Countywide : Residents Warned of Roaming Wildlife

The recent winter rainstorms have left plant life flourishing across Orange County, and county officials caution that overgrown vegetation could attract some wild creatures from their habitats.

Judy Maitlen, the county’s director of animal control, recommends that residents take care to protect children and pets from coyotes and other animals that might venture into neighborhoods on the edge of wilderness areas for food or new cover.

She offers these suggestions:

* Keep pets indoors.

* Cover trash containers.

* Check property fences and eliminate access points.

* Clear dense vegetation and cut the lower 18 inches of landscaping shrubbery.

* Use lifelike owl figures to scare small mammals and birds away.

“Keep in mind that animals are part of a delicate balance in a giant food web,” Maitlen said. “The best way to deal with urban wildlife is not to interfere and to follow the steps.”