garden hoses. For everyone’s safety, it is essential that coyotes retain their natural fear of people.

DO NOT:

Feed or provide water for coyotes or other wildlife.

Use plastic bags as garbage containers.

Put trash cans out the night before scheduled pickup. Rather, line them up on the scheduled day of service, at the latest opportunity.

Leave small children unattended in an area frequented by coyotes.

Allow small pets to run at large at any time. They are easy prey.

Source: California Department of Fish and Game; Orange County Animal Control.