Gates of Laguna Woods Don’t Stop Bold Coyotes

Salle Martinis wonders if she should carry a pork chop during her early morning walks at Leisure World, just in case she crosses paths with a hungry coyote.

Other retirees have armed themselves with sticks. A few favor soda cans filled with rocks--hoping they can shake up a racket and scare away the predators.

“I would carry a pork chop before I carried any of that stuff,” Martinis said. “If something happened, I’d throw that pork chop and run like heck.”

The gated Laguna Woods retirement community is being invaded by a growing coyote population. The Laguna Beach animal control agency, which has a contract to serve the neighboring city, has issued coyote warnings, and suggested residents arm themselves with pepper spray or air horns to frighten off the animals.

“I’ve had people tell me they’ve had their dogs grabbed and tugged at by a coyote when they’re walking them on a leash,” said Laguna Beach Animal Services Officer Joy Lingenfelter, who has been monitoring the problem for the city. “When the people scream or jump back, then the animal walks off.”

Other than encouraging residents to scare away the coyotes, there’s not much else the agency can do at this point, Lingenfelter said. Coyotes are protected by the state Department of Fish and Game. One can be killed only if it has attacked a human, Lingenfelter said. And, she said, relocation isn’t an option because coyotes are territorial, and most open spaces already have packs staking their claim.

“Every time a person makes eye contact with a coyote and nothing negative happens, it tells the animal that humans don’t have to be feared,” Lingenfelter said. “You want to teach them that human contact is a negative thing again.”

Animal control officials blame Leisure World’s population of hearty cottontail rabbits for attracting the coyotes. The rabbits are the coyotes’ favored feast.

While there have been no reports of coyotes attacking residents, the rise in coyote sightings has been unsettling.

“The coyotes will get an occasional unattended small dog or cat, but they’re really after the rabbits,” said Val Lavrouhin, a board member for one of the community’s homeowners associations. “If we got rid of the rabbits, I don’t think we’d have any problem with coyotes.”

Getting rid of the rabbits has proven difficult. Until recently, Leisure World landscapers used a pesticide called diphacinone to kill the cottontails. But this summer, the state banned the pesticide in Orange County residential areas, citing possible health hazards. Leisure World’s animal lovers also protested the rabbit killings, saying the pesticide was cruel because it caused the rabbits to slowly bleed to death.

So over the past few months the rabbits have continued to multiply, luring more coyotes, as city officials seek a solution to controlling the rabbit population.

“A lot of people think they’re cute little bunnies and they don’t want to kill them, and I can understand that,” Lavrouhin said. “But they’re a nuisance. It’s getting to the point where they jump in front of you as you’re driving down the street.”

More startling, some say, is the behavior of the coyotes. They don’t seem to have much fear of humans.

“That’s what’s alarming,” Martinis said. “Once I was walking really early in the morning, and I noticed a coyote coming along the creek. I stopped dead in my tracks, and it started coming toward me. I retreated as quickly as I could and just stood off until it went away.”

The coyotes also have been seen trotting along streets and scampering through yards.

“There’s one that I’ve seen several times right outside my window,” said Stuart Hawley, who lives in a cul-de-sac off Calle Cadiz. “I’ve never seen them during the day, only in the very early morning--around 4:30 or 5. . . . They look like big dirty German shepherds.”

Harry Curtis spotted one while playing a round of golf.

“I had one look right at me on the golf course the other day, and we can hear them at night,” Curtis said. “But they’re not a problem as far as I’m concerned.”

Leisure World officials warn that coyote numbers could grow in the spring, when the rabbit population increases.

“It’s a problem,” said Leisure World spokeswoman Terry Quinlan.