Coexisting With Coyotes

Coyote sightings are on the rise in our neighborhoods at this time of year.

The long daylight hours make the animals more visible, and there is more activity with new cubs needing to be fed. As well, said Moorpark Vector/Animal Control Specialist Mark Westerline, water may be starting to dry up in the hills and the coyotes may be looking for a drink.

"We really start seeing a lot of coyotes around this time of year, starting in about May," Westerline said."What we’ve found over the years is there seems to be activity all over the city. They're  very well adapted to the urban and suburban areas."

A Coyote's Eye View

As human populations have grown and wild lands have been converted to human use, there has been increased pressure on wildlife to adapt or die.

Gina Farr, communications director of Project Coyote, said the coyote is one of the few species that have adapted. And that, she said, has not necessarily been a bad thing.

“Their primary food source is rodents, so they’re beneficial for our urban systems,” Farr said.

Coyotes help keep skunk, possum and raccoon populations under control, which, in turn, helps songbirds thrive. The problems arise when they are encouraged to venture into people's yards and gardens.

“We get into trouble in urban environments when we have attractants that really shouldn’t be in our yards,” Farr said.

The knee-jerk reaction—seeking to have them killed—isn't the best solution, Farr said.

“[Coyotes] have something called compensatory reproduction,” Farr said. “Normally, it’s only the alpha male and female in any family group that would reproduce, once a year." But with coyotes, she said, "Kill the alphas, and the betas will simply take over.”

Westerline also said that unless a coyote serves a particular threat, the City's department of animal control generally will let them be.

"In terms of animal control's view on wildlife," he said, "if wildlife is not sick or injured, you kind of should look at it all the same. Some animals can cause harm to humans, others can't. If it's just out there doing its own thing, it should be left to go along its merry way."

Taking coyotes from urban environments and resettling them elsewhere is not an option, according to Farr.

“It’s illegal in most states,” she said, “and the animal that’s been relocated in someone else’s territory doesn’t know where to find food or water. It will try and find its way back, but with all the pressures it experiences, it will probably die within two weeks.”

Lynsey White Dasher, an urban wildlife specialist at the Humane Society of the United States, said she was reluctant to believe reports that increased rainfall in Southern California this spring had led to more coyotes than in previous years entering residential areas in search of food, or that the rain had led to a lengthening of the mating season.  

“It's more likely that coyotes in urban landscapes have no predators, so they increase more quickly,” White Dasher said. “They come into our neighborhoods to eat, and it’s easier for them to eat pet food. We’ve created this free buffet for them.”

And there's the pets themselves. Although injuries to humans from coyotes are rare—there's been only one confirmed human death by a coyote in the United States in the last several years—small animals and pets are a different matter, said California Department of Fish and Game public information officer Andrew Hughan.

"Keep a close eye on your dogs," he warned. "A chihuahua is a small meal for a coyote.”

Moorpark's Westerline said generally, cats are most often killed by getting hit by cars.

"But I would estimate this time of year, coyotes are nearly as common in terms of non-natural cat mortality," he said.

The animal control department also gets calls about big dogs getting in fights with coyotes.

Hughan said that for a Fish and Game warden to be sent out to investigate and assess any potential danger from a coyote, there needs to be "a credible sighting" and evidence "that a person has been impacted," he said. "If necessary, and under extreme and special circumstances, we can find and kill [the coyote], or hire a trapping service," Hughan said.

Tips and Tools for Keeping Coyotes Wild

While coyotes can present a threat to small pets that roam outside, pet owners can decrease the risk by following the advice of various city and nonprofit organizations.

Project Coyote, a California-based organization that promotes peaceful coexistence with coyotes, and the Humane Society of the United States offer this advice on how to discourage coyotes from coming into urban areas:

1. Do not feed coyotes.

2. Keep your pet on a leash.

3. Supervise small pets and children, and keep your cats indoors.

4. If you have dogs that spend time in your fenced yard, you may want to invest in a Coyote Roller, a device that attaches to the top of a fence to stop coyote paws from getting a grip. Also, adding 6 inches of wire mesh to the bottom of your fence should deter coyotes from digging underneath.

5. Keep garbage, compost and pet food out of reach. Make sure your garbage can lids are on tight, and feed your cats and dogs indoors.

6. If faced with a coyote, act big and loud—shake a can of pennies, blow a whistle, wave your arms above your head. Such actions will reinforce their fear of humans, which is good for us and them.

7. Ask your neighbors to follow the above tips, too.

For more from Project Coyote's newsletter and fact sheet, click here.