Newport’s Wildlife Watch tries to help residents rid neighborhoods of coyotes
Newport Beach is launching a program to try to get residents involved in resolving mounting suburban conflicts between coyotes and humans.
The program, known as Wildlife Watch, encourages residents to report coyote sightings through the Newport Beach Police Department’s coyote information web page, bit.ly/nbpd-coyote, remove potential coyote lures such as trash, pet food and water, and try to “haze,” or scare away, the animals.
Newport’s project is part of a larger program developed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife about six years ago. Last year, Irvine launched the program after a rash of coyote attacks on humans there prompted the state to get involved.
The education-focused initiative, which is similar to the crime-prevention program Neighborhood Watch, enables neighbors to work together to address a coyote problem in their area. At a community meeting this month, nearly 20 people from various parts of the city signed up to have Wildlife Watch in their neighborhoods.
“We’ve been sprinting on this,” said Newport Beach police Lt. Tom Fischbacher, who oversees the city’s animal-control services. “Our goal is to get to a sustainable place where these tactics have become ingrained in people’s everyday practices.”
The program encourages neighbors to inform one another of ways to reduce coyote interactions, such as removing food sources for the wild animals by keeping pets and pet food indoors, removing fruit that has fallen from trees and keeping garbage cans tightly closed. Residents also need to haze coyotes when they show up in their neighborhood, Fischbacher said.
Basic hazing includes yelling or using whistles, air horns, “shaker” cans or pots and pans to scare a coyote away. If that doesn’t work, authorities suggest using more aggressive tactics such as throwing sticks, tennis balls or stones near the animal or spraying it with water or white vinegar.
It’s fairly common to see coyotes wandering through neighborhoods in Orange County. But Newport Beach residents have said the animals’ behavior has become more brazen in recent years, with coyotes snatching dogs and cats, sometimes in front of the pets’ owners.
Last year, more than 100 people gathered in Corona del Mar in honor of a dog named Beanie, who was killed in a coyote attack in front of its owner. Since November, 12 pets have been reported killed by coyotes, with nine others injured and 10 missing, according to police.
However, Fischbacher said the numbers of pets injured or killed by coyotes is likely significantly higher because some people don’t report it to animal control.
In response to increasing complaints about aggressive coyotes, city officials last year created a four-tiered, color-coded threat-level chart that helps determine the type of response needed from authorities when a resident reports a coyote. A green threat level indicates a coyote was seen or heard but was not aggressive. Yellow signifies a coyote doesn’t appear to fear human presence, and orange means a pet was attacked. The highest level, red, signifies a coyote came in contact with or attacked a person.
There have been no reported coyote attacks on humans in Newport Beach for several decades.
Though Wildlife Watch emphasizes education and proactive measures by residents, Fischbacher said the city will trap and euthanize coyotes in certain situations, such as if they are habitually killing pets in the same area or if a human is attacked.
Fischbacher said relocating or killing coyotes isn’t a sustainable solution because the animals often will return to the area or litters will increase in an attempt to reestablish the population.
How to prevent coyote attacks
• Fence animal enclosures.
• Keep cats and small dogs indoors.
• Feed pets indoors.
• Store trash in covered heavy-duty containers.
• Keep yards free of potential shelter for coyotes, such as thick brush and weeds.
• Enclose bottoms of porches and decks.
• Eliminate potential food and water sources such as fallen fruit and standing water.
• Never feed a coyote.
• Haze and use other negative reinforcement to let coyotes know they are not welcome.
Source: Newport Beach Police Department
--
Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
