COYOTES

Since there are no governmental agencies or programs in Ventura County that are tasked with coyote control or removal, it is important that residents know as much as possible about the urban coyote in order to facilitate a peaceful coexistence.

If there is a born survivor among mammals, it must be the coyote. This animal, after all, has thrived and expanded his range despite decades of devoted and remarkably wasteful federal efforts to eradicate him from the west. Once largely restricted to the open rural prairies, the coyote now exists in every state except Hawaii, and has even learned to coexist with humans in ever-expanding cities and towns. There are verified regular coyote sightings in every city and unincorporated area in Ventura County. Animal Control Officers will respond to calls where wildlife is posing an immediate threat to public safety or is seriously injured, but do not handle wildlife nuisance problems, such as coyotes killing domestic pets.

Some people welcome this so-called invasion about as much as Atlanta welcomed Sherman, while others celebrate the ability of coyotes to survive in a hostile environment filled with buildings, fences, concrete, and cars. Community meetings—held when coyotes are observed in a neighborhood or a few cats mysteriously disappear— are usually divided into coyote lovers and coyote haters. Each side is fierce in its conviction that the coyotes must stay or go, although most of the time no one has accurate data on coyote behavior and myths are reported as fact.

This scenario will be repeated in countless cities and towns as coyotes use their remarkable abilities to settle and survive in human-dominated environments. Yet when all is said and done, the only possible resolution to this civil war is for us to learn to coexist.

The western campaign against coyotes has amply demonstrated that if a habitat will support coyotes, coyotes will occupy it. When widespread eradication efforts reduce the coyote population, the animal responds by producing larger litters, and females breed for the first time at an earlier age. With fewer coyotes competing for food, pup survival also increases. Within a very few years, populations decimated by poisons, traps, and aerial hunting recover to levels equal to or higher than those that existed before the war against them was undertaken.

It is no different in urban environments, where coyotes thrive because food is plentiful and natural predators are unknown. Removal efforts are doomed to fail.

Sharing the Land

Fortunately, living with coyotes is not difficult. It all boils down to a number of relatively simple tasks: not giving coyotes an easy meal by leaving out pet food, unprotected garbage, or small animals (such as cats or dogs under 50 lbs.); and punishing them by shouting at or spraying water near them whenever they approach human property. Fruit that falls off trees should also be immediately picked up, since coyotes are omnivorous.

The more free meals they find and the more non-threatening people they encounter, the more coyotes will lose their fear of humans. If we refrain from feeding birds in areas where coyotes have been spotted, keep trash well-contained, put small dogs on leashes or behind coyote-proof fences, confine cats safely indoors, and make sure small children are always accompanied by adults in woodland areas, conflicts between our species can be minimized or eliminated.

Coyotes who adapt to human settlements become bolder, appearing often in daylight and sometimes standing their ground when threatened. Some residents have reported coyotes roaming onto front porches or into backyards. Remember never to run from a coyote if you are confronted with one. Instead, make yourself look big, and shout. And always remember that coyotes are wild animals and should remain that way. Never try to feed them or pet them.

History Lessons

Rather than expanding the expensive and ultimately futile western war against coyotes to our cities as the range of the animal expands, we have an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and apply those lessons—and a little civility—to our evolving relationship with this most remarkable creature. We should never interact with coyotes the way we do with domestic dogs, no matter how similar they look, but we should be able to adapt to their presence, just like they have to ours.

Who is Responsible?

Actually, there are no governmental agencies or programs in Ventura County that are tasked with coyote control or removal. The federal government subsidizes a trapping program for sheep and cattle ranchers if coyote predation becomes a problem but there are no more sheep ranchers and very few cow/calf operators left in the County so there are no Federal trappers in this area. The State Department of Fish and Game has jurisdiction over all wildlife but no programs for eradication or control of coyotes. The Department of Animal Regulation has no means, jurisdiction or ability to trap or remove coyotes but will assist local law enforcement in the hunt if a coyote becomes a serious danger to human safety.

It is important to remember that the coyote serves a very real purpose in the natural order. Without coyotes we would be over run with rats, rodents, rabbits and squirrels as for the most part, the coyote is the last natural predator of all of those pests.

Prevent Coyote Intrusions

Never leave toddlers or small children alone in a yard where coyotes are known to roam. Keep all cats indoors at all times unless accompanied by an adult. To protect your small dogs you can construct a chain-link dog run (including a fenced top with rain and shade cover) either on a slab, or on gravel, with railroad ties or beams along the perimeter base to prevent digging under. Connecting it to the house and installing a doggie door for entry into- and egress out of the pen is the most convenient way to go. It may cost a few extra dollars to do it right, but think how many years you're going to have pets and how much security and convenience it will provide when you're asleep or away from home and how much anxiety it will eliminate. Make it long and roomy if you've got the space.

Without a run, small, vulnerable dogs must be monitored when out in the yard during the day, and all pets should be brought in at dusk. To prevent coyotes from climbing or scaling your walls, we suggest fence-top amendments, which include non-lethal shocking livestock wire and angled-out fence-top extenders.

To scare off coyotes you can squirt water at them (with high-pressure hose attachments) or blast them with a hand-held air horn. Garden Supply stores carry relatively inexpensive motion-activated squirting devices that can be attached to your garden hose and staked out wherever you choose. A high-pressure burst of water is directed at whatever critter (man or beast) enters the sensor's field of view. High-powered motion detector (noxious neighbor) lighting will scare both 2 and 4-legged intruders away at night.

Never leave pet food, water or uncovered composting food waste outside where coyotes may be attracted. Securely cover all trash containers and remove rodent attractors such as bird feeders, woodpiles, ivy, trash piles and palm trees from backyards. Coyotes follow their food supplies and rats are among their favorite meals.

4-H livestock projects need special attention, as they are coyote attractors. Small pens and hutches need to be double layered with heavy-duty welded wire hardware cloth (not chicken wire). Goats, lambs, pigs and fowl should be put away at night in a secure enclosure, or if penned outdoors, with appropriate fence-top and fence bottom amendments.

Keeping pets and husbanding livestock is a human agenda. It's not natural but it can work as long as we remember that our indigenous predators are just doing what is natural. Do what you need to do to protect your pets, and then just live... and let live.

For further information about coyotes visit Desert USA, Project Wildlife and Calif. Dept. of Fish and Game