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Some Wildlife in Los Angeles County
COYOTES
It is believed
that more than 5,000 coyotes roam the City of Los Angeles. Thousands more live
throughout the county. Mostly, these animals live in
foothills in and around the
city. Coyotes are highly intelligent, adaptable and possess excellent sensory
abilities. Urbanized coyotes can survive on a
variety of foods including
garbage, feeding by people, food left out for pets and small pets themselves.
Zoos have had to deal with these predators
feeding on zoo exhibits. In 1987,
coyotes attacked and killed 53 flamingoes at the Los Angeles Zoo. They have also
victimized penguins. In 1995,
coyotes again managed to kill flamingoes and a
two-year-old Andean Condor. Since that incident, the zoo installed a six and
a half-mile perimeter
fence surrounding their facility.
Coyotes are adaptable predators, tolerant of human
activities, and quick to adapt and adjust to changes in their environment. They
are likely to lose
natural aversion to people when competition amongst coyotes increases for
sources of food. The biggest problems occur when people feed coyotes
- either wittingly or unwittingly. Coyote
attacks, when they occur, are commonly directed against small animals and pets.
Although it is very rare,
coyotes have attacked humans. There were 37 reported attacks on humans in Los
Angeles County between 1978 and 2003.
Coyote Attacks, Los Angeles County,
1978-2003
|
Date |
Location |
Incident |
| May 1978 |
Pasadena |
5-yr-old girl
bitten on left leg while in driveway of home |
| May 1979 |
Pasadena |
2-yr-old girl
attacked by coyote while eating cookies on front porch; grabbed by throat
and cheek |
| Jun 1979 |
Pasadena |
Adult male bitten
on heel while picking up newspaper from front yard |
| Jul 1979 |
Pasadena |
17-yr-old female's
leg lacerated by coyotes while attempting to save dog being attacked |
| Jul 1979 |
Pasadena |
Coyote bit adult
male on legs while jogging; climbed tree to escape |
| Aug 1979 |
La Verne |
Coyote grabbed
5-yr-old girl and attempted to drag her into bushes. Suffered deep bites on
neck, head, and legs before saved by father and a neighbor |
| July 1980 |
Agoura Hills |
13-month-old girl
grabbed and dragged off by coyote. Suffered puncture wounds to midsection
before being saved by mother |
| Aug 1981 |
Glendale |
3-yr-old girl
killed in front yard by coyote; massive bleeding and broken neck |
| Oct 1994 |
Griffith Park |
Man with no shirt
or shoes bitten by coyote (5 PM) |
| Mar 1995 |
Griffith Park |
Man with no shirt
bitten by coyote (Noon) |
| Mar 1995 |
Griffith Park |
Coyote stalked and
then knocked down 5-yr-old girl twice; mother rescued child (Daytime) |
| Jun 1995 |
Griffith Park |
Woman in shorts,
barefoot, preparing food, bitten by coyote (Daytime) |
| Jul 1995 |
Griffith Park |
Man bitten by
coyote while sleeping on lawn (2:45 PM) |
| Jul 1995 |
Griffith Park |
Man bitten by
coyote while sleeping on lawn (4 PM) |
| Jul 1995 |
Griffith Park |
Coyote was chased
away once; then returned to attack 15-mo-old girl in jumpsuit; child
suffered bites to leg (4 PM) |
| Sep 1997 |
Pomona |
Man was stalked,
then attacked by two coyotes, and bitten on ankle (Early evening, daylight) |
| May 1999 |
Canyon Country |
Coyote attacked dog
in yard, and would not cease attack; man scratched in melee (Night) |
| Nov 1999 |
Hollywood Hills |
Coyote attacked and
killed pet dog in man’s presence; coyote would not leave (Morning) |
| Apr 2001 |
Pomona |
54-year-old woman
fought, using an axe handle, with a large coyote that had attacked small
poodle in back yard. Received bite on leg, and despite her efforts, the
coyote killed the poodle and jumped over fence carrying the carcass (4:30
PM) |
| Jun 2001 |
Northridge |
7-year-old girl
attacked and seriously injured by a coyote, despite mother's attempts to
fight off the coyote (7 PM) |
| Aug 2001 |
Hollywood Hills |
Coyotes bit man 8
times as he was defending his dog against their attack (11:50 PM) |
| Aug 2001 |
Chatsworth |
Two coyotes came
into yard and took pet cat out of hands of 19-mo-old toddler |
| Sep 2001 |
Agoura |
Woman attacked by
coyote when she attempted to stop its attack on her small dog (7:15 AM) |
| Sep 2001 |
Lancaster |
Man walking
encountered 4 coyotes, which crouched, circling him, attempting to attack.
