Attacks Prompt Coyote Hunt : Wildlife: San Clemente officials will kill about 10 of the animals in Forster Canyon area and distribute the carcasses as a warning to others. Injured girl may undergo rabies treatment.

Officials on Wednesday scheduled an unusual, late-night hunt for coyotes this weekend through the remote canyons on the outskirts of the city after a 5-year-old girl was attacked in her back yard last Saturday.

It was the third attack in the Forster Canyon tract in two weeks, and the first on a human.

Gene Begnell, a spokesman for the city Fire Department, which will coordinate the hunt, said the city plans to kill “maybe eight to 10 of them” and distribute their carcasses in the area as a warning to others.

“There is a theory, possibly folklore, that if you distribute the carcasses in selective areas, it will dissuade others from coming around,” Begnell said. Four people, including police and animal control officers, will go on the limited hunt, he said.

Plans for the hunt come as parents of the 5-year-old struggled with the decision of whether to subject her to painful rabies treatment.

Robert Carrick, the father of the girl nipped by a coyote in their back yard last weekend, said Wednesday that he and his wife are for the moment choosing not to have their daughter undergo rabies treatment.

“Our daughter is fine, she’s back in school and not afraid of dogs or our back yard or anything like that,” said Carrick, 36, the owner of a local nursery.

“Our major concern at this point is whether she needs a rabies shot or not,” he said. “For a 5-year-old, that can be painful, traumatic, and there are potential side effects.” County disease control experts have not been much help, offering contrasting opinions, he said.

Carrick’s wife, Lori, said she had left their daughter, Natalie, in her sandbox and gone next door when she heard Natalie scream.

“I saw Natalie on top of the swing set and the coyote standing there and told her: ‘Don’t worry, it’s just a coyote,’ ” Lori Carrick said. “But when I took her down off the swing set and went to comfort her, I pulled up her shirt and saw four puncture wounds and some scratch marks.”

After lingering awhile on the other side of the Carricks’ short, wrought-iron fence, the coyote finally ran off. Lori Carrick scooped up her daughter and dashed to Samaritan Medical Center-San Clemente, where doctors were in a quandary.

“The doctors didn’t have a source to consult,” Lori Carrick said. “The county’s poison control center has recently closed. After waiting there about an hour, they decided not to do anything.”

But Saturday’s attack, and another on a dog Tuesday morning, prompted a City Hall meeting Wednesday, at which officials decided to stage the late-night coyote hunt.

Robert Carrick applauded the move.

“I think we need to instill the fear of man in them again,” he said. “They get crowded into residential areas, and they get used to us and then we have a problem.”

Begnell said that animal control officials have learned that killing large numbers of coyotes does little to limit their population. The habitat tends to support a given number of the wild animals, and others will quickly move in and take over if their competition is eliminated.

“We are not into genocide of the coyote population,” he said. “It’s not effective anyway.”

The major problem in the Forster Canyon community is that it backs up to broad, open spaces and the county’s Prima Descheca landfill, which is just over a ridge less than half a mile away, animal control officials say.

“We have coyote sightings all over town, but Forster Canyon is the real problem area,” said J.R. Kersey, a city animal control officer. In the first of three attacks in the area--on May 8--a coyote killed a dog.

Kersey spent several hours Wednesday walking the streets of the 5-year-old tract, handing out leaflets on coyote control, especially to those homes on the edge of the undeveloped areas.

Rorie Santibanez, who lives across the street from the Carricks, said the neighborhood was accustomed to seeing coyotes around, sometimes in packs, but not lately.

“That’s why this attack has been a real surprise. We haven’t been seeing as many as we used to see,” said Santibanez, the mother of two children.

Robert Carrick said he had no plans to build a fence to protect his yard and children. “I’m told it will take a nine-foot fence to keep coyotes out anyway,” he said.

But the Carricks do plan to watch their daughter closely during the 10-day period suggested by doctors, looking for symptoms of rabies. They may include headaches or fever followed by a tingling sensation at the site of the bite, said Dr. Hildy Meyers, medical director of the county’s department of communicable disease control and epidemiology.

The rabies vaccinations are no longer as dangerous or as painful as in the past, she said, adding that local veterinarians regularly receive the treatment.

“There is still a lot of fear around the treatment, but it’s much safer than in the past,” Meyers said. “Serious reactions to it are possible, but very rare.”

Do’s and Don’ts When Living in a Coyote Habitat

Above all, protect children. Never leave small children unattended in areas known to be frequented by coyotes.

DO

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

Clear away brush and dense weeds around property. This deprives rodents of shelter and reduces protective cover for coyotes. Use traps and rodenticides, if needed.

Use trash barrels equipped with tight clamping devices on the lids, which will prevent spills should they be tipped over by large animals.

DON’T

Feed or provide water for coyotes or other wildlife. This attracts coyotes and promotes increased numbers of rodents, birds, snakes and other creatures that make up major portions of the coyote’s natural diet.

Put trash cans out the night before scheduled pickup. Put them out in the morning. This will give the coyote less time to scavenge, and they won’t have the cover of darkness.

Leave domestic pet food outside. Wildlife will soon depend on it.

TO PROTECT PETS

Construct six-foot fences with extenders facing outward at the top of each post.

Install two or three strands of wire, extending out at an angle for about 14 inches, completely around fence. This will prevent easy scaling by coyotes.

Keep small pets, such as cats, rabbits and small dogs, indoors. Don’t allow them to run free at any time. They are easy, favored prey.

Large dogs should be brought inside after dark, and never be allowed to run loose.