Fought off with walking stick, hitting one square across the face (Morning) |
| Nov 2001 |
La Habra Heights |
Coyote on golf
course ran up to woman, jumped on her back, and bit her on right forearm
(Daytime) |
| Dec 2001 |
San Gabriel |
Coyote bit 3-yr-old
girl in head; grabbed her shoulder in an attempt to drag her off Father
chased coyote off (7:30 PM) |
| May 2002 |
Los Angeles |
Coyote attacked man
walking his dog |
| Jul 2002 |
Woodland Hills |
Adult female
attacked by coyote, bitten on arm (6 AM) |
| Jul 2002 |
Woodland Hills |
Adult male bitten
on boot by coyote when he inadvertently came upon it between car and garage |
| Jul 2002 |
Canoga Park |
Woman walking 2
large dogs accosted by 3 coyotes; fell backward and fended coyotes off |
| Aug 2002 |
Mission Hills |
Coyote approached
couple walking dog, attempting to snatch dog out of man’s arms; left only
after being kicked (4 AM) |
| Nov 2002 |
Woodland Hills |
Coyote scaled 6-ft
wall into yard, attacked and killed small dog in presence of owner; in
melee, woman kicked coyote, then fell and fractured her elbow and was
attacked and scratched by coyote (1 PM) |
| Feb 2003 |
Lake View Terrace |
Jogger bitten
(tooth scrape on ankle) by coyote after jogging past neighborhood coyote
feeding station |
| May 2003 |
Woodland Hills |
Coyote acted
aggressively toward man after he intervened during its attack on his dog |
| May 2003 |
Woodland Hills |
Coyote came into
residence to attack small pet dogs (2 PM) |
| Jul 2003 |
Granada Hills |
Boy walking
family’s 2 dogs attacked by 3 coyotes; one dog was killed and the other
injured; rescued by father |
| Nov 2003 |
Claremont |
Man and his dog
attacked by 3-4 coyotes; he defended himself, hitting several coyotes with
his walking stick (8 AM) |
Source: Coyote Attacks: An Increasing Suburban
Problem, Hopland Research & Extension Center, University of California
research paper,
March 3, 2004, by Rex O. Baker, Joe R. Bennett, and Craig C. Coolahan
|
Keeping Coyotes
& Pets Apart
1. In coyote areas, keep small pets indoors and don’t
let them out at night unsupervised. Most coyote attacks occur at
night.
2. Obey leash law and don’t let pets roam. Roaming
pets are more likely to be hit by cars, attacked by coyotes and
poisoned.
3. Report coyote encounters to authorities. Coyote
sightings and encounters are mapped by agencies. When sightings
increase, authorities may issue community alerts.
4. Coyotes eat a wide variety of food. Pick up pet
food left outside and take inside at night to avoid attracting
unwanted guests. Remove fallen fruit, especially avocados, from
yards, Store trash in containers with tight lids.
5. An enclosed backyard does not provide safety for
small dogs unless fencing is sufficiently high. Low fencing allows
pets to escape and stray animals to enter the yard. Coyotes and cats
can scale fences looking for food or mischief.
6. Clear brush and dense weeds around the yard which
provide shelter for coyotes and the rodents they hunt. .
7. If you see a coyote stalking your pet yell and
throw rocks at the coyote. Take your pet indoors. |
Source:
Southern California Veterinary Medical
Association
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MOUNTAIN LIONS
By the 1940s, mountain lions were thought to have been eradicated from Los
Angeles. Now, naturalists estimate that about a dozen mountain lions
(also known as pumas or cougars) prowl the mountainous areas of Beverly Hills, Studio City, Tarzana, and Chatsworth.
As recently as 2004, a
mountain lion was seen prowling Griffith Park, believed
to have arrived there via urban water channels. These big cats hunt at night and prey on
small game, deer, and, on occasion, unfortunate stray pets.
Mountain lions have attacked and, in fact, killed bicyclists, hikers and runners
in Southern
California. The only verified mountain lion attack (according to the
California Department of Fish and Game) on a human in Los Angeles County was
a
non-fatal attack on a 27-year-old adult male on Mount Lowe in the San Gabriel
Mountains in March 1995. Nevertheless, two cyclists were attacked
in January 2004 by a mountain lion in a regional park in nearby Orange County,
one fatally.
About 40,000 years ago, Los Angeles saw the likes of a larger, considerably more powerful cat called the saber-tooth cat. These were as large as
African lions yet
considerably more powerful with large deadly canines measuring up to eight inches. Author Jeff Rovin
brought them back to life to
terrorize Southern California in his fictional novel Fatalis.
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BEARS
At
one time, Grizzly Bears roamed widely throughout
Los Angeles County and Southern California. Hunting,
however, decimated the numbers of this
magnificent
beast. In 1916, the last known Grizzly in Southern California was shot
and killed in Los Angeles County. Grizzlies, whose image appears on
California's
state flag, are now extinct in California. By 1933, bears of any sort were already
extinct in the mountains of
Southern California. That year,
in an attempt to
reintroduce bears to the Los Angeles area, rangers from Yosemite
National Park introduced 11 California Black Bears
to the San
Gabriel Mountains near Crystal Lake. The Black Bear is a smaller and much less
aggressive cousin of the Grizzly. Biologists estimate that
about 150 to
500 Black Bears now roam Angeles
National Forest.
Since 1980, the
California Department of Fish and Game has recorded only 12 "bear attacks"
statewide, two of which were in Los Angeles County:
July 2003 – A male hiker was knocked down
by a bear at a remote campsite along the Pacific Crest Trail in the
Angeles National Forest. The hiker
had just reached the camp, which was empty, dropped his pack on a
picnic table, and was looking for a place to hang his food. As he
walked back
toward the pack, he heard a noise behind him. As he turned he was
knocked to the ground by a bear. After standing over him for a few
seconds,
the bear grabbed the backpack and began dragging it off. The man
shouted at the bear and threw rocks until the bear finally retreated
without the
backpack. The hiker received only minor bruises and was not seriously
hurt.
July
2001 – A woman was bitten on the arm by a bear at a county-run tree farm near La
Verne. The bear, which was earlier spotted climbing on a
nearby trash can, reportedly walked up to the woman while she was seated at a
picnic table and bit her on the arm. The woman was treated at a
hospital for puncture wounds. The bear was later shot and killed by Los Angeles
County sheriff’s deputies. The bear weighed approximately 85 pounds
and was estimated at one to two years of age.
Source: California
Department of Fish and Game
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